One of the all-time must-read life stories was told this July in Doom Guy: Life In First Person–John Romero’s long-awaited autobiography. In conversation about his excellent book, Romero was also keen to share his recommendations for indie developers in 2023–many of whom have to answer the same questions he did over 30 years ago.
Romero wants others to respect a simple ethos he learned during the early days of Dangerous Dave and Commander Keen. He says: “I was very lucky, and I’m very grateful for, being able to make games for my whole life. But being positive is really helpful for everything that you do. Helping other people is really important. You want people to get ahead and feel like they’ve accomplished something.”
He believes it’s important to see through those early visions and explore them to their limits. “Just try out really interesting ideas, because that’s what indies do,” Romero says. “That’s why we have lots of amazing stuff out there, and it pushes the industry forward.”
Whether or not these ideas are successful, Romero says it’s important to keep operations light, at least to begin with. “Indie developers should keep on making their games and keep their team small,” he continues. “That’s just, like, the most fun part of making games–with a small team. Everybody knows everybody else and can depend on each other.
“You’re not making something that takes forever and never gets done. You’re always, like, figuring out ‘this is our identity, the game’s identity is this.’ You just try it and go for it and see if you can make that crazy idea happen. Creatively, that’s really fulfilling.”
Romero cited four games in particular that made a mark on him during the last ten years–titles that showed how small, creative, agile studios can surprise gamers and make a lasting impression.
“What Remains of Edith Finch was extremely, extremely inventive,” Romero says. “I love the fact it used a modern engine–UE4–and just made a beautiful environment and told a story in a really unique way.
“I had my mom play that game. She played it from beginning to end, right in front of me. She was blown away because she’d never played a game like that before. That super-amazing part where you’re, like, at the fish factory–you get two games going at one time. Incredible.”
He also celebrated Firewatch. “I love it, you know… so good. I didn’t really expect the discoveries. I thought there was gonna be some weird alien stuff going on, but no! The relationship you have with the other person, and wondering how you’d see them at the end–such a good, good game. I played it over and over again, just because I listened to the soundtrack.”
Romero also loved A Short Hike–a game he didn’t think enough people had played, and an experience he adored–but he reserved his final praise for The Artful Escape–a game deserving of 2021’s indie game of the year.
“Oh, my God, yes. One of the best games to come out in the last couple of years,” says Romero. “Holy crap, that was a tour de force. You know, I love guitar; that game was, like, the ultimate guitar game. God, what an amazing… That was a true adventure.”
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