Hey, did you know that I released a new game for iOS and Android a while ago? It’s called Sorkle: http://sorkle.net/
Sorkle is a bit of a throwback. It’s very much touch-oriented, but it’s a no-frills arcade game. The graphics are a lot cleaner than my usual stuff.
The day I finished Sorkle, my girlfriend of three years, who I was living with, broke up with me. It was a shock, but not unreasonable. Our relationship had been less than perfect lately, though I thought we were making progress. In the month or so leading up to the end, I came up with the idea for Sorkle and put it together without much thought. It took up a lot of my free time. I could have put that time into my relationship but making that game just happened. It was as natural as eating.
I had to find a new apartment and I decided to stay in Jersey City. I work in Manhattan and I regularly get shit from people about living in Jersey. I like it because it’s mellow and people don’t put on airs.
Back in the winter time I was working on RunMan the Great, which was going to be a sequel to RunMan: Race Around the World, and also about the places I've lived so far in my life. I wanted to approach a RunMan game with the formal level design skills I honed making Deepak Fights Robots, and I wanted to give it a personal touch. I wanted to pay tribute to the experiences in my life that have made me who I am. I released an early version which got a lot of positive feedback and got featured on the App Store.
http://whatareyouwait.info
But something wasn't working. A lot felt like going through the motions, and I felt like I was trying to fight the game's natural form.
In my new apartment I tore apart what I'd designed and started building something new with the pieces. The game's becoming an endless runner, which I always resisted doing, because it's been done to death and because I wanted to show how a full, thought-out platformer could work well on touch screens. But I'm doing it in a unique way, which you'll see, and it suits the game a lot better. It feels natural.
When I was younger I was very concerned about my image as a game maker. I wanted to be cool, not just for my own sake, but because I felt games culture was severely lacking in cool personalities, which helped hold them back as a cultural force and an art form.
I still believe that, but personally my priorities have shifted. I value honesty greatly and I value kindness much more than in the past.
I always appreciate context around art that I love, and it makes me feel a connection to the people behind it more. If you're a fan of my games and you're reading this, I just want you to know what's going on in my life, because maybe it'll make you think a little more about the people responsible for the things you love. And because games (or at least my games) don't always obviously communicate the type of context I'm talking about. Sorkle captures the mental state of a guy about to be blindsided by a failed relationship. But it's really just an arcade game where you draw circles. Right?
RunMan the Great is undergoing a fundamental change to how it's structured and the value it proposes to anybody who wants to engage with it. In my day job as a Product Manager, we call this a pivot. Sometimes things change, and the thinking goes that you're better off embracing it and staying ahead of the curve. But that's business.
I don't know what's coming next, but I'm sad about what's happened. I think that's OK. I'm moving forward and I know things will get better. I have a tendency to throw myself into working on games when I'm upset about things, and it's not the healthiest move because I usually avoid actually processing my emotions.
So I'm trying to be honest here and face up. And I'm trying to use games to help process my emotions instead of avoid them. RunMan the Great is pivoting away from the meaningful parts of my life so far and toward the great unknown of my life to come. I hope it turns out all right.
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