Those of you who know me well will probably be aware that I can often be a slow learner.  Oh, I might have a knack for mysteries ranging from mathematical formulae to new languages, but that’s just my ‘Jack of all trades’ aptitude for new tasks.  Or maybe it is just dilettantism…  I’d love to think it was a side-effect of being a polymath, but I’m not sure I think that highly of myself just yet.

So…  Back on track, yes…

I’ve been working on stuff for a little while.  Since I was made redundant last year, in fact, I have been ‘pushing the boundaries’ and ‘exploring my options’ as I assert this mastery of my own fate.

So, what have I discovered?

1. When your ‘current projects’ list contains more items than you have staff in a company, this may be a sign of poor focus.
2. Going a year without a long-term vision and a short-term plan is not a sign of independence, but may be a sign of poor focus.
3. Doing what you love is no substitute for getting paid.
4. Getting paid is no substitute for doing what you love.
5. Going ‘Indie’ is a lonely path.

The biggest issue I have found is that I lost my drive.  I had options, which prevented me from having solid goals.  I also had nobody pushing me, no deadlines or managers, so I lost that sense of urgency which tends to cause crunch, but also drives productivity.

As my own boss, I was able to set my own priorities and deadlines.

I am not the best boss I have ever had.  I let my employees slack off, I took them to cafés instead of making them work, I declared days off just because Deus Ex had been released.  I would shift from one project to another as enthusiasm waxed and waned; one morning it was a space-sim on Facebook, the next a fantasy RPG written in C++.

I was the only person working for the company and I still let me walk all over myself.

And yet…  Things did get done.  I have two playable (if pre-alpha) games on Facebook.  I even got a story written, submitted and published.  Wherever I could, I set deadlines and set up week-long sprints on my Scrum whiteboard.  Sadly, I never stuck my head above the parapet to really take stock; I was thinking like an employee and working blindly on whatever was in front of me.

In hind-sight, one of the Facebook games was only really useful as a learning experience and the other (which I set aside) was the one that really had legs.  My writing was the most profitable and successful thing I was doing, but I was setting it aside to work on the ‘big’ game projects.

Today, I think this stops.  I am looking at these things with a critical eye and I think it is time to stop working blindly.

I think it is time to put Legacy of Heroes to bed, which would be a good start.  Deep Space will get a reprieve for now, until I work out how viable it is, but it’s still on hold for now. 

I am a writer.  Say whatever else you will; I am a decent designer, but I excel as a writer and narrative designer.  It is time to get Jack Flint [link to proof of concept, if you are curious] out and ready for release.