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"For the lone game programmer that day has already arrived. Twice." If one sees 'the art of lone game programming' as a genre then this might be true. One suc

by dirkk0 12y ago

"For the lone game programmer that day has already arrived. Twice." If one sees 'the art of lone game programming' as a genre then this might be true. One successful lonely game programmer leads to a gold rush of many lonely game programmers digging the iKlondike for gold. But I am pretty sure that there is always room for the brilliant idea that no one can grasp when you pitch it. I personally would have talked Notch out of the idea for Minecraft with the usual arguments (blocky graphics, not state-of-the-art, there's no real goal, etc pp). And when I played it, I was like - omg, I could have done that. There always will be a lonely (game) programmer doing something extraordinary that you didn't think of in the first place or even despised. And then there is the next Notch, and I will again say - omg, not again. And some of us have big ideas and don't dare to join the art of lonely game programming.

_pius 12y ago
But I am pretty sure that there is always room for the brilliant idea that no one can grasp when you pitch it. You're right, but I don't think the author would claim otherwise. The article is not about the possibility of breakout success, but about lone, reasonably skilled game developers being able to make a consistent living. Not the same thing.
- dirkk0 12y ago
  I see, and I agree, you have a point. I still stand to what I wrote , because I think it is important to stress that it is important to follow your ideas, even if their odds might be low. Being downvoted is somewhat ironical on a meta level.
sago 12y ago
Except that the myth of the one-idea-making-a-fortune is mostly that. A myth. Minecraft, as incredible as it was, wasn't the only game of its kind. People routinely underestimate the role of luck in these things. There is room for the one great idea. But the point is that the minimum production values on the platforms that sell that idea has risen beyond one person now. As it did in the 16-bit era in the late 80s and early 90s. I thought it was interesting that Monument Valley made it into the list at the end. Made by a graphic design agency, not a bedroom coder.
- debacle 12y ago
  Have you played any of the similar pre-Minecraft games? They are all almost universally completely different from Minecraft - interacting with the voxel environment is not the main point of the game. Minecraft drew heavily from other games, yes, but it was also revolutionary and one of the first games to have such an open development cycle. There is a reason that such a poorly designed and buggy game is arguably the biggest indie franchise of all time.
  - sago 12y ago
    Yes. They are not 'almost universally completely different'. There are elements in Minecraft (which didn't originate those elements) which are not in them, certainly. Minecraft brought a bunch of cool things together, I agree. And it was compelling enough to go places. But the idea that this was a thunderbolt of inspiration that hit notch with the best idea ever that then changed the world is just fantasy. Post-hoc rationalization is humanity's only superpower.
    - debacle 12y ago
      I don't know if anyone with any knowledge would argue that. Minecraft Alpha was decidedly dull. I think, more than anything else, the public development cycle was a huge part of Minecraft's success. I also wonder how much piracy contributed. I know I pirated the game before I bought it.
    - iwince 12y ago
      >> But the idea that this was a thunderbolt of inspiration that hit notch with the best idea ever that then changed the world is just fantasy. It was a series of thunderbolts and Notch and the whole Mojang gang are freaking geniuses in my opinion.
- archagon 12y ago
  I disagree. There are no "minimum production values" if your game is good enough. A ton of popular indie games today (Hotline Miami, Risk of Rain, Gunpoint, Valdis Story, Terraria, many of Vlambeer's games...) are still made with pixel art using GameMaker, for example. Minecraft succeeded not because it was one out of a hundred block-based games that got lucky, but because it had a perfect mix of simplicity (slick interface and controls), immediacy (play in your browser), wonder (explore forever in any direction), and persistance. I guess you could point to Infiniminer before it, but if you've ever played it, you'll know that it was slow and clunky in a 90's sim-game kind of way.

by dirkk0 12y ago

_pius 12y ago

But I am pretty sure that there is always room for the brilliant idea that no one can grasp when you pitch it. You're right, but I don't think the author would claim otherwise. The article is not about the possibility of breakout success, but about lone, reasonably skilled game developers being able to make a consistent living. Not the same thing.

dirkk0 12y ago
I see, and I agree, you have a point. I still stand to what I wrote , because I think it is important to stress that it is important to follow your ideas, even if their odds might be low. Being downvoted is somewhat ironical on a meta level.

sago 12y ago

Except that the myth of the one-idea-making-a-fortune is mostly that. A myth. Minecraft, as incredible as it was, wasn't the only game of its kind. People routinely underestimate the role of luck in these things. There is room for the one great idea. But the point is that the minimum production values on the platforms that sell that idea has risen beyond one person now. As it did in the 16-bit era in the late 80s and early 90s. I thought it was interesting that Monument Valley made it into the list at the end. Made by a graphic design agency, not a bedroom coder.

debacle 12y ago
Have you played any of the similar pre-Minecraft games? They are all almost universally completely different from Minecraft - interacting with the voxel environment is not the main point of the game. Minecraft drew heavily from other games, yes, but it was also revolutionary and one of the first games to have such an open development cycle. There is a reason that such a poorly designed and buggy game is arguably the biggest indie franchise of all time.
- sago 12y ago
  Yes. They are not 'almost universally completely different'. There are elements in Minecraft (which didn't originate those elements) which are not in them, certainly. Minecraft brought a bunch of cool things together, I agree. And it was compelling enough to go places. But the idea that this was a thunderbolt of inspiration that hit notch with the best idea ever that then changed the world is just fantasy. Post-hoc rationalization is humanity's only superpower.
  - debacle 12y ago
    I don't know if anyone with any knowledge would argue that. Minecraft Alpha was decidedly dull. I think, more than anything else, the public development cycle was a huge part of Minecraft's success. I also wonder how much piracy contributed. I know I pirated the game before I bought it.
  - iwince 12y ago
    >> But the idea that this was a thunderbolt of inspiration that hit notch with the best idea ever that then changed the world is just fantasy. It was a series of thunderbolts and Notch and the whole Mojang gang are freaking geniuses in my opinion.
archagon 12y ago
I disagree. There are no "minimum production values" if your game is good enough. A ton of popular indie games today (Hotline Miami, Risk of Rain, Gunpoint, Valdis Story, Terraria, many of Vlambeer's games...) are still made with pixel art using GameMaker, for example. Minecraft succeeded not because it was one out of a hundred block-based games that got lucky, but because it had a perfect mix of simplicity (slick interface and controls), immediacy (play in your browser), wonder (explore forever in any direction), and persistance. I guess you could point to Infiniminer before it, but if you've ever played it, you'll know that it was slow and clunky in a 90's sim-game kind of way.