It is too easy to become overwhelmed
by Randy Lutcavich · 10/28/2009 (2:24 am) · 17 comments
I risk writing this and having no one understand it.
I just spent another night expanding my outlook on the indie game industry. I'm completely blown away by how complex it all is. There are just too many people in this world. I'm so enthralled with how successful people earned their success. What does it take?? The hierarchy of success in something as seemingly simple as GarageGames is ridiculous.
Take Josh Willams. The now former CEO of GarageGames. How did he get to the top? This is one of the times the internet has failed me. I have discovered that he is an expert programmer who started with GG in 2003. I knew he couldn't have been from the start because he just looks too young (even though I have no idea what his age really is) but if he wasn't from Dynamix then how did he work is way up the ranks to become CEO so fast?
Then above him you have the new CEO, Louis Castle from EA who is an epic game designer with huge credits such as the Command and Conquer series under his belt. His game industry experience goes back more than 20 years! It is clear he has put the time and effort in and I can imagine many of his skills come straight from experience.
If you go higher you start to get into big business territory. Did you know GarageGames was owned by IAC? Did ya know about Barry Diller en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Diller, the old rich dude who owns more companies than I can count? He got his start in the mail room in the 60's!
It is people like these, especially the last two that make me wonder what I could do with 20 or 50 years of work experience. Where am I headed? How do I get there? Is wanting success and looking for it in everything I do enough?
I'm not intentionally whining here. I truely am looking for direction. Let me explain a bit more about what I am currently doing and why I feel a bit lost.
A) I'm working as a temp tester trying to get hired on at the largest game publisher in the world.
B) I've finished an online game programming bachelor's degree that has little merit but I worked really hard to get and am very proud of despite my lacking programming skills.
C) I've recruited a 3D artist, a 2D artist, and a sound engineer for work on a simple TX2D game for Xbox 360: Indie Games. It isn't anything new or innovative but it is mainly meant to give us experience on the process of developing indie games for our company, New Seattle Games.
D) I'm researching everything! From development styles, gaming news, AI programming, testing methods, C#, XNA, and the Torque engines. My brain is 100% games at this time in my life... ok maybe 90%.
Am I overthinking it? If I keep all this up will success find me? Or should I find focus. Is it too much to ask to want to work for a big game company and develop indie titles? Can I not learn programming and manage an indie studio? Should I forget sucking up all the little specifics (AI, Testing, Design) and just focus on one task and if so which one: Managing?, Programming??, Testing???
I'm not sure why I doubted that people would understand this... I'm guessing so many others feel the same. Now I'm just curious if anyone will read this.
I just spent another night expanding my outlook on the indie game industry. I'm completely blown away by how complex it all is. There are just too many people in this world. I'm so enthralled with how successful people earned their success. What does it take?? The hierarchy of success in something as seemingly simple as GarageGames is ridiculous.
Take Josh Willams. The now former CEO of GarageGames. How did he get to the top? This is one of the times the internet has failed me. I have discovered that he is an expert programmer who started with GG in 2003. I knew he couldn't have been from the start because he just looks too young (even though I have no idea what his age really is) but if he wasn't from Dynamix then how did he work is way up the ranks to become CEO so fast?
Then above him you have the new CEO, Louis Castle from EA who is an epic game designer with huge credits such as the Command and Conquer series under his belt. His game industry experience goes back more than 20 years! It is clear he has put the time and effort in and I can imagine many of his skills come straight from experience.
If you go higher you start to get into big business territory. Did you know GarageGames was owned by IAC? Did ya know about Barry Diller en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Diller, the old rich dude who owns more companies than I can count? He got his start in the mail room in the 60's!
It is people like these, especially the last two that make me wonder what I could do with 20 or 50 years of work experience. Where am I headed? How do I get there? Is wanting success and looking for it in everything I do enough?
I'm not intentionally whining here. I truely am looking for direction. Let me explain a bit more about what I am currently doing and why I feel a bit lost.
A) I'm working as a temp tester trying to get hired on at the largest game publisher in the world.
B) I've finished an online game programming bachelor's degree that has little merit but I worked really hard to get and am very proud of despite my lacking programming skills.
