Intellectual Property

I honestly can't remember a time when I was still nursing the fragile delusion of working on “my own ideas” within the first 5-10 years of a job in the games industry. If ever. I shouldn't have to tell anyone that videogames are big business; even large studios often live and breathe on the success of each project, which means they have to play it safe for the sake of their employees. What game a studio makes next will rarely be decided by the vision of a singular designer, or even a room of like-minded designers. It will be by the rise and fall and flow of the fickle market-place and it's callous shifting demographics. Existing brands and licenses are the wind beneath the wings of most green-lit projects, and even truly "new" IPs are often spiritual sequels, or designed to catch the coat-tails of a recent success story. You don't pick your projects, at least not out of thin air.

Limit Break:
Honestly though, I don't really have a problem with the situation. Working in a large company I am safe in the knowledge my ideas and influence, though perhaps not industry or genre-defining, are reaching an incredible audience. As I gradually progress up the ladder and the years roll by, that influence will hopefully increase. Just because the project and idea is chosen for you, doesn't mean there isn't a lot of scope for making that project and idea your own from that provided starting point. It's just one more variation of being creative within limitations, a mantra that I think defines most creative industry's from ground level up to the tip of each ivory tower. Resources might be limited, time might be short, there might be a client or publisher making particular demands, the market-place might change; it's under those pressures that design becomes design. After all, design is problem-solving. How can you design without first encountering some problems? I can tell already that I'll find plenty of challenge and excitement in my day job, working within the realistic expectations of the industry. As I said, I never expected to be suggesting the next Gears of War to a meeting room of financiers (I think we have plenty of those already anyway) and I certainty don't expect to be bored because of it.

Feasibility Smeasibility:
Nonetheless, I definitely can't go cold turkey on what I like to call "pie-in-the-sky" or "blank page" designing. For over 10 years parts of my brain have operated outside the realms of market-pandering and general feasibility, designing game ideas and mechanics without worrying much or at all about the opinions of a stuffy no nonsense publisher down-the-line. There is a dose of reality in most of them, but when my day job demands constant grounded realism and understanding of an actual studio's time, and resources, and budget, I still need an outlet for the wild and wonderful and hey, stupid. I think it's healthy, and will provide my remorselessly creative side room to breathe and conceptualise, while I learn the focused tactics and approaches related to genuine implementation in the day-time. It's a fine balance I intend to maintain. At first I'll be posting some un-explored game ideas from my University backlog (with fresh communicative art to keep the dust off my Wacom tab) but already some people are asking me about the indie market..

Indie Hard:
Of course I have an interest in working on an independent game! I don't think many designers would claim otherwise. Having escaped from under the weight and distraction of crunch, I am in possession of a once-rare commodity: free time. Some of which I have admittedly sacrificed by setting up the new format of this blog.. but, I think indie games, like the writing of a novel, are exciting interests that can (at least at first) be comfortably pursued alongside a 9-5 commitment. I never wanted to "go indie", I prioritised the security and reach of a larger company over the struggles and growing pains of trying to go it alone; I also have little interest in the business and marketing side of the coin. Nonetheless, having settled into TT Fusion and finishing with education, gathering a small team and creating something of my own design for the app store or Steam is an attractive concept I WILL eventually look into. Ideally though, I want to first test the water by contributing myself to the indie/personal projects of other designers, get an idea of the challenges and necessary tools for such undertakings. Also, I need to make a code-savvy friend. Enthusiastic, reliable programmers (that you don't pay) are gold-dust. Still, let it be known that I'm this very moment mentally adding "research starting an indie project" on my 2012 end-of-the-world bucket list. Watch this space, you'll be the first to know.

In other news, production has completed on Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, the second TT-Fusion title where I hold a Design credit. Check it out, coming soon to DS, PSP and 3DS. And also some consoles, probably.

Thanks for reading!
-Steve