evie

will send pics later

it’s too old to run windows, nor should you ever run windows on a thinkpad

now to tuck this computer into a corner and barely touch it because i prefer working on a mac. it’s very pretty tho.

i’ve been thinking a lot about the recent half life 25th anniversary doc where they discuss how most folks working on the project didn’t have experience making games (or even much software) coming from such disciplines as:

• lawyer
• nurse
• waffle house manager

and so on

(i’m on my phone so i don’t care about run on sentences rn)

meanwhile, most game hires today with few exceptions are typically ‘safe bets’ with years of experience at Known Studios or projects, a Number of Shipped Titles

typically, the thing this kind of person has going for them (theoretically) is /understanding the video games bureaucracy/ rather than just understanding how games are made. it’s about familiarization with the processes that have evolved to ensure games are in any way profitable (read: comply with absurd expectations within and without due to pitches and miscommunication), because those systems by ‘design’ (or rather, lack of intentional design) constrain or destabilize resources necessary to train or onboard people, thus necessitating knowledge of past institutional norms.

i am reminded a bit of the haphazard structure of the wizards in the unseen university found in terry pratchetts disc world.

thing is, i look around in the Unknown Masses around me, especially in the queer games community and realize /these are the kinds of people valve was started by/. which explains why people like us are often coming up with these extremely desirable outcomes held up in high regard by diehard fans and onlookers (like noclip and so on)

yet it is exactly that demographic that lingers in obscurity & poverty pouring their hearts into games rarely seen by more than a few hundred eyes. one of the best games i’ve played all years, CornKidz 64 dropped out of nowhere by someone i’ve never heard of at a retail price (on sale) of FIVE DOLLARS. Ten years of someone’s life manifested into a magnum opus for less money than I spend on a latte, and they say /piracy/ is unethical, but this is robbery on a cosmic scale.

if this industry is to fundamentally reform its practices, we must endeavor to right our hearts and carve out more successful organizations that exist to harbor & sustain this incredible TALENT that is currently stuck behind the counter of your local taco bell or ringing your groceries up at safeway. one of the best level designers i’ve seen in a while is currently on sabbatical after nearly losing their mind at a starbucks.

if you want more half lifes, more hades, more legendary titles you’ve got to take more risks on hiring & who you collaborate with. you’ve got to yell at your city council to provide digital arts funding & programs, you’ve got to start clubs & (slow) game jams, we’ve got to jailbreak institutional knowledge gatekept often on accident. share and create knowledge repositories, run local events that aren’t corporate (i’ve done them, turnout is great)

what the institutions are hiring for isn’t familiarity, they’re hiring for team work and organizational skills. which is not only a thing that you can learn for free, but we’re often taught better (frankly, more cruelly too) in retail or food service.

however not every career pivot is easy, what we do need in the workplace is supportive onboarding that helps people unlearn overworking & unsustainable attitudes about their productivity which will drive us into the ground. society is kind of learning that one as we speak, tho slowly.

will send pics later

it’s too old to run windows, nor should you ever run windows on a thinkpad