The Grass Is Always Greener

So, it always seems that everyone else's work is always "better" than what you've done. Somehow everyone else on the planet has magically executed better than you and of course, they knew the super-Secret Squirrel shit, the amazing kung-fu that not only made a great game, but they did it without any problems and their development was super-smooth. It had to have been that way, to create such a great product, right?!?

BULLSHIT!

It amazes me how many people always look at somebody else's work and think that the other person's always got their shit together. In my experience, everyone out there seems to be flailing. No, it's not that I haven't come across "the perfect developer", I've talked with a ton of these "star developers" and they all have horror stories. Every one of them.

So, why do people look at other's work and romanticize how it was done? Why do people put others on such a pedestal? My guess is that people need hope. If you're having a shit time at work and things aren't "the perfect development" that you've built up in your head, by idolizing someone else and envisioning this "perfect process" at Developer X, you can imagining that someplace else is "better" and there's hope.

Now, I'm not saying that every place is shit or there is no "great places" to work, of course there are. But, I really don't think there's any "perfect place" or "perfect method". I don't think any one place can be "perfect", because everyone's different . There can be a happy middle ground, but "perfection"... nah...

I find understanding that nothing can be 100% ideal is quite liberating. Coming to this conclusion allows you to look at the things that you consider "problems" and really assess them relative to "the big picture", i.e. Your Life.

Which brings me to another subject; Your Job Is NOT Your Life!
I'll get around to writing that blog, someday... someday when I'm not busy with my job or my Real Life(tm).

Innovation is BS

After being on this rock for a while, you start to notice some patterns, especially if you tend to do the same thing for a spell and actually open your eyes and pay attention. Some of the cyclical things I've noticed are; clothes, music, gameplay, developers sprouting up, developers shutting down, publishers gobbling up every developer, publishers laying off/shutting down developers, housing market, gas crisis, etc.

One of the big things I notice always comes around is the almighty BUZZWORD(tm). The Buzzword(tm) is the thing that the consciousness latches onto as the most important thing at the time. It may have always been there or was never there at all, but as soon as someone identifies it and it gains momentum, the Buzzword(tm) is all anyone wants to hear or talk about.

Innovation is the bullshit Buzzword(tm) of the moment that everyone wants to hang their hat on. Like 7-10 years ago, it was "gameplay", and before that it was "immersion". My prediction is the next one is "work-play-balance" or some other touchy-feely bullshit like that. Here's the thing about "innovation". In reality, most things that are truely "new" and "innovative" are shunned, because they're generally unfamiliar and broken in some way that alienates people. It's not about INNOVATION, it's about POLISHED ITERATION. If you look at most successful and popular games, they're all iterations and variations on themes. They're generally well-executed in more than one respect and they may push boundaries, but they don't break them. I mean, seriously... I'm looking at all this fawning over some games recently and are they completely "new"??? Are they challenging me in ways I've *never seen before*??? Not really, they're just well executed iterations and hybrids. Fez, Synthesia (or whatever), Flow, Portal, Everyday Shooter, Schizoid, Mario Galaxy, Puzzle Quest, the list goes on and on and they're all hybrids or iterations.


Now, don't get me wrong, I'm okay with iteration. I'd much rather have a polished / well-balanced game than some sloppy scatterbrain thing that's trying too hard to do too much. Plus, half of these people who are "innovating" don't even look at other games, so they have no idea that they're regurgitating something that's already existed. It's like all these kids bobbing their head to pop music grooves (BTW, pop-music encompasses emo rock and other shit, 'cause it's POPular). It's all recycled and iterated upon. If someone would actually look at something "old" they'd realize where a lot of things come from.

Anyway, good game's a good game. All these labels are just for PR and elitists that want to separate themselves or splinter things, like all of the myriad of sub-genres in "electronica". People need to stop making sure they have their Buzzwords(tm) covered and their Metascore checklist marked off and work on making solid and fun interactive experiences.