Joe Cassavaugh

Name: Joe Cassavaugh

Twitter: @PuzzlesByJoe

Gender: Male

Nationality: USA

Birth date: 17/9/1957

Title: CEO/Designer/Engineer

Company: PuzzlesByJoe (indie)

Some games that you have worked on: 

Clutter 1-5 for myself (to make a living). 

Mah Jong Quest I, II, and III (for iWin)

Recon (Logical Battleships), Rack'Em, FitTris, GapWar and a bunch of other experimental games that made very little money.

Website: www.PuzzlesByJoe.com

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

I've loved Puzzles since I was in 1st grade (1963). Been programming (for business) since 1981. In 1993 decided to switch from business to games and never looked back. I love to create a computerized/game-version of either existing puzzles or totally new concepts. 

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

Solving problems inspires me when I work for someone else. Making my own choices/decisions on a product that is "mine" inspires me on my own games. Believing that what I'm working on has potential to make money (and have 10,000s of people playing it) also inspires me. Making randomly generated puzzles also inspires me. Taking something hard-coded or hand-generated and figuring out how to ramp it in difficulty and provide variations and provide the randomly generated levels...inspires me to create games that people will want to play over and over again.

(Like Mah Jong, Solitaire, Mine Sweeper, Free-Cell, Candy Crush.)

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

It would be an exceptionally difficult brain-teaser game (possibly called A-Ha) with no instructions. (It might also be called the Cube). It would be infinitely re-playable. 

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

Two things:

1. Creating guaranteed solutions algorithm for any Mah Jong layout (including special tiles (as well as triple and quad matching mechanics)).

2. Creating a game targeted specifically to appeal to Hidden Object Game players, without being a standard Hidden Object Game itself.

In both cases, the biggest challenge was overcome through perseverance, hard work and some luck.

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

When I went indie, I picked a distribution channel where I knew I didn't have to worry about my own marketing. In that channel, I knew that I would get at least 100,000+ eyeballs downloading the game...and if I had a good enough conversion rate, I'd be ok. That was the PC Casual Download market. I knew if I created a game that met certain criteria it would get exposure on at least Big Fish Games and iWin. I also knew I could "please my audience" (The HOG crowd) and do alright there. I did just well enough to warrant a sequel...and since then I've done all sequels because that was the best way currently to guarantee ongoing success. 

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

"No one will ever buy just a collection of puzzles." - This is correct on one level and totally wrong on another. On the correct level, it opened up my eyes to all the things beyond basic game mechanic that need to be done right in order to have a successful game. On the wrong level, a lot of people that are interested in "puzzle games" - often don't care a lot about the Story, Music or even Art....if the puzzle itself is compelling enough. And with Clutter IV, I proved that at least in the casual download market, people will in fact buy "Just a collection of Puzzles".

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

To paraphrase Wesley in The Princess Bride. Working in games is difficult, anyone who tells you differently is selling something. The biggest challenge in working in games is getting paid what you're worth.

I'm Indie because I no longer wanted to be a "hired gun" for someone else. I wanted to take my own risks and create original-IP that I owned.

And that the biggest advantage of doing games. If you can create your own IP, especially digital-IP (like an original game)...then no one is making money off of your sweat. 

It's also more fun than doing business programming (even if you do work for someone else).

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

1. Start creating a game.

2. Finish creating a game (and return to step one).

In the meantime, read, read, read some more....and keep perfecting your craft (whatever that is).

It's difficult to get into the games industry right out of college. If you're a programmer or artist take any job that will let you "perfect your craft". While you're doing that, work on games in your spare time. Once you've perfected your craft, then use your talents to get a job in the industry.

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

Judgment. Create a product that appeals to a market that already exists and keep your audience in mind. Games are fundamentally entertainment (before any other criteria), so keep that in mind. You're not making a game for yourself, you're making it for them.

Start using Unity or Unreal (someone's engine that you know will be around in a few years).

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

Jesse Schell's - The Art of Game Design - A Book of Lenses. Play games you like. (To me, that is the Bible of game design).

Depends on what you want to do.

I don't consider myself "a great dev" and I don't aspire to be one. I do consider myself a fairly successful indie studio of size one, who's managed to stay in business for 5 years and I have not needed to do any 2nd or 3rd party work. My model doesn't work for everyone, but my story is an interesting one, and I'm one of the few indie game devs that's willing to share my numbers. Young developers can definitely learn quite a bit from knowing the details of my story.

