What Makes For An Expert Indie Developer?

[x4000]

ABSTRACT
Chris Park believes that "expert indie developers" are a real thing, and common to spot among successful indies.  But, even among those that are less successful, there are certain hallmarks that identify those that would be investment-worthy for anyone looking to start up angle or venture funding aimed at indie developers.

What Makes For An Expert Indie Developer?

[Spikey00]

"You."

--

It's quite obvious what an indie developer needs to do, consumer-wise.  So far, you've done everything correctly, huh, Chris?

[Velox]

"You."

--

It's quite obvious what an indie developer needs to do, consumer-wise.  So far, you've done everything correctly, huh, Chris?

     I'd be surprised if you meant this to sound as sarcastic and/or aggressive as it comes across, considering your past history on the forums here!  Regardless, I'll bite:

     Yes.  Yes, he has.

     Discuss.

[vonduus]

I really see no problem if Chris thinks of himself as a potential expert indie developer. It is called selfconfidence, I believe. In my eyes he is already an expert, and so what if he knows this himself? As long as he is not bragging about it, and he is not. It is a sociological fact that most americans are more self-promoting than most europeans. I have read most of Chrris' writings on the web, and what I see is a very humble expert, almost european in his approach, he goes out of his way to tell people what he is doing and how and why, so that they might become experts themselves. Of course this generates a lot of sympathy, which in turn can help sales, but I am quite sure that he was not thinking primarily on his personal economy, when he wrote the article, although I am also quite sure that he is very aware of this forgotten connection between high ethical standards and sales.

And even if he was bragging about it, it would not matter to me, mainly because:

1. He is not in it only for the money, he is trying to make a living, not a fortune, which means I can trust him in a way that i will never trust a big corporation (they are only after my money).
2. He is trying to make the best available product in this genre, and so far it seems he has already delivered this.
3. (and most important to me) He is caring for us grognard players who wants near-to-impossible games, because he is a grognard player himself. Accordingly he is refusing to scale down his product for the casual market.

Someone should give him a medal or something (I am not sarcastic!)

edit: I just found this

-- we have a wonderfully inventive playerbase, what can I say, and they've suggested all sorts of interface goodies like that.  Some of it is me, some of it is the community.  I think a lot of the more surprising ideas came from the community ...

This is almost too humble, here he is suggesting that we players do most of the creative thinking, while he is just the programmer that turns our ideas into reality - totally underplaying the fact, that the base design, which is what makes this game unique, is his work.

[x4000]

I really see no problem if Chris thinks of himself as a potential expert indie developer. It is called selfconfidence, I believe. In my eyes he is already an expert, and so what if he knows this himself? As long as he is not bragging about it, and he is not. It is a sociological fact that most americans are more self-promoting than most europeans. I have read most of Chrris' writings on the web, and what I see is a very humble expert, almost european in his approach, he goes out of his way to tell people what he is doing and how and why, so that they might become experts themselves. Of course this generates a lot of sympathy, which in turn can help sales, but I am quite sure that he was not thinking primarily on his personal economy, when he wrote the article, although I am also quite sure that he is very aware of this forgotten connection between high ethical standards and sales.

Of course, I think of myself as an expert indie developer -- there's no "potential" about it. I don't think it's particularly arrogant of someone to think that about themselves.  I've been a professional software developer for almost a decade, and in charge of the entire programming department at my last job at a small company for 7 years.  I was the front-man to clients, as well as the main designer, as well as the one called in for the most tricky programming challenges.

To then shift industries, of course I carried across that professionalism and customer-oriented mindset.  It's no big deal, there are thousands of professional developers like me.  It's not like I'm claiming to be Einstein or Mother Theresa or something.  But, I think that if there is a general feeling that indie developers are inherently amateur, that just rubs me the wrong way.  I've also been speaking recently to one investment firm about a few things, and so this sort of topic was on my mind as far as what I'd look for if I were the investor.  And, if things go really well with Arcen to the point where we have a bunch of excess cash, I hope to become an investor in other indie projects.

