Thoughts To Live By

Before I make a game, hire someone, work for someone, design something (or have someone design something)… before I task someone with coding something or illustrating something I need the team to know the kind of games we make, why, and of course how.

This post is about one way I communicate all of that to everyone at my studios. Not with lecture, but with posters on the walls that describe a philosophy and a set of values. The games benefit, teams benefit, and it will even help create the kind of culture I, at least, want to create.

DEVELOPMENT THOUGHTS

HEALTH FAMILY WORK

Maybe the most important thing I’m going to say here is this – we no longer live in a world where people work until they drop, out of love for what they’re doing, commitment to quality or because they’re forced to by management that has screwed up.

The three things on this poster are critical to a good life – not sufficient, but necessary, not a guarantee, but a condition. You can put the first two – health and family -- in either order (though I put health first because, if you’re not taking care of yourself, can you really take care of anyone else?). The important thing is that work always comes last.

ONE NEW THING

Games are not a solved problem in the sense that movies and books are. We’re nowhere near what we can and should be.

That being the case, EVERY game – even a My Little Pony game - should have one thing (MAYBE two...) that no gamer has ever seen or done before.

ASK QUESTIONS – DON’T ANSWER THEM

If you want to tell people what you think, linear media are for you. Let users interpret what you say and agree or disagree. In a game, we can ask players how THEY feel and let them answer through their unique play choices.

Disney Epic Mickey – which is, incredibly, coming back 14 years after we originally shipped – asked several questions, the most important of which was is it more important to be alone but powerful or weak with friends to help?

Deus Ex – still going strong 24 years after its ship date - asked a bunch of questions, too, but that game’s most important ones were what would the world be like if everything was shades of grey? And what was the right future for humanity?

I wish I could tell you the questions my current game-in-progress is going to ask players to ponder, but rest assured they’re good ones!

The key is that WE don’t answer the questions. Players do. No one will ever know what I think is “right.” Each player answers that for themselves.

In DX players still argue about what the “right” future is for humankind. They still argue about the "right" playstyle in Epic Mickey.

Choice isn’t just about playstyle and in-game effects – it’s about what you, as a human sitting in front a screen, feel about what the game is asking you. It’s what we do that no other medium in human history has ever done.

HONOR COMMANDMENTS

Someone has to own what I call the “Creative Box” – the constraints within which everyone works, the ideas that drive the player experience. Talking about the Creative Box in any detail has to wait for another time. Every game has its own. But there’s a core layer that, for me, transcends an individual game. There are things every game I work on is going to do.

Here are some example commandments. Someday I’ll dive into more detail on each of these, but not right now. This is already too long!

SET PRIORITIES AND QUALITY BARS (KNOW WHERE TO SETTLE)

For my projects I set clear high-level goals and break them down into four categories. When you think about scoping, as you inevitably must, this approach tells you what’s scopable and what’s not. Like a newspaper article, when you run out of room, you cut from the bottom!

AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, NOT AS LITTLE AS YOU HAVE TO

There are teams that believe it’s enough to say, “we’ve done what we had to, no more no less – we hit expectations. That's good enough” Great games aren’t made that way.

We want to approach development with an eye toward doing as much as we can. Seems obvious, but I’ve seen teams do the opposite of obvious and it doesn’t go well.

NOT MVP – MPG

I hate the Minimum Viable Product concept.

"Minimum” shows contempt for players – they’ll settle for something. “Viable” says it isn’t as good as it could or should be. “Product” says we make widgets.

I prefer Maximum Possible Game.

“Maximum” because we want to give players as much as we can. “Possible” because we strive for the highest level of quality. “Game” because we make games – not widgets.

WE’LL SHOW THEM!

Find something frustrating in another game or games? The thing that has you yelling “why did they DO that?” Find something you know you can and MUST do better. Then fight for a great improvement. My favorite motivator.

LEADERS – BE THE STUPIDEST PERSON IN THE ROOM, BUT…

Never be the smartest person on your team. Hire people better than you are. Leave them as much space as you can to contribute to the Commandments. Let them own execution.

Your job is to contribute and guide, but most important is to safeguard the vision by defining and enforcing the commandments and questions.

That said, make sure you have one more vote than everyone else on the team, combined. You’re ultimately responsible and have to have the final word. And THAT said, if you ever have to use that vote, it’s your failure, not your team’s.

TELL YOUR LEAD THEY’RE FULL OF IT AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK

If you’re a member of a team, rather than a leader of one, be sure to tell your lead they’re full of it at least once a week. The lowliest newb on your team should be able to tell the Creative Director when they’re doing something stupid.

Because they do. And because good leaders need to be comfortable shooting down bad ideas no matter where they come from. Even their own.

Open, honest, consequence-free communication is key to success.

DESIGN THOUGHTS

This one’s simple. In a “player powered” game like the ones we make at OtherSided and the ones I’ve made before, it’s our job to put players front and center. THEY’RE the stars of the show, not us.

