“It’s a big idea, but we can do it.”
-Me, an optimistic idiot, paraphrased.
Since 2014 I have had one night stands with programming and game development tutorials; only flirting with the journey of game development because committing to it meant work which significantly affected my privileged habits. Though I dreamt of doing so since youth, I never practiced the discipline required to do so. My responsibilities were and continue to be demanding as a husband and father, yet I believe something is better than nothing, and tortured myself over what could have been even with small portions of work.
Summer 2018 was one such season; I loaded tutorials and thawed old ideas frozen in procrastination carbonite. I settled on a vision and got to work. By autumn I realized my insufficiencies meant an extensive timeline to accomplish all ideas in my large scope. I was going nowhere fast and considered giving up game development for good. Instead of following the advice of successful creators to simply narrow the scope, I banged my head against a wall I didn’t need to climb.
Winter-ish 2019, I get a message:
“I’m a dope programmer that can’t decide what game to make.”
-Dave, unsuspecting idiot, paraphrased.
Dave and I became friends about 5 years ago when we worked together at a restaurant where we bonded as husbands, fathers, gamers, and other similarities. We’ve kept in touch since we left the restaurant now and again, but being in such a similar headspace still amazes me.
He had the skill, but not the design.I pitched the idea, and God knows why but Dave agreed; a thrilling survival game set in the first era on a new world where you play as a primitive alone in the wilderness. It’s a ridiculous design for a first game. Every tutorial I watched preaches some iteration of “start small, learn, go bigger”.
Perhaps if the prototype fails we’ll scale back, however this feels worthy of extra effort and delayed gratification. I believe with Dave’s and my talents combined, love from our family and friends, a God portioned miracle, and a little luck; we’ll have something worthy of your time that brings you joy.
Or so we hope.
