Right now it’s Friday afternoon and I’m home. I took the day off because of some PixelJump business which ended up getting pushed back, but it’s just as well, since I really need the time off.
This past week has been hell. My doctors told me that sleep depravation might be the root of my irritability, indecisiveness, and forgetfulness. I’ve been ordered to get more sleep every night; my body can’t seem to function of three hours anymore it seems. But for the most part, I’ve been staying up till six or seven in the morning to work on the new SVA Computer Art Department website (of which I’m the webmaster) and then nap for an hour before going right back to work. After many, many months of delays, I was given the go ahead to redo the whole thing, and of course, there were unforeseen complications which had me racing against time. Thankfully, it’s finished, and most people seem to really dig it. Check it out here.
So by yesterday, when it came time to teach my class, I was totally shot. It didn’t go so well, at least not compared to last week’s; I was exhausted and completely out of it to (plus my visit to Nintendo just two hours prior didn’t help), and I think it showed. Also, I wasn’t as prepared as I had hoped (thanks, once again, to my hellish schedule this week), so I ended up going all over the map. I really hope my students don’t hate me…
Though there is a bright side. At least now I know that I have some students that are very serious about being in game design (which come to think of it, makes my lackluster performance even worse). They were eager to ask me questions and hear my opinions during the break and after class. This of course lead to me going into my thoughts and feelings about the New York game development community in general.
Which of course, is that it’s abysmal. There’s absolutely no reason why video games shouldn’t be just as thriving here as it is in San Fran or Austin or even Boise. Granted we have publishers here, such as Rockstar and Acclaim (and that’s pretty much it, sadly), but where’s the development? Those who are making games is anemic in numbers since most people that are interested are simply going where the action is.
And why can’t it be here? We really need a community in every sense of the word, so designers and developers of every level can support each other, and most importantly, pass vital information along to those who need it. The students in my class reaffirmed what I’ve been believing all along: there are people in the city who are dying to make games, but they don’t know where to start… there seems to be no opportunities, at least ones that they are aware off.
There are game related functions that take place in the city, but attendance is always weak since there seems to be no means of getting the word out; I mentioned events like Gamer’s Nite Groove and GameOn, and no one knew what I was talking about. I was hoping that the IGDA would help in this, but thus far, they’re just…. there, hence why I’m so frustrated with them.
Then there’s the proliferation in game design coerces that have sprung up all over the place. Sorry, but most of these are not game design courses. All they do is have students play around with a game engine of some kind. That’s game modification not design. But it seems that not many are happy with me pointing this out, at least with the few folks whom I spoke with at the latest IGDA chapter meet. I have a feeling my efforts might be perceived as a threat to the status quo, and therefore much of what I’ve been saying has been simply dismissed. Besides, they’re making good money as it is, why fuck it up?
And that’s what it all boils down to. Who cares if all those students who are taking these courses are getting certificates and diplomas that state “game design” really don’t know a basic foundation what it means to design a game from the ground up? Who cares if these people flood the marketplace in a few years, and those who manage to find jobs produce sub-par software, which will then in turn hurt our industry as a whole? The schools and their professors are making their money now, and that’s all that matters to them.
Well not to me, and I intend to continue to do whatever I can to help foster a community, one that will help shape New York City into a healthy environment to make games. Perhaps I’m not the most qualified person to attempt such an endevour, but then again, I don’t go around talking about some earth shattering, mind bending, innovative massive multiplayer game that I’ve been working on for XYZ years, well before anyone else was thinking of such a thing (of course), and which promises to redefine how we play games… once it comes out after an undetermined amount of time (naturally), which everyone and their uncles seems to claim. Plus, there’s no guarantee that anything I do will work, but I want to be able to say that I at least tried. And it seems these students might be the first step.
