Learning From A Pro
On Wednesday the 17th of May 2017, my Level 3 Media Studies class had the opportunity to get an interview with Jonathan Cummings. Jonathan is an independent indie game developer, which means that he both self-finances the games he creates with no support from big corporations and the games all come from his own creativity and his original ideas.
It was pretty nerve-wracking to be interviewing a real game developer (one that created the virtual reality game Protonwar no less) but after we settled into the interview my interest in the production of gaming and a deeper appreciation for game developers continued to grow.
It was cool, I really like how passion and creativity is the main driving force behind developing a game and not the technology, nor game codes or even great computer skills, although he did say that learning some of these could be helpful it isn't what really matters when creating your own game. It's nice to know that there are many occupations that serve as a creative outlet.
With his game Protonwar, Jonathan Cummings was saying that staying motivated is a personal challenge that creators might come across. This would be a good thing to keep in mind when creating a game because if the creator is bored then the audience is bored (it makes sense). So maybe try to keep a cool head when creating a game, as passion flowing in the brain is good but an overload of excitement will get old fast. It is also worth while noting that when you make games you should not expect a lot of money because financially in this industry you might just only have creativity and a will to finish the game supporting you as creating a game does not appear to be a path for materialistic gains.
Other challenges we also talked about were the challenges/barriers he had with creating the game and although I should have expected it (I was still surprised) one of the challenges when creating a game was actually marketing. Now that I think about it the competition and that the amount of indie games out there is quite numerous it would be hard getting noticed and standing out. As larger companies have marketing teams that specialise in advertising games, indie gamers in comparison usually do their own marketing but with the competition being as high as it is and the challenge of creating a unique and compelling game is hard enough, most indie game developers focus on completing the game and then advertise it.
Cummings also confirmed for us that gaming can indeed assist in learning/education. Skills like problem solving, memorisation and an improved reaction time are gained through gaming and so the consumer would actually be picking up new skills while they play and not wasting time despite common belief (he did say his own problem solving skills improved through gaming LOL).
I also learnt that it is important to constantly exercise or have some method available to relieve stress as when working in the gaming industry many creative developers suffer from stress and some will suffer from depression. With irregular sleep hours and constantly doing individual work Jonathan expresses how it is important to always talk about your problems and not keep it bottled up because it might get worse.
Being the creator of your own game honestly appears to be quite fun even if you have to deal with a lot of stress and maybe even struggle with finances. From what I learnt from Jonathan being an indie game developer has it’s ups and downs but then again everything does and it also seems like a great experience. I mean being able to actually bring figments of your own imagination to life inside the gaming world is pretty amazing. Although the stress of being able to sell your game to gain some income and with the anxious mindset of finishing the game and getting people to play isn't one that many people can handle. However, although there are risks with this lifestyle there is no sense in turning away from doing what you enjoy. If you are able to enjoy creating a game to the fullest then the risks will either seem not that bad or they will be seen as necessary to develop an awesome game. I admire indie game creators for continuing to create games just because they simply love doing it and their commitment to their work is 100% or else their game wouldn't fly.
This is a good lesson to keep in mind as not all careers and/or educational pathways solely rely on academics and that although the possibilities are slim there are opportunities in a more creative industry available, you don’t always need amazing grades to succeed just strong passion and a goal for what you want to achieve.
It was a good interview and I learnt a lot that I am determined to integrate into my game. Although I was nervous for the first interview I actually look forward to gaining more expertise/knowledge about developing a game and the gaming world in the next interview. So a big Meitaki Maata to Jonathan Cummings from me in the Cook Islands for giving us some of your time and talking with us and to make us smarter with your knowledge #appreciateit.
P.S: I am defs looking forward to picking your brain during the next one (I wanna try asking questions that put you on the spot now :D)
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