Why we make videogames

Yesterday I was talking with Omar Cornut about what he will do after finishing Wonderboy The Dragon's Trap. Omar and I share a passion for the Sega Master System that makes us to know each other since end of 90's. And his "dreamed project" was to make this, a revamped version of his favourite game. So now that this dream is fulfilled it should be hard to answer this question... what will you do next?

I was asking myself a related question. Why we do video games? I have been working in the industry since 2003, and I never, never never had the chance to "fulfill my dreams". Ok, I have worked in the Xbox 360 - Playstation 3 - Android - iOS port of Jet Set Radio, and working with SEGA was one of my dreams. And I have to say that my 5 years voyage as A Crowd of Monsters member had its good points. Now I'm working with Locomalito, that is another dream. But none of them should be the real answer to "why I'm making games?". Let's try to answer this:

A) To make the best game in history: I began with video games with the Spectrum and so on, but I consider that I begun to understanding what is to make video games around 1994, when a spanish  video game related radio show called Game 40 hired two game developers. Then I realized that it was not so hard to make games, that all you need is to know how to code, and then I begun to study about it, to have new ideas, and try to bring this to gaming. This "way of thinking" ended when I played Ultima VII: Serpent Isle, which is, for me, the best game in history. The game is SO great that nearly ended my wish to make video games. I realized it is not perfect, but to make a game so complex like this is out of the bounds of what a person can do by its own.

B) To share a part of myself: I don't know if this happens to other developers (I presume that the answer is yes, some of them have the same needs), but I think some developers want to express themselves by videogames, like painters do the same by painting, or musicians by music. I think this is a really indie way of thinking, but when I thought this for my first time this was for expressing my pure love to the Fantasy Zone saga.

C) To win money: Well, Gamasutra is a website about "The Art & Business of making games". When you are young you can think that making something to win money is a bit selfish act, but once you need these money to pay rents and Internet and licenses and things to be able to make games, then it is like the need of oil for getting your car to move. Apart from that, there are people that really are there because they want to make money, and could be they before were in the oil industry, or in other industries, so it is not so strange.

D) To make other people happy: This is something I really like about video games. When you see someone you don't know in a event in the other part of the world enjoying a game you have worked with... it is magic. And we can extrapolate our imagination, and thinking how many people that is suffering in one or other way having at least some moment of happiness while playing your game. This moment is marvelous.

E) To express something: Could be it is not a part of yourself, like the B) point, but videogames are a good way of expressing some ideas, some thoughts, or even to let the player to test something by themselves. I think that this way of making games should be more common, and I presume that will will mark the matureness of video game developers, but at least is something that developers can do.

F) To see how the players react: This is funny a lot of times. We can do a video game thinking that the player will play the games in some way, and that they will live through the game in some way, but after seeing how they play your game you can see that they react in other ways. For that reason, it is something that can provoque some developers want to make games only to see how the people play them.

These are, I think, the reasons I know about why developers do games. If you do have others, please, share them in the comments. And thanks for reading it!