Today we’d like to introduce you to Randy O’Connor.
Randy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I set my eyes on making games in the mid-90s when I was in the fifth grade. I discovered a computer game, Warcraft 2, where the CD-ROM included software that enabled anyone to build more levels for the game. That moment of first creating a small interactive world still hasn’t left me.
I took a summer class at my high school that taught the basics of 3d animation while working a job to save up for a computer to play games. I liked the class so much I took it twice more. I then attended Northeastern University in Boston where I received a bachelors degree in 3d animation, while also interning and working at several small game studios, mostly as an artist.
After college, I spent a year working in the San Francisco Bay Area at a larger company that made Facebook games, while on the side, I was part of a small independent game collective called Tiger Style. Tiger Style released Apple’s 2009 iPhone Game of the Year, “Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. “ The market had changed in the late 00’s and small teams and individuals were able to find considerable success making iPhone and web (Flash) games. The critical and commercial success of Spider and the excitement I felt working with that small independent team caused me to quit my day job and begin full-time work as an independent.
Since 2010, I have been a lead artist, an animator, and game designer, often for others, on critical and commercial hits such as Waking Mars, Escape Goat 2, and Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon, but also slowly toiling away on my own projects, exploring what games are.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not always been a smooth road. Games, like other art forms, require a lot of different things going right to be commercially successful. Most people playing games see only the big hits, and smaller creators without significant marketing budgets sometimes just can’t find their audience. I have been lucky to work on many great games, but sometimes I don’t get paid while doing so.
Many game developers self-fund our projects, betting that the passion and hard work will result in a game that makes its money back and more after launch. When such a game fails to reach escape velocity, that is a struggle. I have on multiple occasions finished a large multi-year project, only to have to start contracting the following week to pay the bills because my savings were expended while finishing development.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about independent game developer – what should we know?
I am an independent game designer and artist. I specialize in systems design and interaction. What does that mean? When Tetris was designed, its creator Alexey Pajitnov had to decide that the blocks would fall from the top, which shapes would appear, what it meant to succeed in the game. He had to decide that “completing” a line would make that line disappear. That is what I do. I think about how a game operates, and why, and what that means for you as a player. My specialty is designing novel game systems. And I draw and animate pretty well, too!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I have been privileged to work with and meet amazing people who helped me reach where I am.
Making a game is incredibly dependent on others. Not only in the roles required to make a game (art, audio, programming, design) but even more so, a game is usually about how a player perceives the game. Learn to ask for and take criticism, and figure out why it exists. Games are usually terrible at first, and part of my job is figuring out why. I value being able to ask for and accept feedback and parse exactly what of value is in there. My favorite teachers, professors, coworkers, bosses all taught me this principle, that iteration is the key to success. Be unafraid to remove, modify, or do something again when it’s not working.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.randyo.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/randyzero/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/randyzero
Image Credit:
Spider and Waking Mars are Copyright Tiger Style, Escape Goat 2 is Copyright MagicalTimeBean
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