If you’re showing how clever and creative YOU are, you’ve failed. Our games are about letting players show how clever and creative THEY are, not us.

IMMERSE PLAYERS IN THE GAME WORLD

This one’s simple – don’t throw too much game-iness at players... Build UI and metagame elements into the gameworld itself. Don’t insert a bunch of cutscenes.

Never remind players they’re just playing a game. You want them thinking it’s THEM in the world you’ve created, responding to things – causing things – that make sense to them in the context of your world.

There’s a reason I work in a genre called IMMERSIVE simulation.

AIMLESS WANDERING IS THE ENEMY OF FUN

Lots of people disagree with me, believing freeform exploration, without goals or explicit direction, is fun. I don’t buy that. I believe the important thing is giving players space to solve problems, not wander.

I even believe in telling people what to do – they always have a goal, a “what,” and then the team gets out of the way to allow them to solve the problems and overcome problems and  challenges. ”HOW is fun," for me. ”WHAT is not."

“Show the goal” and then present people with the challenge of “accomplishing it.” The more ways there are to “get there” the better.

“BECAUSE GAME X DOES IT THAT WAY” IS ALMOST NEVER THE RIGHT ANSWER

“Because Game X does it” a certain way is a danger area, one to be navigated carefully.

Never borrow when you’re thinking about your One New Thing. Avoid borrowing when you’re talking about beating the state of the art. Borrowing is only okay when you're just matching the state of the art and when thinking about the nice-to-have features.

“BECAUSE IT’S A GAME” IS NEVER THE RIGHT ANSWER

”Because it’s a game and players will buy it” is a cop-out. It says players will lower their standards and accept things that are arbitrary and familiar over things that are logical and right for your immersive world. It’s insulting to players.

LET BELIEVABILITY BE YOUR GUIDE

This one’s a bit controversial and it’s easy for me to overstate.

I don’t want to make REALISTIC games. I DO want to make BELIEVABLE ones. There are lots of ways to do that (notably internal logic and learnability) but one of the most powerful is to find real-world analogues for the things you include in your game.

Players love it when you can say things are based in reality or they can apply real-world logic to a game moment. I really can’t talk about my current project, but I’ll say it’s ambitious and kind of out there. We’re including things that seem fantastic. And they are. But even the most fantastic thing can be tied to real world events or research. Building on a foundation of reality is a Good Thing.

PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES, NOT PUZZLES

At my studios, you’re not allowed to say the word "puzzle."

In my world, a “puzzle” is when a designer creates a situation with one solution. The player’s role is to “beat” the designer by figuring that solution out.

In Imm Sims, we want players to encounter PROBLEMS and CHALLENGES, the idea being that these things can be overcome “however” players want.

NOT “PLAYERS MUST,” BUT “PLAYERS CAN”

As soon as you say “Players Must” or “Players have to” all I hear after that is Blah Blah Blah.

In a player powered game, we give players options – things they CAN do. That’s it.

TELL PLAYERS “WHAT,” NOT “HOW”

I kind of already talked about this, but it’s so important I’m going to talk about it again.

People think games of Choice and Consequence (and RECOVERY – another topic) are completely freeform. They’re not.

It’s fine, even necessary to tell players WHAT to do – at the mission level and even minute-to-minute.

The key is never to tell them HOW to do it. That belongs to each player, playing the way they want, telling the game what kind of experience they want to have.

THERE’S ALWAYS ANOTHER WAY

We want players to experiment, to try new things, to find their own fun. If shooting is too hard, try sneaking. If sneaking is too hard, try talking. If that’s too hard, try something else. There’s always another way to solve the problem.

“DAMN. I WANT BOTH OF THOSE THINGS, BUT CAN ONLY HAVE ONE!”

At the simplest level one important kind of choice for players is to confront them with the cliche of two people hanging over a vat of acid. You can only save one. Tough choice.

My games are ABOUT tough choices – not random ones or easy ones, but tough ones that reveal what’s important to each PLAYER. This kind of binary thing is rudimentary, but it’s an easy way to internalize the idea of choice, so it makes this list.

GIVE PLAYERS A “WHY”

Once you've forced them to make a tough choice, it isn’t enough to say “players will do this because we tell them to.” Or “players will do this because there’s nothing else TO do.”

Give players MEANINGFUL goals. Tell players WHY what they’re doing is important in the context of the world you’ve created. Give them a reason to care, narratively or in terms of "reality."

NEVER JUDGE PLAYERS

Where choices are concerned the words ”Right” and “Wrong” are not allowed. Players define that for themselves.

They decide what’s right and wrong based on their REAL-WORLD belief system, not on what’s best for their in-game character.

Best of all is when players argue amongst themselves about what THEY think is right and wrong. “How could you think X was the right thing to do there?” is music to our ears.