-- we have a wonderfully inventive playerbase, what can I say, and they've suggested all sorts of interface goodies like that.  Some of it is me, some of it is the community.  I think a lot of the more surprising ideas came from the community ...

This is almost too humble, here he is suggesting that we players do most of the creative thinking, while he is just the programmer that turns our ideas into reality - totally underplaying the fact, that the base design, which is what makes this game unique, is his work.

I never take credit for work others do, but that's not to discount my own work -- the base design, etc, as you say are all mine.  And many of the suggestions that come in get filtered through me and improved in the process.  What I was referring to here, specifically, was the UI -- I hadn't made that clear, I think.  Many of the most surprising and inventive things about the UI were suggestions from players post-release, and are things that I nor any other game designer was terribly likely to think about because of the way that games tend to be developed (by the time that we are looking at UI nice-to-haves, we're already so comfortable with the game that this sort of thing does not occur to us).  So I think that the community is uniquely invaluable for innovations like that, simply because the game designer is too close to his/her own game to do so.

False humility is not becoming, and I try not to trade in that.  Unwarranted arrogance is equally unbecoming and unhelpful.  I'm both arrogant and humble in my way, I think, and it's not a good idea for me to cultivate myself as being too much of a saint.  My motivations for doing what I do are inherently as selfish as any other human at their job: I do this to make a living, and in my case also to entertain myself in ways that no other game companies have provided.  Along the way, I am also interested in what others make and in using their input to make the best possible products possible; this has its selfish sides, too, if you really want to look hard at it, but it's also for the greater good.  Basically, I've found a nice little way to act both selfishly and for the greater good at the same time, and a lot of times people are only noticing the latter. 

That's all well and good, to a point, but one thing I have learned above all others in life so far is that it's never good to pretend to be something you're not.  Arcen isn't a large company, and we don't try to pretend to be.  I'm not a saint, and try to make no secret of the fact that I'm doing this for my own reasons before those of anyone else.  In general, my preference is to just be as straightforward about this stuff as possible, which is perhaps counter to what most people do, but which is my acquired habit in life.  So many movies (especially romantic comedies) would have no plot if only their protagonists would act in a forthright manner and speak their minds to one another -- all of those clever "misunderstandings" are build based on someone hiding information from someone else, and that coming back to bite them.  I've just seen enough of that in my younger days to not want to go there.

[vonduus]

... this has its selfish sides, too, if you really want to look hard at it

You can reduce everything to selfishness if you want to, like Freud reduced everything to sex. But real life is much more complex.

Basically, I've found a nice little way to act both selfishly and for the greater good at the same time, 

And this is what really matters. Seen from my end, you have done good to me by providing a game that I so far cannot beat, if you had not, I might have become very arrogant. If you at the same time are doing good to yourself, well thats perfect: I am happy and you are happy.  I was a professional musician for many years, so I know what you are talking about.

and a lot of times people are only noticing the latter.

Too bad for them, let us hope they do not get too disappointed if they ever discover the truth. 

My point was, that (1) the good you do to people will be reflected in your sales charts, (2) you are very intelligent, so you must be aware of this fact (3) you have high ethical standards, that makes it possible for you to know this without the knowledge turning you into a hypocrite.

I may be a bit overexcited, but it was so refreshing to discover that there is still people around in the software industry who has not been corrupted by money. When I read of your refusal to water the game down so that casual players also would buy it, you instantly became my hero. You said no thanks to a lot of money there, I think, just to please the crazy minority that I belong to. Of course this was not pure altruism  on your part,  you belong to the same minority yourself, but it is just so unusual to meet a person, who sticks to his egoistic love for gaming instead of totally surrendering to his egoistic love for money.

Okay, enough praises for now, I have an AI that must be killed.

Wisdom, I guess, is really a question of balance.

[x4000]

All good, many thanks.  And glad you are enjoying the game!  Go get that AI.