C) I've recruited a 3D artist, a 2D artist, and a sound engineer for work on a simple TX2D game for Xbox 360: Indie Games. It isn't anything new or innovative but it is mainly meant to give us experience on the process of developing indie games for our company, New Seattle Games.
D) I'm researching everything! From development styles, gaming news, AI programming, testing methods, C#, XNA, and the Torque engines. My brain is 100% games at this time in my life... ok maybe 90%.
Am I overthinking it? If I keep all this up will success find me? Or should I find focus. Is it too much to ask to want to work for a big game company and develop indie titles? Can I not learn programming and manage an indie studio? Should I forget sucking up all the little specifics (AI, Testing, Design) and just focus on one task and if so which one: Managing?, Programming??, Testing???
I'm not sure why I doubted that people would understand this... I'm guessing so many others feel the same. Now I'm just curious if anyone will read this.
#2
10/28/2009 (10:03 am)
All good, but I've got one piece of advice: Don't chase the money. Make a fun game that people enjoy, and do/learn whatever you need to achieve that. Then you can worry about how to turn it into cash. 
#3
Your question about what to pursue though, business, programming, etc. is a smart one to ask. If you have good math skills and like to code, I don't think there's a more powerful skill set you can have than programming. You can help change the world in a very short time with great coding. You can't do that in a business role nearly as easily. It's great if, like Josh, you can combine both great coding with awesome business acumen, but that's *crazy* rare. Lou is one of those rare people that has both too.
My recommendation would be to stick with coding and keep doing the entrepreneur thing. Trying to eek a profit out of a business rather than working for a salary teaches you SO much SO quickly. Do it while you're young and you can afford to work like mad with neglecting things like family and kids. It's fun and very addicting.
10/28/2009 (1:33 pm)
Read Josh's old blogs. When he started as GG's 9th employee back in '03, he was tasked with documentation. Not to knock docs, but it's not usually considered "expert level coding" experience, but that's what Josh was (and is). He started young, a good 10 years before starting with GG. He also did a lot of advanced, professional code work prior to working in games. Your question about what to pursue though, business, programming, etc. is a smart one to ask. If you have good math skills and like to code, I don't think there's a more powerful skill set you can have than programming. You can help change the world in a very short time with great coding. You can't do that in a business role nearly as easily. It's great if, like Josh, you can combine both great coding with awesome business acumen, but that's *crazy* rare. Lou is one of those rare people that has both too.
My recommendation would be to stick with coding and keep doing the entrepreneur thing. Trying to eek a profit out of a business rather than working for a salary teaches you SO much SO quickly. Do it while you're young and you can afford to work like mad with neglecting things like family and kids. It's fun and very addicting.
#4
10/28/2009 (7:43 pm)
Persistence is the most important piece of the success pie. Keep pushing! 
#5
10/28/2009 (8:06 pm)
I think you should be careful how you measure success. Not everybody needs to, or can be a CEO or team leader.
#6
@Paul: Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely not looking for profit on any of our indie games, atleast not at this stage. But I am very dependent on my job. I've been working to survive for a long time now and I can't see stopping that any time soon. Our first game is meant to put us through the process... it is meant as a teaching tool rather than a real commercial product so any fun that people get out of it is a bonus in my eyes right now. :)
@Brett: Thanks for the background and wise, encouraging words. To elaborate I wouldn't put myself in the group of people who are going to change the world with coding but don't take that as me saying I won't try. I'm a learner, that is what I do... I won't be giving up on programming any time soon. Business on the other hand is very fascinating to me and it is a dream to be leading a team, even if it is a small one. My best option may just be to do both for a while after all. Overwhelming or not, it feels like a calling. Can't wait to have that family to neglect ;) Thanks again, I'll read Josh's blogs this week.
@Tom: That does seem to be a common factor. That and staying motivated. I'm all for giving it my all, failing, and doing it all again but better. As long as I am completing something, I am learning. Thanks for the comment.
@Phillip: Although I agree, something tells me I'm meant to be a leader. Of course I won't force this since it is a very valuable skill to be a great team member as well. I'm not sure how to measure success exactly. Just something in these people seemed to ooze success. Maybe I just idolize leaders. Any how, thanks for the comment, it is always fun to rethink how ya look at things.
