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So, here goes: You''re right AND you''re wrong. You''re right that complexity doesn''t get the respect it deserves; attention to detail doesn''t get the respect that it deserves; you''re right that sweat and down to the bone creativity often gets rewarded with the shaft. And people seem to care more about graphics than they do gameplay. All of this is true.
But here''s where you''re wrong, dude: Chef''s Joy. You''re a cook, and your making something for other people to enjoy. Yeah, maybe everybody should be into the veal and lobster and fillet mignon, but try to look at it as a service. I''m serious. Try to get into the fun of actually jazzing people and making their eyes sparkle. If it''s about you and your creative genuious, then you''re gonna be depressed because it''s all about you!!! But if it''s about entertaining people, then you''ll study them, get inside their head, and create FOR them.
Give you a perfect case in point: 4 of my not so computer literate friends visited me this weekend. I showed them Starcraft, Swarm, Aliens vs. Predator, and Jedi Knight. I got them to sit down and play (even the girlfriends were playing Starcraft
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OK, now for the disclaimer: I''m sure there are those who will equate making something for other people with pandering (dwarfsoft????). If you''re making games for yourself, that''s cool. But after working in the industry for a few years, I''m a proponent of Design Aikido: You flow with your audience''s interest and learn to have fun working with their energy. Maybe it''ll be called pandering, but it''s a hell of a lot less depressing.
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Just waiting for the mothership...