Hard times

[Chris McCormick-4]

Hey all,

I know things are looking pretty glum at the moment, especially for those
amongst us who are copping it financially due to recent events. I also know
that lots of people are trying their own indie things and some have met with
success and others have met with less success. I myself have found it really
hard to get together the time and motivation to keep my pet project going.
Making games is fun, but it's also hard. I just wanted to say that I think it's
obvious that our little game dev community is behind you 100% no matter what
situation you are in, and I know we'll bounce back as a community because of
that. It's so great to watch how friendly and supportive everyone involved is.

Look at where we are now compared to where we were just a few short years
ago:

* The last Let's Make Games event was HUGE. I didn't realise our game dev
community in this little corner of the planet had grown so big. A few years ago
our groups and gatherings of game developers only had 5 or 10 people!

* We're not as afraid of failure as we used to be. We're going out on a limb
and making small companies and groups and trying stuff out. Check out the list
of 'Local Game Developers' on letsmakegames.org. What fertile grounds! Many of
these ventures will fail, but we're small and fast, and agile enough to try
again. Which is exactly what we should do.

"Fail cheap. Fail fast. Fail often. Always make new mistakes."
 - Esther Dyson

* We definately got some net positives out of the Interzone experience:
1. Some of us got big game company experience we might not have otherwise got
in Perth. 2. We got a life lesson to remember (ouch!). 3. If Interzone hadn't
come here and employed a bunch of us, we might never have all met. I think it's
so great that some people came to Perth who might not have otherwise, and other
people stayed in Perth who might have left, and that we all got to meet so many
great like-minded people. To me that last point is the biggest benefit of all.
What a great community we have now. You guys rock!

* Look at all the great groups and events we have now. Let's Make Games,
GameJam, IGDA, OneTwenty, Nullarbor, GO3, (hope I didn't forget any) not to
mention all the new courses at the universities keeping things fresh in recent
years. It's awesome.

Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there. I hope nobody gets so
disillusioned from this experience that they give up on game dev completely. My
deepest condolences to those who are in a hard place because of this, but there
are some up sides and I think those will become clear as time distances us from
all of this.

Hope you are all well, and stay awesome!

Chris.

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http://mccormick.cx

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[Ben Chase-3]

Well said Chris

I am a bit of a lurker here but I have great faith in the talent we
possess in Perth. Dont forget we are part of the growing hub that is
Australasia.

Ben Chase
composer/sound designer
Blaam Music and Sound

On 13/02/2010 22:40, Chris McCormick wrote:

> Hey all,
>
> I know things are looking pretty glum at the moment, especially for those
> amongst us who are copping it financially due to recent events. I also know
> that lots of people are trying their own indie things and some have met with
> success and others have met with less success. I myself have found it really
> hard to get together the time and motivation to keep my pet project going.
> Making games is fun, but it's also hard. I just wanted to say that I think it's
> obvious that our little game dev community is behind you 100% no matter what
> situation you are in, and I know we'll bounce back as a community because of
> that. It's so great to watch how friendly and supportive everyone involved is.
>
> Look at where we are now compared to where we were just a few short years
> ago:
>
> * The last Let's Make Games event was HUGE. I didn't realise our game dev
> community in this little corner of the planet had grown so big. A few years ago
> our groups and gatherings of game developers only had 5 or 10 people!
>
> * We're not as afraid of failure as we used to be. We're going out on a limb
> and making small companies and groups and trying stuff out. Check out the list
> of 'Local Game Developers' on letsmakegames.org. What fertile grounds! Many of
> these ventures will fail, but we're small and fast, and agile enough to try
> again. Which is exactly what we should do.
>
> "Fail cheap. Fail fast. Fail often. Always make new mistakes."
>   - Esther Dyson
>
> * We definately got some net positives out of the Interzone experience:
> 1. Some of us got big game company experience we might not have otherwise got
> in Perth. 2. We got a life lesson to remember (ouch!). 3. If Interzone hadn't
> come here and employed a bunch of us, we might never have all met. I think it's
> so great that some people came to Perth who might not have otherwise, and other
> people stayed in Perth who might have left, and that we all got to meet so many
> great like-minded people. To me that last point is the biggest benefit of all.
> What a great community we have now. You guys rock!
>
> * Look at all the great groups and events we have now. Let's Make Games,
> GameJam, IGDA, OneTwenty, Nullarbor, GO3, (hope I didn't forget any) not to
> mention all the new courses at the universities keeping things fresh in recent
> years. It's awesome.
>
> Anyway, I just wanted to put that out there. I hope nobody gets so
> disillusioned from this experience that they give up on game dev completely. My
> deepest condolences to those who are in a hard place because of this, but there
> are some up sides and I think those will become clear as time distances us from
> all of this.
>
> Hope you are all well, and stay awesome!
>
> Chris.
>
> -------------------
> http://mccormick.cx
>
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> To unsubscribe, e-mail: pigmi-unsubscribe@...
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>
>    

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[Joel Blackwell]

Congrats to whoever got the Interzone news onto Slashdot. My favourite
hangouts of Cgtalk and Bluesnews are carrying the news. I'm sure there
are a ridiculous amount more ;)

-Joel

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[Chris McCormick-4]

On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 01:01:39AM +0800, Joel Blackwell wrote:
> Congrats to whoever got the Interzone news onto Slashdot. My favourite  
> hangouts of Cgtalk and Bluesnews are carrying the news. I'm sure there  
> are a ridiculous amount more ;)

Good to see this getting some press. This is getting as big as EA spouse!

Chris.

-------------------
http://mccormick.cx

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[Joel Blackwell]

I've enjoying making the comment- never muck with Perth people ;)

-Joel


On 23/02/2010 1:51 PM, Chris McCormick wrote:

> On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 01:01:39AM +0800, Joel Blackwell wrote:
>> Congrats to whoever got the Interzone news onto Slashdot. My favourite
>> hangouts of Cgtalk and Bluesnews are carrying the news. I'm sure there
>> are a ridiculous amount more ;)
>
> Good to see this getting some press. This is getting as big as EA spouse!
>
> Chris.
>
> -------------------
> http://mccormick.cx
>
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> To unsubscribe, e-mail: pigmi-unsubscribe@...
> For additional commands, e-mail: pigmi-help@...
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>

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