10/28/2009 (10:30 pm)
@Surge: Thanks for reading! Yes, I will definitely write down some goals... I've been putting it off for too long.@Paul: Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely not looking for profit on any of our indie games, atleast not at this stage. But I am very dependent on my job. I've been working to survive for a long time now and I can't see stopping that any time soon. Our first game is meant to put us through the process... it is meant as a teaching tool rather than a real commercial product so any fun that people get out of it is a bonus in my eyes right now. :)
@Brett: Thanks for the background and wise, encouraging words. To elaborate I wouldn't put myself in the group of people who are going to change the world with coding but don't take that as me saying I won't try. I'm a learner, that is what I do... I won't be giving up on programming any time soon. Business on the other hand is very fascinating to me and it is a dream to be leading a team, even if it is a small one. My best option may just be to do both for a while after all. Overwhelming or not, it feels like a calling. Can't wait to have that family to neglect ;) Thanks again, I'll read Josh's blogs this week.
@Tom: That does seem to be a common factor. That and staying motivated. I'm all for giving it my all, failing, and doing it all again but better. As long as I am completing something, I am learning. Thanks for the comment.
@Phillip: Although I agree, something tells me I'm meant to be a leader. Of course I won't force this since it is a very valuable skill to be a great team member as well. I'm not sure how to measure success exactly. Just something in these people seemed to ooze success. Maybe I just idolize leaders. Any how, thanks for the comment, it is always fun to rethink how ya look at things.
#7
Oh, and focus on those Green Tea Lattes. I'll like 'em eventually, I promise, just don't give up on me. Ha!
10/28/2009 (11:24 pm)
Our success will come with our wisdom, and our wisdom will come from the experience, which is what we've said all along. It's easy to get overwhelmed, and very natural actually. Focus on what you've been focusing on all along, which is bettering yourself as a Programmer and Manager throughout this whole process, which you're doing a fine job at so far. :) We'll make mistakes and that's fine, because we'll learn from 'em. In the end it'll all pay off, not necessarily with money (we always agreed it's not about that), but through the accomplishments we achieve and the personal satisfaction and fun we get out of it all. It'll all make sense in the end and be a lot more clear. You've gotta have faith! ;)Oh, and focus on those Green Tea Lattes. I'll like 'em eventually, I promise, just don't give up on me. Ha!
#8
Trust me, I've still got faith... and plenty of patience to wait for you to give in to those Green Tea Lattes or... Eggnog Lattes! You've gotta have festive cheer!
10/28/2009 (11:32 pm)
Ha! And of course the best advice always comes from those closest to you. Thanks buddy!Trust me, I've still got faith... and plenty of patience to wait for you to give in to those Green Tea Lattes or... Eggnog Lattes! You've gotta have festive cheer!
#9
10/29/2009 (12:23 am)
One more piece of advice my girlfriend taught me: don't worry about the future or the past, because you can't change them. You do what you can today to ensure you have a good uture, but you can't even begin to imagine where you'll be in 20-50 years. So don't try to - do what you can now. Hopefully sound advice. Good luck with everything :)
#10
I love this community! :)
10/29/2009 (1:30 am)
Very inspiring words Daniel! I completely agree and I should be diligent to follow that advice.I love this community! :)
#11
I would recommend that you work on completing a single project, then moving on to another. If you cannot complete a small game, how do you think you can guide a team of developers to game completion?
Update: Errr, I don't want to sound discouraging, but you need to *know* that you can be a leader. Prove it to the world (and yourself!).
10/29/2009 (1:39 am)
Quote:@Phillip: Although I agree, something tells me I'm meant to be a leader. Of course I won't force this since it is a very valuable skill to be a great team member as well. I'm not sure how to measure success exactly. Just something in these people seemed to ooze success. Maybe I just idolize leaders. Any how, thanks for the comment, it is always fun to rethink how ya look at things.Most of the developers here take on some form of leadership role. Most projects here are 1 to 2 people with responsibilities which fall under their areas of interest or expertese. To be a leader, you don't need to know everything, just have the capacity to understand what you're told.
I would recommend that you work on completing a single project, then moving on to another. If you cannot complete a small game, how do you think you can guide a team of developers to game completion?
Update: Errr, I don't want to sound discouraging, but you need to *know* that you can be a leader. Prove it to the world (and yourself!).