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

Would like to see the monopoly that is the App Store broken up. Don't think it will ever happen, but it is the biggest thing that prevents mobile games from finding an audience. I don't really understand why it's tolerated.

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

It's not quite a story, it's my mantra and it goes like this...

...Working for myself, I still have good days and bad days. But the absolute worst day I've ever had working for myself is still slightly better than the best day I've ever had working for someone else.

Here's the shortest funny story I know about being in the games business - 

1. The stupidest thing I ever did, was go indie and make the first Clutter game.

2. The smartest thing I ever did, was to decide to do the sequel to that game.

Nathalie Lawhead

Name: Nathalie Lawhead

Twitter: @alienmelon

Gender: Female

Nationality: USA / Slovenia 

Birth date: 20/10/1983

Title: Indie

Company: Tetrageddon Games

Some games that you have worked on: 

Tetrageddon Games

Website: www.tetrageddon.com

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

I think I always had it in me. I started as a net-artist in the late 90's. Traditional art wasn't enough for me, and I basically grew up behind a computer, so tinkering with interactivity sort of happened naturally. I was absolutely fascinated by all the avenues of creative exploration computers, and later internet, opened up for artists. Things could move, react, act, and people could experience my art on a deeper more profound level. It's like creating world's, or alternate realities.

The way I saw it, the internet made it possible for artists to really be in charge of their work. Anyone could see it, and museums or galleries where no longer in charge of an artist's success.

Eventually people started calling what I did "games". At first I hated the label because it also enabled a lot of misunderstandings. If you say "game" then people expect a clear goal, mission, agenda. Players would often become confused, or outraged, because "What am I supposed to do? This is not a game!". Eventually I decided not to fight the label, and see what contributions I can make to "games". We're all making this together. It's a collective effort.

Thanks to this (our collective experimenting, and pushing the label), today I think people are a lot more liberal in what they expect from a game. This "boom" in experimental is what I find totally exciting about games today. People are wiling to experiment and create new labels.

So I'm totally thrilled to call myself a "game developer".

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

I think you can get inspired by the weirdest things. Usually I get a lot of inspiration by browsing the crappy places of the internet (no need for names), but lately I've been getting it from places like itch.io, gamejolt, or fun collections like http://harmonyzone.org/frog.html. Twitter's #screenshotsaturday has become one of my happy places. I love seeing what other devs are doing. Just to name a couple... I totally love Strangethink's generative art or ceMelusine's stuff.

I started out being pretty isolated (not really part of the meatspace indie community) then I started going to events because my work was being showcased there. Now I can't believe that I haven't done that before. There's so much amazing stuff, and so many amazing creative developers. Events like IndieCade, Fantastic Arcade, or Glitch City have been a treasure trove of inspiration for me. You might not think so (if you're like me), but it does make a big difference to actually physically meet other developers.

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

Wow... I've thought of this often, but come up with something new everytime.

I would love to make a multiplayer FPS that's all about the bugs. Like the way you successfully play it is to try to get it to glitch out. Like fall through the floor, or rocket into the sky because you collided with something at the wrong angle.

I totally love the "bad" ideas. I had one before that would be called "The Crucifier" and you would play Jesus, as acted by Charlton Heston, armed with a nailgun and witty wiseguy one-liners. It would be horrible (in a good way), and all about meaningless over-the-top gore + shooting... There's also "Dude Simulator" which would be all about being a dude. You know, like brushing your teeth or walking around at home in underwear... I have notebooks full of ideas in the event something like this ever happens.

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

I've tried working in the game industry before. Suffice it to say, it wasn't good. I understand that other people may have good experiences, but I got one of the bad ones. Now I think it served the wonderful purpose to kick my ass into going out and doing my own thing.

I think that's one of my takeaways from that experience. Every creative industry has its companies that thrive on draining desperate creative people. You see this with visual effects. Games are no exception. This is no reason to quit on dreams, but incentive to go out and pursue it on your own terms.

Looking back I see that I could be so much further along if I would have just invested all that time, commitment, and passion into my own work. It's what I'm doing now, and I totally encourage other people to do the same. The tools are there, the platforms to get funding are there, it couldn't be a better time.

