Leaving GarageGames, Moving to Africa

It was October of 2006 that I joined GarageGames as an intern. Now, exactly 2 years later, I have decided to leave GarageGames to pursue other opportunties. Today was my last day at GarageGames.

Here is a galvanizing image of me from not-IGC 2006 after I accepted a position at GarageGames as a Game Producer. I love this photo because it reflects how I feel about game design: that it should be fun.



I am very grateful to GarageGames for all they've done. I would not be where I am or know what I know without them. I would not have had the best 2 years of my life without them.

THANK YOU GARAGEGAMES:

- For supporting indies and believing in them and the value of their work. Without this, I would not have felt empowered to embark in indie game-making some 5 years ago.

- For your creation of an amazing line of game engines that give indies a boost, effectively leveling the playing field with access to the same powerful technology tools that the pros use. Without the Torque Game Engine I would not have been able to make as complex or powerfully featured of a game as I did. My game literally would not exist without you.

- For your free advice over the years, for which I never paid a dime. $100 for a game engine, $100,000 worth of design and producing advisement. Though advised more consistently by some than others, there are a ton of GG employees who gave feedback on my games over the years. Thank you.

- For offering me an internship.

- For offering me a job (twice!).

- For the learning and opportunities that came with my game producer job, which were absolutely priceless. A $120,000 education could not have covered what I learned and experienced. My job was literally to play and produce games. May I just now say, after 2 years of holding back the sentiment: FUCK YEAH!

- For funding the sequel to my Torque game, Shelled 2 AKA Shelled Online, then giving me the full rights back. It was flattering to be funded for the first time, and getting the game developed "for free" helped me a ton as previously all game development came out of my own pocket. When it was declined for InstantAction, you gave me all the rights to my game back, fully releasing it to me. Both the funding and the relinquishing was generous, and both helped me considerably.

- For leaving the door open for my studio to potentially publish on InstantAction in the future.

- For blessing my decision to leave the company and wishing me the best of luck.

And finally,

- For your continued support for the Torque platforms, including Torque for iPhone and TGEA on Mac. Every boost to Torque is a boost to indies and their potential. The sky's the limit!

As you can see, I've only scratched the surface of what I owe to GarageGames. It has been a great experience working for them and I am very grateful for all I have gained from it.

My proudest accomplishment is filling the GarageGames Game Store up to 50 games. I am very, very, very proud of that. A lot of indies got published that otherwise would not have been.

The most fun I've had here was in talking about game design and industry first with Jeff Tunnell then later with Randy Dersham. When I think back to my best times, it was always when I was talking about or learning about game design and industry from those guys. Sometimes just creatively bullshitting, other times more serious strategizing, but always dynamic, challenging, and just plain fun talks. I count both among my friends and mentors.

My biggest responsibility was helping to spend the multi-million dollar indie game development fund that was announced when we let the news out about IAC and InstantAction. I spent tens of thousands of dollars, personally. It was so much fun it should have been illegal. I'd find a game I'd get excited about, pitch to the developer, pitch to Jeff or Randy, write up a design proposal, then next thing I knew the project would get the greenlight and the game would be in the InstantAction development hopper. Awesome.

My greatest delight was during my first year here, when I used to show up to work on ridiculously small bikes, with wheel sizes between 12 and 16 inches. I actually permanently damaged my knees from that, and I ride a Dirtsurfer now instead of kids bikes, but I always had a grin from my heart to my soul every day I made that commute. Especially when I'd lock up right next to Jeff's motorcycle, it was a great visual contrast.

WHY AM I LEAVING?

- I've been here for 2 years, longer than any job I've ever been at, and it's just the right time to move on.

- I moved to Eugene from Portland to work here, and I miss my home, friends, and life in Portland.

- I had an indie studio before I got here, and it has always been my goal to work on that studio. Now that I have some experience and the timing is right, I plan to work to get that studio off the ground.

- Jeff Tunnell was my mentor and once he left GG I found myself without a new mentor. I learned a LOT from Randy but it just wasn't the same once Jeff was gone from the day to day life.

SO WHAT'S NEXT?

Well as the title suggests, I'm leaving the continent. This won't be the first time I've left the US to do game design. I'm heading to Johannesburg, South Africa (population 8 million people) to work for a company called Luma Arcade.



I first learned about Luma exactly one year ago, when they blogged about Mini #37 at a game expo in South Africa called Rage. I jumped on the game and immediately proposed Blur. I positioned the game as a "match racer" (the prototype name) where the "hook" of the game is that all games are equally matched, intentionally eschewing engine and tire upgrades that have become so commonplace in racing games as to become the new norm. I also proposed the advanced "drafting" feature (inspired from racing my Dirtsurfer) which they were able to work into the game to add an additional nuance of skill to the racing. I was the producer for the project on the GG side, with Randy as the Executive Producer. In working with Luma on the game, I developed a great rapport with them, and had a sense that I could learn much from them, and in turn have much to offer. We mutually discussed the possibility of my going over there, and with Josh W's blessings we made plans to do so. My plane leaves on Thursday. I'm going to Rage the day after I land, and the day after that is my first day of work. I'll be gone for at least 6 months. My partner/girlfriend Julie is coming with me, and it will not be her first time living in Africa, so I'm grateful for a companion and guide.

Am I excited about South Africa? No. I AM EXCITED TO WORK WITH LUMA. They are the reason I am going. Yes the country and culture will be fascinating, but what I am really yearning for is a return to making games again and being around creative and artistic people who share my passion for games. THAT IS WHAT I CANNOT WAIT FOR. That is my calling, and it has never called more loudly. I need it.

Change is afoot, but one thing remains: I was indie before GarageGames, and am I indie afterGarageGames. I will always be doing indie game-making and championing indie games and developers as long as I live. You can't count on me being in the same hemisphere any two years in a row, but you can count on that.

My personal email address is on my profile page. Let me keep hearing from you, and keep in touch. I will let you know how the trip goes, how the Rage expo goes, how my new job goes, and how indie game making as Red Thumb Games continues to go. Please keep in touch!

Happy Game Making,

Joshua Dallman
Independent Game Maker

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Joshua has been an indie game producer as Red Thumb Games since 2004 with 3 games produced and released under the label. As a game producer for GarageGames he has produced 40 indie games for the GarageGames Game Store, 12 games for InstantAction.com, and evaluated hundreds of game submissions, proposals, and pitches. He writes for the blogs Make It Big In Games and Casual Indie, is published in the Thomson Course Technology book Business and Production for Games, and is a two time judge of the Independent Game Festival.