Sunrise and sunset of solitary igrodels
In the early 80s, all that was needed to create a game was a computer, paper, and a sense of purpose. Games were created by lone geniuses.
Richard Garriott, ca. 1979
Their design was often revolutionary and very artistic.
')
Donkey kong
Joust
Archon
Their choice determined what games we have now.
Ultima IV Character Stats
Wow stats
Some of these artists even managed to make good money.
Lord british
Their games inspired me to create my own.
In the mid-nineties, I had a computer-related education, and I started a dream job at Origin Systems.
But the industry has changed. The days of lonely, brilliant developers passed like rains on a mountain. Now the games were created by huge teams with huge development time and huge budgets.
Assassin's Creed: Revelation Development Team
Big budgets require big profits, and big profits need less risk.
Sales of video games by year
My dream job turned into a nightmare. I worked more and got less than my non-programmer friends because of the privilege of being a game developer.
Comparison of average wages
But I did not make games, but only their small pieces.
Therefore, I became a manager. I thought that more leadership means more creative management. But it was not so. I still did not make games, I even stopped making pieces of games. I created schedules, budgets and meetings.
And I left.
Then I started making Flash games, just for fun.
In Flash, you can write code and create pictures in the same place. The games were small and specific. You could make a good game yourself. And Flash was supported everywhere, so you could put the game on public display.
It was a dream come true. It was possible to make the whole game, not just pieces. They could be as strange, funny, or experimental as I wanted. It was not necessary to sweat over schedules, budgets, meetings.
Then the dream became even better - it turned out that my games began to earn a little.
Then came the iPhone, and suddenly there was an opportunity to make a lot of money. It was a rebirth, a second chance. For the first time since the early 80s, one programmer, or a small group of people, could make a living by creating amazing wonders that made people smile and expand their ideas about the possibilities of games.
It was another golden era. For others.
Fez by Phil Fish
Limbo by playdead
Minecraft by notch
And for me.
House of shadows
Doug dug
pixa
And then it suddenly ended.
So many people broke into riveting games for the iPhone, that an explosive increase in supply occurred, and prices collapsed. It became impossible to sell games.
Number of apps on the App Store
Soon, earning on games was obtained only from those who turned their games into bulletin boards or markets.
Dragon vale
This is the opposite of creativity, the opposite of art. And the fun of these games has become, though contagious, but empty, as if you are sucking sugar through a straw.
Candy crush
Even small groups from independent studios were not innovative, beautiful or humane. These were machines that cling to the human brain and feed it with chemicals that drive the brain into a trance.
And I left.
Now making games is my hobby, like with millions of others. Just a hobby. The development of small games did not die at all. Sometimes the game causes a response, and the authors collect awards for several months.
Monument
But no one lives on it. Zynga, Rovio: today is the stars, tomorrow - the cleaners.
If your game shoots, there will always be thousands of hungry developers who will want to steal the idea and release it in a new package.
Threes vs 2048
Creating small and beautiful games is no longer work. But this is a great hobby. Competitions to create a game for 48 hours like Ludum Dare adorn my life.
Connected worlds
Proletarian ninja X
Claustrophobia
I am so excited during these 48 hours that it is difficult for me to calm down. When I was in college, we were told that there would always be demand for developers. In general, it is. I always thought that it would be a time when this statement would cease to be true, when the need for developers would subside and programming could not make a living.
Now I know.
For single game programmers, this day has already arrived. Twice.
Richard Garriott, ca. 1979
Their design was often revolutionary and very artistic.
')
Donkey kong
Joust
Archon
Their choice determined what games we have now.
Ultima IV Character Stats
Wow stats
Some of these artists even managed to make good money.
Lord british
Their games inspired me to create my own.
In the mid-nineties, I had a computer-related education, and I started a dream job at Origin Systems.
But the industry has changed. The days of lonely, brilliant developers passed like rains on a mountain. Now the games were created by huge teams with huge development time and huge budgets.
Assassin's Creed: Revelation Development Team
Big budgets require big profits, and big profits need less risk.
Sales of video games by year
My dream job turned into a nightmare. I worked more and got less than my non-programmer friends because of the privilege of being a game developer.
Comparison of average wages
But I did not make games, but only their small pieces.
Therefore, I became a manager. I thought that more leadership means more creative management. But it was not so. I still did not make games, I even stopped making pieces of games. I created schedules, budgets and meetings.
And I left.
Then I started making Flash games, just for fun.
In Flash, you can write code and create pictures in the same place. The games were small and specific. You could make a good game yourself. And Flash was supported everywhere, so you could put the game on public display.
It was a dream come true. It was possible to make the whole game, not just pieces. They could be as strange, funny, or experimental as I wanted. It was not necessary to sweat over schedules, budgets, meetings.
Then the dream became even better - it turned out that my games began to earn a little.
Then came the iPhone, and suddenly there was an opportunity to make a lot of money. It was a rebirth, a second chance. For the first time since the early 80s, one programmer, or a small group of people, could make a living by creating amazing wonders that made people smile and expand their ideas about the possibilities of games.
It was another golden era. For others.
Fez by Phil Fish
Limbo by playdead
Minecraft by notch
And for me.
House of shadows
Doug dug
pixa
And then it suddenly ended.
So many people broke into riveting games for the iPhone, that an explosive increase in supply occurred, and prices collapsed. It became impossible to sell games.
Number of apps on the App Store
Soon, earning on games was obtained only from those who turned their games into bulletin boards or markets.
Dragon vale
This is the opposite of creativity, the opposite of art. And the fun of these games has become, though contagious, but empty, as if you are sucking sugar through a straw.
Candy crush
Even small groups from independent studios were not innovative, beautiful or humane. These were machines that cling to the human brain and feed it with chemicals that drive the brain into a trance.
And I left.
Now making games is my hobby, like with millions of others. Just a hobby. The development of small games did not die at all. Sometimes the game causes a response, and the authors collect awards for several months.
Monument
But no one lives on it. Zynga, Rovio: today is the stars, tomorrow - the cleaners.
If your game shoots, there will always be thousands of hungry developers who will want to steal the idea and release it in a new package.
Threes vs 2048
Creating small and beautiful games is no longer work. But this is a great hobby. Competitions to create a game for 48 hours like Ludum Dare adorn my life.
Connected worlds
Proletarian ninja X
Claustrophobia
I am so excited during these 48 hours that it is difficult for me to calm down. When I was in college, we were told that there would always be demand for developers. In general, it is. I always thought that it would be a time when this statement would cease to be true, when the need for developers would subside and programming could not make a living.
Now I know.
For single game programmers, this day has already arrived. Twice.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/375491/
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