Originally posted here:
I thought I would put it on this forum, since in my mind forums are better suited for long form discussions. This was an experiment I ran on itch with another account of mine, trying things a new dev might try. Have a good read!
A pitling post-mortem
PITA go now because people need me.
Was very fun working with PITO on secret projects but unfortunately capitalism makes no time for hobby while pursuing STEM ENGINEERING educator strategy. Also lost access to discord account because no recovery password on fake second mail.
Had big projects for 4 more games which must postpone.
In meantime hear postmortem of PITAGAMES:
PITA 1: portal to the blue light
was first ptagame for after pito banned fromjoining jam so cantjam and tried new clean law abiding citizengame. Still wanted to include PITO in some way so added secret secondgame. (if u havent seen yet press P to PITO on first screen.) was fun making for jam again.
PITA 2:control theory
Was engineering lesson, very good. See typical enginneeering mistkae so get great time learning. Education jam was good for back work. Very nice people on server.
PITA 3: the ground is clouds
fun falling forward jam with expldoe scary connons. Began realize that some people hate PITO for spamjam so also hate PITA. Maybe consequences of actions get back but lost maybe motivation for new project. Remember be nice people and respect rules of platform you use.
PITA 4: pitanagatari
exrtemee PITA game with swordfights very happy cherry blossom anim might redo like that. Big creativity moment mix puzzles and amazing ninja garden music. BTW did notice PITA music from VGMUSIC.COM? Is great time using. Back in gamemaker era was time for midi music everywhere. I miss that.
I miss that time.
I miss when making games was a simple hobby to me, tied to no idea of monetization. Fangames were abundant and tolerated, I know everyone around me was making those and no one was being punished for it. I remember the yoyogames sandbox, full of ugly tutorial edits but with incredible music. I wanted to recreated this experience, and I hope I succeeded with the time I had. I miss Gamejolt, the way it was before, when it was a platform about actually making games.
But then, the Nintendo lawyers showed up and sent a DMCA to half the website. So many free fangames suddently removed. I know many kids who got disgusted by the idea of ever making a game again. Not me, not ever. I may not continue with any pitling content for a while, but I will never stop making games, it is my life, it is my calling, it is my heart. Making games with pre-existing sprite-sheets from Nintendo games and stolen midi music from vgmusic.com was not only a great way to compensate the lack of art skills some programmers could have, it was also an amazing learning tool for someone who just wanted to focus on their gamedev skills without worrying too much about the rest. Now everyone must worry.
We live today in a society dominated by instant gratification and micro-celebrity contests. People try to instantly look incredible instead of polishing their own skills over time. I know I am guilty of that, I’ve been making games for over 20 years now, hundreds of them. I yearn for that recognition, for people who value me for what I make, for what I am. With the on-going threat of AI, young devs now are incentivized into creating the most boring algorithm-generated slop. We used to have boring personally-created slop god damnit. It used to mean something. I am also an educator (yes, I really teach engineering, that second chapter was not just for memes) and I am disgusted by how AI is ruining education everywhere, with the general public thinking teachers can be replaced by chatGPT and students replacing lazy last-minute work by lazy AI-prompting. Our brains are under attack, and if you’re reading this YOU, personally, must stop that from happening. I am complaining a lot about the current state of the games industry, but really it is the current state of the world that angers me.
I also see so many young devs immediately starting to work on their biggest dream project, with no regards to personnal progress. They don’t want to go through the many phases of cringe I went through. And I sincerely believe that to be a mistake. You must create with your soul, and it will never be perfect. Stop comparing yourself to what you see on the internet. The indie label is changing, and you get the wrong impression of that one guy in his paren’ts basement making a colossal project on his own. That is a myth, a lie, it is untainable. You cannot compare yourself to Undertale. If you’ve watched the recent stream, Toby Fox goes out of his way to show that he had a tremendous amount of support while making this game, that many people helped him with the art of the game, and that despite that it almost failed. The journey is the art, the journey makes the artist. You are the journey.
Build a community, build your people. Navigate the troubled waters of social media to find who will enjoy whatever bullshit you’re making and make that. But also, don’t comform to the norm, don’t chase trends. Learn new things every day to perfect your art. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be true. True to yourself. It just has to be made.
So above all:
Never stop making.