[Spikey00]

Hoh, I am never malicious on the internet!  (;

It's a pitty that people like Chris don't receive the type of exposure that the more familiar game developers do--IMO a thousand times better than most of the game companies out, at the moment... but of course, their argument is for having a too large fanbase to respond to, while they could easily hire more community managers with their larger profits.


I wonder if Arcen Games will turn into the next World of Goo, or perhaps into the next EA, and be able to retain the qualities current to the company now?

[x4000]

I don't believe that companies the size of EA can behave in the same manner as smaller companies, unfortunately.  Too many people.  2D Boy, the makers of World of goo, aren't any larger than we are (they may be smaller, actually -- so far as I know there is just the two guys).  I don't think the size of a fanbase makes what we are doing impossible, but it could make it harder if the fanbase was too huge.  But, I think it could be doable.

[Spikey00]

Hm.  Let's hope it is doable!

[Velox]

     In my opinion, programmers have an interference penalty...

[Spikey00]

     In my opinion, programmers have an interference penalty...

rofl.

[SkyWest]

          I am not only impressed but I am in awe. I read Chris's blog about his approach to designing games. And he gets it. Dead spot on. And before you read further, please know that this isn't just a designer worship man crush, tho it may seem so. 
          There are many talented designers who can design a graphically creditable, well-working game design model. It takes alot of talent and long, hard work just to code, create art, market and make a non broken, relatively bug free simulation that appeals. Then comes the hard work when customers put it under the microscope. (And here you thought the beta testers were your friends?!!!!) Then respond to the community with time and patches. Most games, as a commercial enterprise, stop there.
           Yet Chris didn't stop there. He asked himself,before design embarkation, to self-define what made a great game for him and jumped in to address his sense of things.
          His answer, in AI War,  speaks to creating that very tight zone of tension that a great game magically and aesthetically creates emotionally that we fervent game fans know too rarely but cherish when we find it. If a game is too hard......too easy, too clunky on the interface, without oversight management tools, too mechancial, flawed, or inadequately manualed, it ends up in the dustbin with little replay value. The art of creation is in his methodical cogitation about what makes a game really fun......in the tracking down of that intangible emotion of creating "just enough anxiety and flavor" to keep one's interest, to keep a game fresh and giving the player managment reports and tools to keep it simple, semi-automatable (if chosen) and not overwhelming. Hell, his Wiki advice gave me encouragement to keep at it, despite my getting thumped regularly. He created not only challenging tutorials but then addressed my tutorial graduation question with "next, here's some YouTube" tactics. I was dying laughing when he lost in his own demo. You gotta be comfortable in your skin when you publish the video demo where you die trying to teach others. Most would have left that one of the cutting room floor. Nice touch! I concluded the designer must be human, too, just like me.
           Creating just the right "game anxiety" is a very narrow bandwidth because, face it, we all have differing levels of how much "challenge" it takes to keep us individually engaged and engrossed or how much micro management we find preferable. Enviably, Chris has created a model that allows either the RTS or the TBS fan ample latitude to enjoy without branding either type of gaming style. Skiing vs snowboarding anyone?
            Go as slow and detailed or as lightning fast and furious as you like. In miniscule detail or mind blowing, blatant combat rushes. An open ended invitation to suit you and your tastes.
          And without stopping to create and admire his own completed work, it is evident that Chris approaches his quest for his evolving art work with religious zeal and inexhaustible energy. That's more than mere monetary ambition even tho that business reality is an important one for us all to appreciate on his behalf. I'm ready to donate to cover blatant pirating and his dedication. Honest.
        The degree to which he has made variable AI level responses coupled with ample amounts of both AI personality based response as well as the traditional "cranking up unit numbers" is evidence of his quest for perfection in achieving a "many sizes fits all" variable response model. And not only does this AI match me step by step but his open ended design allows me to pick the level which achieves my own "comfort vs challenge" level. And yours too, as ours may differ. That's a "need assessment" formula that respects me at whatever level I wish to or am able to game at.
            Now many games have multiple difficulty levels, it's true. But most of those use a formula that merely cranks up/dials up the pain by simply granting the AI more quantity, more powerful AI units. Little variation in response.
            Few actually challenge the player by different and even sneaky reactions (be merciful, you cowardly AI...I had really meant to garrison that wormhole behind me). I believe Chris has ushered us into a new gaming genre from which it will be hard to return to as I now see past game designs as two dimensional in a three dimensional world. Bravo Chris! Many thanks.
            I lucked into finding AI War while looking for an AI that was not flat and linear. I am so tired of getting  hugely detailed simulations (my personal taste), investing 20 or so hours into the learning curve only to find a broken flaw or worse, that the game lacked an AI who was competent and varied in responsiveness. I like variable response, not linear "beat the system when I crank up the numbers". AI War has both and is the closest thing I'vd found yet to facing a human opponent. We're not there yet, but we're seemingly zeroing in on it. Nice first move, Chris!
              And that's what makes for a great developer, indie, corporate, main street or whatever. That's my opinion and I'm stickin to it. 

