There is an old saying that the bamboo is the strongest tree, not because it
has the sturdiest trunk, but because it has the most flexible trunk. During
tropical storms, as other trees fight against the fierce torrential winds,
the bamboo bends, ever so slightly, along with the storm. The less flexible
trees are torn apart.
After the storm the bamboo straightens up, with a slight bend showing the
effect of the hurricane. It survives.
Like the tree we are constantly forced to deal with things larger than us '
things out of our control. In our profession, it comes as family, deadlines,
tight budgets, creative dry spells. Dead ends.
The result? Look at the wasteland of dead projects, empty webpages and
stories of disillusionment. Including my own projects.
It doesn't have to be this way, though. We have to learn humility and
realize that our project will not be the next Final Fantasy and, more
importantly, that it doesn't have to be. We have to accept the nature of
independent game design.
Our profession is like the bamboo. We have the strength of passion and
conviction, the gift of focus and the drive to express. However, we need the
flexibility to adjust ourselves so that our projects will survive.
My way of dealing with this on my current project is scaling back the goals
of the game design. The core idea is in tact, the game ' hopefully ' will
still be fun to play and I won't go insane juggling school, work and game
development. At least a little less insane.
The best thing we can do as a group is support those who are being realistic
about their game development. We tend to support those who are going for the
gold ' the most overtly ambitious. These people are the flags, waving high
above, representing our field.
But we also need a foundation. Solid, strong games that do not require years
of development, nor continual sacrifice and denial of other life matters. We
just need good games, not epics.
Ironically, the solid, strong games are the most difficult to do. You cannot
sell people on your ambition. You cannot rely on new graphics techniques.
You cannot give a grand storyline.
You just have to deliver good gameplay.
And that is what independent game development is all about.
--
Written by Damon Brown.
