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By J.D. Alley
[Author's Bio]
Gamasutra
November 24, 2006

Adapt or Die: The Biological Imperative for Aging Creatives

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Adapt or Die: The Biological Imperative for Aging Creatives

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It is critical to rethink everything; the good old days of shipping product with poor process and unreasonable expectations, hoping that it will earn out so we can make a buck, are gone forever. We operate in a tough, demanding and competitive business that rewards success modestly and almost inevitably punishes failure with extinction. There are not many second chances in our business and those studios that have survived a gross miscalculation more than once can be counted on one hand.

Survival begins with a sense of enlightened self-awareness. Unlike the dodo bird, we can recognize that being flightless may be a serious threat to our continued well being as a species. More importantly, we can take the appropriate action to reinvent ourselves in meaningful and productive ways. Again, let me say that the single most critical adaptation we must make in our business is to raise the level of the discourse with product and process.

We must look inward and question everything about who we are, what we are about and how we do business. We must begin with a passionate recommitment to our mission, whatever that may be, and develop an unshakable faith in our ability to deliver on those expectations. That means that we must bring on board the appropriate talent to assist in driving the creative process and open up the process of innovation.

We must commit the appropriate capital resource to develop new IP and compelling new forms of interactive entertainment. We must adopt a new, more responsive process to drive our internal development process. We must inform our thinking about the larger market opportunity that exists outside of “men in tights with swords and shields” or “space marines killing aliens”. Yes, there is gold in them thar’ hills, but not all the time and certainly not for all of us.

Helping drive that change at Blue Fang has been an interesting and challenging transition for me. Dramatically different business cultures, totally different strategic portfolio decisions, a wildly diverse level of experience, talent and expectations have certainly kept it exciting. My experience in the publishing end of the business provides a critically important point of reference for us in our interaction and communication with our publishers. We have become more direct, more focused and more effective because we have a deeper understanding of what’s on their mind.

We are less focused on our own cultural agenda and much more effective in collaborating with our publishers in driving the business forward. We have developed a deeper understanding of what it really means to be a “for profit” enterprise without losing our passion for creative aspects of the business. It is, after all, about creating entertainment that has real value in the market place. We are better than we were at this point in time but we certainly have a lot more to learn about how to sustain the success over time.

Creating something of worth that generates millions of dollars of profit once is satisfying; it is particularly satisfying when it is your first effort. To do that repeatedly, on demand, is to have become seasoned professional studio that publishers are anxious to partner with.

I believe that my decision to adapt by moving into the independent studio arena has certainly “changed the nature of the outcome” for me personally and for the studio as well. My experience and longevity in the business has been translated into a meaningful expression myself that not only enables me to stay relevant but to participate in a complete reinvention of our business. The first act wasn’t too bad, it will interesting to catch the rest of the show.

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