#12
Passion, Persistence, and... i dont remember the other... hehe...
but a lot of hard work, and sacrifice...
personally i think that dont think in the money or making rich, find your passion...
Section C. The Aristotelian Philosophy on The Good Life.
The Final Good For Man in Aristotle's Ethical Theory
"Living Successfully"
Every young man asks the same question, "How can I make my life successful?" First one must define success, which Aristotle said is the best thing a man can do with his life. He also said that in order to obtain this success one must have a goal, or objective for their life. Success does not directly equal wealth, power, or having virtue without exercising that virtue. According to Nicomachean Ethics, there are three reasons for living. One, enjoying refined pleasures, which is best defined as a life of pleasant amusement, however Aristotle says that no one in their right mind would chose that life. Immature fun, such as that which children enjoy, living in order to sleep, eat, have sex, or work an unfulfilling and unrewarding job are all paths of this type of life. The second reason to live is to earn a good name for yourself in your eyes and in the eyes of the community, such as a career in public service. Finally, to appreciate and understand the universe in which we find ourselves, such as a philosopher. Everyone will chose one of these three ways of life, however one must have personal and financial independence to do so.
"Happiness" equals "success" and "success" equals "blessing." Success (eudaimonia in Greek) is translated as happiness in English, and happy (makarios) is translated as blessed, or enjoying a share of the divine, living like a god. Animals cannot enjoy success, because they have no share of the divine, and the gods enjoy a different type of ideal existence.
In order to attain success you must use your skills and knowledge to pursue certain objectives for the sake of higher objective. For example, a human can either: accomplish one objective, such as running a mile, or accomplish one objective for a higher purpose, such as being in shape. The single highest objective in life is to live well and fare well, i.e. being successful. An objective in the highest degree is only worth pursuing for itself and never anything else; success is worth pursuing in its own right.
10/29/2009 (1:58 am)
the 3 P:Passion, Persistence, and... i dont remember the other... hehe...
but a lot of hard work, and sacrifice...
personally i think that dont think in the money or making rich, find your passion...
Section C. The Aristotelian Philosophy on The Good Life.
The Final Good For Man in Aristotle's Ethical Theory
"Living Successfully"
Every young man asks the same question, "How can I make my life successful?" First one must define success, which Aristotle said is the best thing a man can do with his life. He also said that in order to obtain this success one must have a goal, or objective for their life. Success does not directly equal wealth, power, or having virtue without exercising that virtue. According to Nicomachean Ethics, there are three reasons for living. One, enjoying refined pleasures, which is best defined as a life of pleasant amusement, however Aristotle says that no one in their right mind would chose that life. Immature fun, such as that which children enjoy, living in order to sleep, eat, have sex, or work an unfulfilling and unrewarding job are all paths of this type of life. The second reason to live is to earn a good name for yourself in your eyes and in the eyes of the community, such as a career in public service. Finally, to appreciate and understand the universe in which we find ourselves, such as a philosopher. Everyone will chose one of these three ways of life, however one must have personal and financial independence to do so.
"Happiness" equals "success" and "success" equals "blessing." Success (eudaimonia in Greek) is translated as happiness in English, and happy (makarios) is translated as blessed, or enjoying a share of the divine, living like a god. Animals cannot enjoy success, because they have no share of the divine, and the gods enjoy a different type of ideal existence.
In order to attain success you must use your skills and knowledge to pursue certain objectives for the sake of higher objective. For example, a human can either: accomplish one objective, such as running a mile, or accomplish one objective for a higher purpose, such as being in shape. The single highest objective in life is to live well and fare well, i.e. being successful. An objective in the highest degree is only worth pursuing for itself and never anything else; success is worth pursuing in its own right.
#13
Thank you for posting this. Going just off of what you have posted I believe I fit more into the third category as I do enjoy refined pleasure but only when they are part of a bigger goal, I also would love to earn a good name for myself and help the community but most of all, I see myself looking for an understanding of the universe and the role I play within it.
I also enjoyed the idea of creating success through the pursuit of it.
Very fine words indeed. Thanks again for posting and inspiring me!