PLAYERS SURPRISE THEMSELVES AND US

One of the greatest moments in player powered games is when players come up with a solution to a problem they can’t believe worked – they understand WHY it worked, since the world is built around a learnable logic system – but the feeling of pride and amazement at doing something unprecedented is huge.

Even greater is when players do something the DEVELOPER didn’t know was possible. There are countless examples in my earlier games. This is cool beyond words.

ENDGAME

LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO WORK ON MEDIOCRE GAMES

No one believes me, but life and career go by faster than you think they will.

Assuming you survive longer than the average game developer before burnout sets in, your entire career will be judged on the basis of very few shipped games.

You don’t want to look back and see a string of badness or mediocrity.

Making games is too hard for that.

THE GOAL: GAME OF THE YEAR

Let’s be clear – you’ll probably fail if you try to make a game of the year contender, but if you’re not at least trying, you’re letting yourself and everyone on your team down. Game development is too painful for that.

Mediocrity, or worse, to make some money or to hit a deadline, isn't a worthy goal. Know what success looks like and do everything in your power to achieve it.

People say awards don't matter. Until they win some. It’s cool winning game of the year awards. Why would you ever shoot for less?

MAKE ART (AND SOME MONEY)

Yes, you want to make money. You HAVE to make money. But making money for someone else isn’t the ONLY goal.

We’re creating a new art form with every game we release. That opportunity comes along once or twice a century. Relish the opportunity to play a part in that.

SEQUEL ENDGAME

PLAYSTYLE MATTERS

At OtherSide, we say “player powered.” Personally, I say “playstyle matters.” How you play the game determines what you experience.

This is the two-word summary of everything I do - everything I ever want to do.

Through playstyle - shoot, sneak, talk, paint, erase, and others I’ll be exploring in my new game - players create their own personal narrative.

EVERY PLAYER A STORYTELLER

If we appropriately empower players (which is one of our most important jobs) we can give them a gift no other medium can offer – we can make them all storytellers. That’s perhaps the most beautiful thing about games.

People are storytelling animals. Have been since we climbed out of the trees. Now, for the first time, it isn’t a storyteller talking AT us, it’s all of us talking TOGETHER.

EVERY PLAYER: A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

At the end of the day, the most important thing – THE most important thing – is that every player craft their own, unique experience, their own PERSONAL story, through the choices they make.

If two players talk about an encounter, a mission, or a game and describe the same thing, that’s a developer failure at least in my Immersive Simulation world.

THE LAST ENDGAME

DOES IT HAVE TO BE “FUN?”

I do NOT want to get into this in any detail, but I DEFY anyone to give me a measurable (which is to say, USEFUL) definition of the word “Fun.”

Also, name another medium that is defined by a single characteristic. So why must games be? The ideas I've written about today give us something deeper, more tangible, and more worthy than an undefinable word. If you say a game is “fun” expect to be asked “what do you mean by that.” I guarantee your answer won’t line up with mine or that other woman or that other guy. Hence the uselessness of the word. (Let the argument begin!)

KNOW WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

These thoughts are great (well, I think they are), but they all add up to one thing: They’re a schema for knowing what success looks like.

Without clear, success criteria that you understand, your team understands, even your funding and publishing partners understand, you're doomed.

Simple as that. Here, I've defined what success looks like to me. What does it look like to you?

ASPIRATION TRUMPS SUCCESS

Success isn't guaranteed, even with a well-understood and communicated definition.

Everything I’ve talked about today represents an aspiration. Something to shoot for. Something that makes all the pain and anguish of game development worthwhile.

What we do is amazing and special. We’ve changed the world. And I don’t think we’re done yet. I don’t know about you, but I want to be a part of that. Or I want to die trying.

BE IRRATIONALLY OBSESSED

Once you've decided you want to join the ranks of world-changers, you have something to shoot for.

Now it's time to make it happen - or try. For that you need to be tough. You need to fight for what you believe in. Fight with bosses and partners. Maybe fight with your team. Maybe even with yourself at times.

In other words, you need to be irrationally obsessed or the doubters will grind you down.

FAIL GLORIOUSLY

And since odds are you’re likely to fall short in some areas – maybe even most – I like to tell people that, should I ever have a tombstone, I want it to read this:

“He failed gloriously.”

It’s better to do that than to succeed in mediocrity.

FIND YOUR OWN JOY

You don’t have to buy into my ideas. It isn’t for me to tell developers what games to make or players what games to play.

For me, giving players the joy of creativity is paramount. For you it may be giving them a chance to show off skill in getting past a fight or a puzzle.

For me, there's joy in brainstorming with a team or talking to developers and students about the kind of stuff I’ve written about here today. For you it might be manipulating a spreadsheet or selling a gazillion copies.

My argument is that you should have your OWN ideas about what you do, how you do it and why you do it. There are many joys of game-making and game-playing. Be sure to define yours.

So tell me – what do YOU stand for? What do YOUR posters look like?

Know that and you’ll be happier, your teams will be more effective, you’ll be better able to define success, and you’re more likely to achieve success as you define it.