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

Passion is one of the big ones. If you're working on something and the ideas keep coming, and you'd rather work than sleep, and just can't stop, then I think it's definitely going to succeed. If you make something you love, I think other people will love playing it.

Also, if there's an idea you just can't put down, and you love playing what you make. I think you end up with something great.

I love the projects that keep me laughing all through production. It's really something special when you just can't quit working on it.

But, in the end, I think success is a very relative term. It means different things to different people.

I don't think you can make a good game if you set out to make a game for the sake of success.

Success can be a trap. You'll sacrifice potentially amazing ideas for the sake of some tired formula that everyone else is using. It's really best not to bring that into the picture.

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

Don't take the comments too seriously.

You need to have a concrete idea of what you want to make, and how you want it to turn out, then stick to it. People (more so online) are very quick to criticize. It can get VERY depressing. Sifting through that information (good criticism from bad) without letting it "kill" the passion/vision you have for your project is a skill in itself. Especially if you're making something new. I used to take what people said about my work to heart. If you're a perfectionist it can take a lot of practice not to do that.

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

The advantage is that you can completely express yourself. Games are sort of like the crossroads medium where all arts come together to make something. You can express yourself through music, and sound, and design the interactivity, and the artwork. It's very 100%. I absolutely love every aspect of development.

I'm currently working alone. I make everything on my own (music, art, programming, marketing, PR, etc...), which is fun, but can get incredibly lonely. It can seem a downside. To do this you do sacrifice your personal life, but seeing people play it when you're done is what makes it so amazing. My games are about humor, so when I see people laughing and "getting" the jokes, it's the best feeling in the world. I wouldn't trade that in for anything.

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

Just start making games. There's no one place to start. You can read all you want, and study about it all you want, but the best way is just to start making one. It doesn't have to be a good game, or playable, but once you get into it it sort of unfolds naturally. Get feedback from friends, keep tinkering, eventually you get better at it. It's also important to see what other indies are doing (like on itch.io or follow some devs on Twitter). This gives you a sense of what you can do.

I notice a lot of beginners often try to tackle the "epic" ideas first. It's not good to start with something huge, or that's "just like your favorite AAA game". For the beginning, it's best to start with something personal, and small. It's a great self-rewarding feeling to get your finished game out there, so it's important not to make it so complicated that you never finish it.

A great place to start would be to participate in gamejams.

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

All of them. You have to get good at everything. For example, music, sound, programming, art, and design. Then there is also marketing, and PR. It's good to understand your limitations, then build off that.

Not everyone is a great artist, so work with pixel art, or some retro style.

On the other hand, not everyone is great with programming, so focus on art and keep the interactivity simple.

If you keep pushing yourself then you eventually get good at what you are weak at.

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

Nose-dive into http://itch.io/ and just get lost there. Also http://wip.warpdoor.com/ and http://killscreendaily.com/ are great starting points.

For those that are interested, I keep a youtube playlist of gamedev related talks: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXFlbiQkdDD1b3yOcFbx33lH0TfgCOFpx

Sort of my personal collection. Anything I find of interest, that helps me become a better dev, I put there.

It's also totally worth it to check out the GDC Vault!

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

More tolerance. I wish we could all just get along.

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

I have this game called FROGGY (It's Hungry) http://froggy.alienmelon.com/ and people constantly think it is, or has something to do with, Frog Fractions 2. There have been a couple conspiracies about that (people speculating on forums about odd details in the game, "the honeypot", etc...). I ended up making this website about how it's NOT Frog Fractions 2 http://froggy.alienmelon.com/thetruth/ which didn't help.

I've had a lot of fun watching peoples confusion.

Had to hold myself back from messing with them too much. :)

Adriaan de Jongh

Name: Adriaan de Jongh

Twitter: @AdriaandeJongh

Gender: Male

Nationality: Netherlands

Birth date: 06/11/1990

Title: Game Designer

Company: Indie

Some games that you have worked on: 

Fingle

Bounden

Friendstrap

Website: www.adriaandejongh.com

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

Games did. I loved playing games when I was young, and a friend of mine told me about people studying Game Design & Development at the Utrecht School of the Arts in the Netherlands. When I heard about that, I casually decided that I wanted to make games. Well, here I am, 11 years later :)

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

Play and playfulness and interactions in real life. I'm especially inspired by the works of Bernie DeKoven - you should look him up and read his books. Also read the New Games book, and its sequel More New Games.