             Ok, breaks over. Back to hopping thru Aidelau so I can maybe pillage some cool advanced research on Pluas or die tryin. Wish my naked colony ship escorts luck running the gauntlet without a force field.

Sky   

PS- I'm prolly up a creek without that proverbial lightning warhead paddle.
             

               

[Shardz]

What would be truly frightening is Arcen games (with Chris at the helm) with 1/16th of the funds EA spends on advertising their half functioning games that they insist on rushing out before they are finished! Let's just say hypothetically that Chris would have $1 million dedicated exclusively for advertising and promotional funds to burn and spread the word. What would happen?

I'm thinking more and more that PC games will start to lose some appeal to the corporates as EA is already whining that they only made $3.6 billion in fiscal 2009 and they are [even more than usual] turning on the heat with their developers to churn out yet even more incomplete crap. The last couple years have shown that the Indies are actually doing much better than the corporates; probably due to less overhead in this economy. Companies like Westwood spend millions of dollars by putting all their eggs in one basket and hope their following shows up at the stores, but the Indies don't have quite as much to lose in comparison.

Arguably, the Indie game scene is chock full of gems that are giving the corporates a run for their money at extremely competitive prices and entices the customer with value instead of big promises that are never fully realized. Do I want a convoluted game full of the latest nVidia 3D holographic technology with more time spent on developing the DRM than the actual concept for $60 (with three $30 DLC around the corner)? Or do I want something that is solid with addictive game play with longevity that keeps me intrigued and keeps building on itself for $20? That is sort of a no-brainer I would assume and is exactly why I'm not spending money on corporate blockbusters that are simple XBox ports with the same design mentality in general.

On top of this, I'm old. I've played hundreds (if not more) PC games alone since 1990 and have seen EA kill more developers than most people have gone to the movies in their lives.  Chris is an artist in what he does and I wouldn't doubt the title of expert for a moment. He's managed to do what what teams of 20+ people have failed to do in endless attempts in the genre and has exceeded them tenfold in the process. I think of some of my favorite games fused with the same intelligence that AI War is based upon and it's really a compelling notion to envision that level of AI coupled with a fancy 3D engine mixed in with several genres to form a unique experience. I think so far the closest to achieve this is Peter Molyneux (Bullfrog, Lionhead Studios) with his brilliant creative factor, but I still wished for sharper AI that would constantly regroup and change like a viral organism. So far, AI Wars is really the only game I have seen that comes close to acting like an intelligent thinking entity in this genre and I'm definitely curious as to what the future holds for Chris and company. One thing for sure, he can boast the title of expert developer all he wants as far as I'm concerned!   

[RCIX]

What would be truly frightening is Arcen games (with Chris at the helm) with 1/16th of the funds EA spends on advertising their half functioning games that they insist on rushing out before they are finished! Let's just say hypothetically that Chris would have $1 million dedicated exclusively for advertising and promotional funds to burn and spread the word. What would happen?

He'd hire a couple artists and programmers and make some truly awesome games, not waste it on advertising the ones he has now!