The Magnum Opus

No matter where I go, no matter whether it comes from a "newbie" or an "industry vet" (heh, that term alone needs its own article), I always find developers in pursuit of the ever-elusive "MAGNUM OPUS".

A quick Google reveals the definition of Magnum Opus as; a great work of art or literature. I find in game development the Magnum Opus is often the that evil, haunting, unobtainable trophy that will destroy its pursuer. Over the years, I've seen many people fall victim to the pursuit of this Moby Dick, the "greatest game I've ever made. The game that's going to change everything!"

It's a strange pursuit to me, because I've come to realize, there will be another game to be done and you can't cram it all into one and get it right anyway. Or if you do, you're generally so sick of it by the time you're done, you can't enjoy your accomplishment. Of course, just because you can identify the symptoms doesn't mean you still don't catch a cold.

I remember a wise man identifying the obsession in me. John Manley is a mentor of mine, all around great Designer/cheerleader and my partner in crime with the Strike Series. While we were working on Jungle Strike, the game was essentially supposed to be a green version of Desert, but John and I felt that wasn't a true "sequel". The fans of the Desert Strike deserved more! Luckily (and much to EA's surprise), the original sold like gangbusters (some 8 million units to date) and EA decided to get behind Jungle. They gave us a bigger cart, but no more time. We were trying to cram in everything we could and pulling all-nighters for months on end.

At one point I was pushing to put in something and almost collapsed after not sleeping for 4 days. John said, "Save it for the sequel." The words hit my like a brick to the face. What did he mean, "sequel"? Didn't every idea I had have to go in *this game*??? But I realized, I was in pursuit of the M.O., the Magnum Opus, Moby Dick. I was killing myself to put things in that ultimately no one would miss (and I don't even remember 17 years later what it was). Jungle Strike went out, was a great game and has done about 6 million units.

A friend of mine recently was telling me, a new developer he was working for "had a lot to prove". They're pursuing Moby right now, trying to combine a mega-hit franchise with another mega-hit franchise, in the hopes that their game will be the next ... you guessed it, mega hit franchise. The thing is, I think for a new team/developer, the only thing they have to "prove" is that they can make a good game. The pursuit of "the greatest game" or a "genre buster", your first time out, is a dangerous endeavor. That's not to say it can't be done, look at Portal. Its "new" (if you lived in a cave and had never seen the original game; Nebacular Drop) and it's considered a "great game", a "genre buster" for a first-time developer (sort of). Of course, if Portal wasn't attached to Half-Life 2 & Team Fortress 2 and coming from "Valve", it would've not done as well; sales-wise (still would've been a well-executed game and probably fan-fav).

Anyway...

So, next time you're looking at your game and thinking, "but I can't cut that" or "I have to put that in", think to yourself; does this really have to be my Magnum Opus? Will the game really fall apart if that one thing's not there? Will that thing I'm cutting cost sales?

If the answer's "no", well Ahab, stop chasing that white whale and "save it for the sequel" or there might not be one.

-Twitch