Why am I writing this?

I’ve been in game dev hiatus for quite a while. I’m just not making anything at all. I’ve been wondering why I was dry with ideas. Until I’ve read pdf is a beautiful name for a baby girl. It’s okay to be quiet.

What are my intentions?

My intentions with writing this manifesto is to remind myself why I want to make games. I realized, it’s not the game that I make, but it’s the making of games itself.

What is my vision?

I want to make the process of making games as fun as possible for me and everyone involved. The creation does not matter. It’s about the process.

What is my manifesto?

To make the making of games as fun as possible for me I have the following guidelines:

• Fun: My ultimate pursuit is to have fun. Everything else is superseded. I should always ask myself if I'm having fun and what's stopping me from having fun.
• Delight: I want to make my life easier as a developer or an artist. I want to skip to the fun part. I should use the tools that will help me or make those tools whenever I can.
• Empathy: I pretend another developer will eventually use or look at what I’m making. This sounds weird but I find myself having less empathy on myself, but I highly value people working with me. If I'm struggling to value myself, then maybe if I pretend to treat myself to be as another person, then maybe I can show myself more empathy too.
• Transparency: Share and document the successes and failures. Oh, the mortifying ordeal of being known...
• Focus: Add todos and put those tasks in the Icebox liberally. Do not micro-optimize. If it needs your attention, delight and empathy will handle that.
• Forgiveness: Self-improvement is okay, but don’t be too critical and know you did your best at the time. It's something I've been learning, and maybe this year and the next year is meant to forgive myself for my shortcomings. Accept who I am. Be thankful of all the moments I tried my best, whether I failed or succeeded.

What does this mean with my games?

• Player feedback is welcome to the extent it does not tarnish my fun.
• My intended vision for the game will be the default path.
• I will not punish anyone that wants an easier experience.
• I will not excessively reward anyone that wants a challenging experience. We don't want player's to get the Legend of Zelda Golden Poop.
• Again, me, as a developer, is the target audience, not me, as a gamer.