[IGDA_indies] possible focus/purpose

[Brandon J. Van Every]

Jason Della Rocca wrote:
>
> As always, a big challenge is finding those who'd be willing
> to lead such efforts and contribute effort.
>
> Thoughts? Feedback?

On every developer's mind, is the vexing question, "What do I get out of
this?"  We can hope for altruism, but I'm afraid that those who have the
most to contribute, generally have the least incentive to contribute it.
Meanwhile, you've got people like myself floundering just to get their
ideas turned into code, who haven't got much to contribute about the biz
/ legal end of things.

I think "this is infrastructure to make somebody, possibly myself,
millions of dollars" rings hollow.  Making that kind of dough requires a
lot of personal effort, towards one's personal projects.  Call me
cynical, but I just spent 1.5 years trying to get open source volunteers
to do various biz oriented things.  I'm convinced that absent money,
people won't do diddly doo.

I'm concerned that if "making money" is the rationale - however sensible
it may appear at first glance - it's going to fall apart quickly.  As
such, it sounds like an invitation to do work, with large time
committments and unlikely payoffs.  Detaching from other people's
processes in order to find one's own "better way" is pretty much what
makes people indies in the 1st place.

I think there are other things a SIG can be organized around.  This
brings me back to the question of Craft.  Back when the IGDA itself was
deciding on its mission statement, and that questionnaire was handed
out, I was a proponent of (1) Advocacy (2) Craft.  When the voting was
done, we got (1), but not (2) as that was deemed redundant to all sorts
of other stuff already out there.  Instead we got "Community."

Well, Communities need reasons to exist.  One of the ways they can
exist, is passion for Craft.  It's core to all the face-to-face groups
I've managed to put together and actually sustain, at any rate.

I think there are at least 2 species of Indie, and possibly more:
- those who want financial control of their own projects
- those who think mainstream games completely, utterly suck

I'm one of the latter.  The drive to "innovate," the passion for Craft,
is what defines me as a game developer.  It doesn't define everybody.  I
have to keep that in mind when I judge the IGF, that just getting more
people in control of their IP is a worthy goal in and of itself.  A game
doesn't have to be innovation this, innovation that, to be stalking the
IGF.  It could be going for the Technical Excellence or Audience Choice
awards.  Nevertheless, my frustration with the dearth of innovation in
the mainstream game industry, makes it pretty clear to me that an "Indie
Game Design SIG" would have a raison d'etre.  In a way that an "Indie
SIG" probably does not.

The difference is passion.  Passion can sustain groups.

The abstract formula here is, "What are some people both focused and
passionate about?"  Doesn't have to be innovation, my personal concern.
Could be whatever *you* think is most important.  But it has to be
something.  Without focus and passion, no pulse.

One quickly thinks, "Why Indie Game Design SIG?  Why not just Game
Design SIG?"  Good question.  I haven't explored what other IGDA game
designers are focused and passionate about, so I don't have a good /
fair answer at this time.

I do think, however, that to dismiss more specific groups out of hand,
in favor of more inclusive umbrella groups... can be misguided.
Similarly, "Well, we don't need to do that, other people somewhere on
the net already do that!" can also be misguided.  Why?  Because it robs
people of their passions.  If you want to build an organization of
volunteers, you need to work with their passions.  Where the heck else
do you think you're going to get the energy from?  Sheer discipline?
People ain't gettin' paid for this.  When people ain't gettin' paid,
they do what they *want* to do.


Cheers,                     www.indiegamedesign.com
Brandon Van Every           Seattle, WA

When no one else sells courage, supply and demand take hold.



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