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

I honestly wouldn't make any different game that I am working on right now! Games that explore social interactions between me and my friends. Games that deepen the bond between me and my friends. Most of my friends are non-gamers, so that drives me away from the usual themes in games.

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

Bounden was extremely challenging to make. I was the project's leading visionaire as game designer, producer for 11 people, business guy to travel around the world talking to Apple and Google, part-time marketing, and part-time developer. I overcame it by working 16 hours a day! It was a huge adrenaline rush all the way through. It was super tough, and at the same time the most energetic thing I've done in my life - mainly because the Dutch National Ballet is a hugely inspiring group of people and working together with them blew my mind every single time of working with the choreographer.

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

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6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

"Why?" How often do we have people around us that ask this simple question, over and over again? How thoroughly did you think things through? Maybe there ARE alternatives! Maybe you do NOT know everything! 

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

Making games can be as fun as playing them, and being able to do that every day is a blessing. But being sustainable making games is very hard, especially being by yourself.

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

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9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

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10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

- Subscribe to KillScreen's Playlist and buy and play all the games on there.

- Read philosophy, not game design.

- Play all sorts of games, but also be critical and talk about them with people around you.

- But most of all, and this teaches you more than any of the above: make your own games / stories / experiences, playtest them, and see how they work.

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

More playfulness.

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

The craziest story that our games brought me was a story about Fingle. My lawyer calles his new born child the "Fingle baby", because Fingle had a larger effect for him and his wife than only causing their hands to rub each other ;) ;) ;)

William Pugh

Name: William Pugh

Twitter: @HonestWilliam

Gender: Male

Nationality: British

Birth date: 02/03/1994

Title: Mr.

Company: Indie

Some games that you have worked on: 

The Stanley Parable

Bird Ball

The Stanley Parable: Demo

Bird Ball: HD

Need for Speed 2: Speed Demon (not accredited)

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

I wouldn't say I had a 'motivation'. It was something I fell into accidentally after making Source Engine maps for fun for 5 years. I'd always liked games, my first time I remember properly playing a game was in a hospital when I was pretty young. They had Mario 64, and later that Christmas my parents bought me a Super Nintendo. I suppose I've played games ever since? I'd always enjoyed being creative, so I suppose pairing the two was something that was just naturally always going to happen.

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

Surprising people? Making people laugh? Finding ways to do these things whilst also expressing or talking about something that I'd otherwise feel uncomfortable or have a hard time expressing via language? We both know this is a bit of a twee question that's not going to have a particularly useful answer, so let's move on!!

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

I think that game would be awful and boring. I think hard limitations create some of the most interesting experiences out there. For instance Stanley Parable had to be built on a source engine, with no NPCs and no complex custom models. If we didn't have those limitations we might have never finished the game! Basically I don't know if I'd want to work on a game with no limitations, because I think it'd potentially prove to be the least interesting work that I'd do?

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

I think the first hurdle was just sticking to working on Stanley for the two years. But then again I was working with Davey 50/50 on it, so out of sheer politeness I could never have really quit.

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

I have no useful answer to this! Work with people you think are clever than yourself!

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

The scale on this is wrong. If you want to provide a proper sense of scale you need to have stark contrast between the big and the small.

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

For me the big downside is how much time I spend alone in a room looking at a computer monitor. The upside is almost everything else.

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

Severely under-scope your projects. Think of your craft as an art form (as it very likely is). Model yourself as a "t-shaped model employee" (google this). Keep your team small and diverse. Do what you enjoy. Do what people haven't done before.

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

The ability to learn? The ability to work with others? There's no such thing as a "field" or a "position" for me, this scene is too amalgamated for us to impose any proper career boundaries upon it.

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

Become culturally educated if you have the time and money! Read great works of fiction, go to the theater, go to art galleries and watch good films. Consume this content not only for enjoyment, but also use your imagination and think about how these great deliberate pieces of art could inform your alien process of game design. If you let established game genres be your starting point, I think your final product won't fall far from the tree.

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

Everybody could be more open about everything and the sexist and exclusionary undertones should go away. We should also dress better - stop wearing games t-shirts you awful parodies of yourselves.

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

When I was 20 I managed to sneak into The Wild Rumpus party at GDC in a suitcase rolled in by Zoe Quinn.