Why I love what I do (and one thing I don't)
Hi, I'm Naughty Road, and I have no idea what I'm doing.
That was the first line I wrote on my Patreon profile when I created it, and I kept that up there for 6 years. A few months back, I finally took it off when I reworked my page, because I worried 'it might not communicate the right thing.'
And maybe it doesn't. But it's no less true today. I have literally no idea what I'm doing.
But I know why I'm doing it.
I love making these games, and putting them out there, and hearing that people enjoyed them. That they laughed at some stupid gag, or felt emotionally touched by a particular scene, or aroused, or both. I love that my games can make people feel those things and more.
Then there is this really special moment, when I'm putting a scene together, marrying images to dialog, honing the delivery and timing, and plugging in the camera movement, where the whole thing takes on a life of its own.
In some sense, it starts to leave me at that moment, no longer being a thing that lives in my head. It stops belonging to me, and starts to become its own thing, that will soon belong to you, the player, relying on you to bring it alive now, by playing it.
It's hard to explain, except maybe to call it the joy of creation? That sounds way too corny, but I think it's one of the best parts of doing what I do.
So that brings me to the thing I don't like about the job. I don't like having to compete in the maelstrom of the attention engine. Ignored it almost completely for most of those six years (at my own peril as it turned out), engaged with it grudgingly only, hoping the game would do the talking for me. The creation part is my happy place. Anything else feels like time misspent, even if that's not entirely true.
Last year has been a weird year, hasn't it? And I don't mean the good weird. For me personally, certainly, but I presume in other ways it has been so for many of us. The world seems to be getting crazier by the minute sometimes, and I know some that have gone crazy along with it, and some that have just tuned it all out so they don't follow suit.
So, why bring that up? Because I hope, in some sense, that the games I'm making give you and me both a bit of reprieve from all that. I know that I'm never happier than working on them and shutting all the noise out. And I hope that transfers to you when you play my games.
And you have been, and will always be, indispensable in making my games happen. These games couldn't have been made, and cannot continue to be made, without your help.
So, even after all this time, I still have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm hoping I can continue to count on you to help me figure it out.
I'm Naughty Road, and I make games.
Comments (14)
great post, man....well said. i have enjoyed both seasons of light of my life, and am very excited to see where the velan reach goes from here...keep up the good work.
Thank you! I'm really excited about getting stuck deeper into that world!
Your game brought me a ton of joy during a rough time and the wife moments actually helped me handle my grief. You will always have my support.
While I'm sad that you went through a hard time, it's also really special to hear that the game has helped in some small way dealing with that and I'm touched you shared that with me. ❤️
Managing a small business in the art community is no small task. I'm sure it sometimes feels like you're in a burning building and all you have is a waterbottle with holes poked in the cap to put out the fire. You bat a thousand when it comes to art and story telling and you are regular with your updates and check ins. That is exceeding my expectations since a lot of dev's walk away from the mountain you are climbing. I say be proud of yourself.
Yeah, that is as apt a description as any at time I guess. :D Thank you for your words of encouragement.
I feel you so much :) Was trying to set up a few social media accounts for my storys and, oh boy i hate everything about it. About need to do comercial stuff, to set me in a light i dont whant to stay ect. Plz, go on with your amazing work and maybe find someone that can help you a little bit (so we get the Updates faster ;) ).
Cheers, thank you. It is a challenge, putting something together to present, making it look nice, getting it out there. It's always more work than you think. Wish I could get some help in, but there's a whole lot of reasons why that's a challenge, and the biggest is financial. But just keep on spreading the word, hopefully that turns around someday and I can at least find someone to help out with that damned promotional stuff, and feed two birds with one cupcake, as Denise would say.
You do amazing work keep it up
Thank you!
You certainly make games dude, great games, but these are so much more. This involves elements of film, with sets, framing, etc, of literature, with plot, character development, timing, etc., and the business admin of keeping a project moving forward through the difficulties and context of the world. We'll done sir. Happy to be here for it. 😀
And thank you so much for that. I mean it when I said it'd be impossible to do without you!
And thats the reason you are good at it - because if you dont love what you do it will always show at the end… Kudos to you, your AVN shows your commitment. Good work ! 👍💯🫡
Thank you. Yeah, I feel it's impossible to do a project like this if you don't love it. I'd burn out in a heartbeat.