10/29/2009 (2:59 am)
Javier, you have given me some great insights that I might not have discovered on my own. It was indeed a philisophical response that I was looking for. I must look more into this take on success.Thank you for posting this. Going just off of what you have posted I believe I fit more into the third category as I do enjoy refined pleasure but only when they are part of a bigger goal, I also would love to earn a good name for myself and help the community but most of all, I see myself looking for an understanding of the universe and the role I play within it.
I also enjoyed the idea of creating success through the pursuit of it.
Very fine words indeed. Thanks again for posting and inspiring me!
#14
See the full-sized image:
Desidus.deviantart.com/art/Success-Motivational-Poster-141812744
10/29/2009 (5:43 am)
See the full-sized image:
Desidus.deviantart.com/art/Success-Motivational-Poster-141812744
#15
My suggestion from my experience, know exactly what you want and why you want it... Don't just say, I want to be successful, know where, how, how much and what kind of success you want. Read books by people that are there and care for other people to get there too. (Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki)...
As you read these I think you'll find that they give you a lot of whys, and not a lot of where and how. From my interpretation, this is because the where and the how come out of the why.
Thomas Edison had three months of proper schooling, but he learned through life's lessons and because he had a team around him with more combined experience than nearly any man has alone.
10/30/2009 (9:27 am)
Sure, sure, we may have great words, but the best lessons come from making mistakes... Our schooling system has the whole system wrong... Making mistakes isn't wrong, it's how we learn.... I have struggled with the question that you're asking for years, I'm not really at an answer yet... I think you're asking is what is it that makes people at the top, get to the top? It's not that they're more skilled than anybody, that's clear... Thomas Edison has like three months of schooling... Steve Jobs was young when he got into his fortune... Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is a respected book on the subject... (FYI, it's on Google Books, go Google!) I'm not saying that I agree with him, but he spent twenty years of his life trying to uncover the secret.My suggestion from my experience, know exactly what you want and why you want it... Don't just say, I want to be successful, know where, how, how much and what kind of success you want. Read books by people that are there and care for other people to get there too. (Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki)...
As you read these I think you'll find that they give you a lot of whys, and not a lot of where and how. From my interpretation, this is because the where and the how come out of the why.
Thomas Edison had three months of proper schooling, but he learned through life's lessons and because he had a team around him with more combined experience than nearly any man has alone.
#16
I do not agree, from the practical perspective with something things you cant make a mistake because is fatal, ex. sending a ship to the moon...
and from the philosophical perspective, exist 2 type of persons in the world:
1. The people that learn of the mistakes and experiences of others and try to not make them. (I).
2. The people that need to make the mistakes for they can learn. (you @peter)
10/30/2009 (1:13 pm)
Quote:but the best lessons come from making mistakes... Our schooling system has the whole system wrong... Making mistakes isn't wrong, it's how we learn....
I do not agree, from the practical perspective with something things you cant make a mistake because is fatal, ex. sending a ship to the moon...
and from the philosophical perspective, exist 2 type of persons in the world:
1. The people that learn of the mistakes and experiences of others and try to not make them. (I).
2. The people that need to make the mistakes for they can learn. (you @peter)
#17
I don't know, I think Peter is actually on to something when he says our school systems have it all wrong. Check out this video lecture about how schools kill creativity by making the act of making mistakes a bad thing.
www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Yes Javier, we should learn from other's mistakes and not repeat them just for the hell of it but I think your argument takes away from what Peter is saying. And when you think about it, we all are going to make mistakes, maybe not the same ones as others but we will all make mistakes and if we respond accordingly we can actually learn from them.
@Peter:
I hope you find your meaning of success. Thanks for the comment, it is always good to know others have the same struggles. In the end it will work out for all of us who continue to seek success... whatever that may be.
10/31/2009 (10:32 pm)
@Javier:I don't know, I think Peter is actually on to something when he says our school systems have it all wrong. Check out this video lecture about how schools kill creativity by making the act of making mistakes a bad thing.
www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
Yes Javier, we should learn from other's mistakes and not repeat them just for the hell of it but I think your argument takes away from what Peter is saying. And when you think about it, we all are going to make mistakes, maybe not the same ones as others but we will all make mistakes and if we respond accordingly we can actually learn from them.
@Peter:
I hope you find your meaning of success. Thanks for the comment, it is always good to know others have the same struggles. In the end it will work out for all of us who continue to seek success... whatever that may be.
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