SO FAR, NOT SO GOOD

Well, the title only resembles the events 2020 has brought to us. Every fucking month has had some major bad news. Bushfires, corona deaths, legends dying, the list goes on. It has been a sucky year so far. The lockdown scenarios still seem unbelievable. The lockdown is not that strict in Finland and is mostly about restrictions for traveling interstate. Here, people are taking walks, going for a jog or cycling but keeping social distancing in mind. I cannot imagine how it must be for people who are experiencing a true full-blown home quarantine lockdown.

Work-wise this year has been alright. I took part in a lot of game jams, had a great time making some fun and cool games, and learned a lot from those. Global Game Jam 2020, Games Now Online Jam #1, Ludum Dare 46, Games Now Online Jam #2 and lots more to come.

Beathsmith: A rhythm game that I made with Partick Milvi, Jenni Varila, and Lassi Vihko for LD46

The main game project of my program has been on the works for quite some time now. It is turning out to be good but I have to say the process is really and often painfully slow. We had our first prototype almost a month and a half later than the starting date, which slowed down the entire project and pushed us quite far behind. We once planned on making 6 levels, but now have to make do with just 2 levels. Good communication is imperative for a good project. With each project, I improve at it. The key thing that I learned in this project is that we should communicate with the team about each other priorities and schedules. People are really respectful here and unlike India, they understand the value of other’s time and commitment. So, even if we need something from someone we ask, “Will you have time to work on this?” That is a double-edged sword, I believe, and that is why it is important to ask about their commitment on day 1 and reduce your chances of disappointment later on. At the end of the day, many people treat it like any other project whereas I am thinking about it as a portfolio piece. Make sure you end up with like-minded people, if not, then try to swerve the project in that direction. At the end of the day, you have to push for your work and beliefs in your projects. People tend to get self-involved and more often than not, you will be the only one advocating for your design. Make sure you keep at it and push through.

Game Project 3, Wakey Wakey Wonders. Art by Tuisku Hiltunen

This is my first ever project as a game designer. To be precise – gameplay, puzzle, and level designer. It has been quite a challenge and I must admit that I don’t know if I am taking the most optimum route. Luckily, the gaming community has been a blessing. Various game analysts and journalists have extensively documented and talked about these concepts and how to excel at them. Game Maker’s Toolkit, popularly known as GMTK is a YouTube channel that has been an inspiration and a guide for the past couple of years. The channel helped me in understanding the fundamentals of these aspects and game design as a whole. The community has helped me learn and grow in the hopes of becoming what I aim to be. 

I think, because of the society and work culture I was prone to, in India, I am used to striving to work for at least 12 hours a day or more. I always think about how to be more productive? What to do next? How to fit many tasks in a day? What to accomplish next? Everything is about the race against time, about achieving something. One of the people I met here asked me, “Why do you have to be productive? Does your day only have value if you’re productive? Why does everything have to be an achievement or about making the most of it?” This kind of stuck with me. I had the answer to these but it still made me think that I am on this train where I am only looking at the destination and perhaps missing the beautiful scenery of the journey. I might like it when I reach the destination but I will be oblivious to what all I could have liked or even loved along the way. It is something to think about.

The year has been a rollercoaster, globally and personally. I hope this ends soon and we all get to go home for a much-needed stress-free vacation. Until then, keep safe, keep playing!