On Wearing Many Hats

In indie development, you hear that phase often - "wearing many hats". We use it to mean we have to do a lot of different jobs as indie developers. What we don't say, what I never realised until this week, is that it can mean we do many jobs - and that we don't like some of them. And dare I say, we might not be good at some of them.

Even Business Cat doesn't like business...

I am not a business person. I took some classes in uni, entrepreneurship and business law, and that was enough to tell me it wasn't my thing. But the thing about indie development is that you don't get to pick and choose what jobs you do. You have to do it all. Yes, Bounder Games is a three person team, but none of us have business experience. So when it came time to set up officially as a company, we all had to get our hands dirty and wade the muck of business terminology to figure out what we need to do.

The last week, for me, has been nerve-wracking, anxiety-filled, and depressing. I have never felt quite so out of my depth. Many times I have said to myself, "I have no idea what I am doing - why did I quit my cushy programming job and do this to myself? Everyone will think I am a fool!"

Sometimes ALL of the hats are ugly.

But that's the thing about wearing many hats - some of these hats weren't made with you in mind. They'll be too small, or too big, or itchy, or just ugly. They won't be YOU. As indie devs, we have to acknowledge that we won't be perfect at all the different roles we take on. We have to do our best and get through it anyway. For someone like me, a perfectionist who doesn't like people to see my work if I consider it sub-par, this is really really really hard. I don't want to reveal my weaknesses. How can I show something I know to be less than impressive? Then I will appear less than impressive!

The reality is that, if we don't push through and deal with these things that don't fit quite right - if we don't wear the hats, proudly, and do our earnest best with them, and ask for help if we need it - we fail. We fail ourselves and, if we are in a team, we fail our team. Doing nothing is the failure - not doing badly. Doing badly is a lesson. Doing nothing is giving up. It's an old adage, and it's trite and simplified but it's still true: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take".

So here's to wearing ugly, ill-fitting hats, and the hope that we can spend most of the time wearing hats we like!

EGX Rezzed 2015

Bounder Games and I just got back from an awesome weekend at EGX Rezzed 2015. This was our first Rezzed and we thoroughly enjoyed it! I played lots of games, and watched others that I didn't get a chance to play first hand. I even got to chat with some of the devs, which was definitely my favorite part of the trip.

While there were tons of awesome games, these were my personal favorites:

Machiavillain by Wild Factor (@WildFactorGames)

A bizarre cross between Prison Architect, Dungeon Keeper, and a 50s B horror movie, Machiavillain oozes charm (or is that brain matter?). I had not heard of this title before stumbling across it on the show floor, but I absolutely fell in love with the cute and well executed art style and the sim/management gameplay. The dev was also a delight to chat to, and I'm really looking forward to seeing this game progress to its finished state.

Tembo the Badass Elephant by Game Freak

Like Machiavillain, I hadn't heard of this title before finding it on the show floor. I was initially attracted to the stand by the huge, comic book style poster featuring Tembo, the game's leading pachyderm. Though I came for the art, I stayed for the gameplay - it's no wonder Sega is publishing this fast paced platformer, as it bears a striking resemblance to early Sonic titles. I'm normally pretty tired of platformers, but this just felt too good! Full disclosure, I may have snagged some Sonic themed swag from the booth!

Big Pharma by Twice Circled (@TwiceCircled)

Big Pharma is a management game where the player attempts to dominate the pharmaceutical industry by hook or by crook (or by conveyor belt, which seems to be the preferred method). I've been watching this title for a while now. Unfortunately I wasn't able to play this at Rezzed, but I wanted to give it a mention anyway because (A) it looks awesome and (B) I got to chat to the developer for quite a while about Unity, other automation management type games, and other random stuff, and that was very cool! He seems like a rad guy and I can't wait to see where he takes this awesome concept.

Nom Nom Galaxy by Pixel Junk (@PixelJunkNews)

If I had to choose, this would probably be my game of the show. The gameplay is a little like Terraria in the perspective and diggable terrain aspects, but departs greatly from the crafting RPG in the direction of factory management with the addition of automated robots, corridors, air locks, etc. All with the goal of making the best soup this side of the Milky Way, and shipping it all over the galaxy. I've been looking forward to this title for a long time, and it's super hard to wait until it's out on PS4 so my friends and I can run around making soup together! The game is available now on Steam Early Access, but I think it suits console better due to the multi-player aspect. So colourful and stylish, with awesome automation based management gameplay that is exactly my cup of tea (or soup).

Monstrum by Team Junkfish (@TeamJunkfish)

Monstrum is a procedurally generated horror game - so it's a new pants-pooping experience every time you play! I didn't play Monstrum at Rezzed mostly because the devs are from my own little town of Dundee and I can play it whenever I like at home, but I can definitely recommend it as an awesome horror experience, especially if you happen to have an Occulus Rift to play it on.

Mutiny! by Hidden Armada (@HiddenArmada)

As with Monstrum, the Mutiny! devs are from good ole Dundee so I'd already played the game before Rezzed. Mutiny! is a multi-player cooperative/competitive game in which a group of pirates must defend their ship while simultaneously competing for the captain's hat. Also, there are pigs. The bedlam that ensues is as chaotic as it is enjoyable, and I'm really looking forward to bringing this out at parties.

Rezzed was an awesome experience, and it has left me inspired and energized to return to my own game dev projects. Thanks to all the developers, coordinators, journalists, and gamers that made the event happen - You rock!