Defining Success as a Hobbyist Game Designer

Matthew Rick

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Defining success as a hobbyist game developer is challenging. How do you decide what success looks like? When all is said and done, how do you assess whether you’ve succeeded or not? If you don’t meet your goals, then what?

This is a story/conversation about how I achieved more success than I expected, but still felt like I was failing to the point of crippling existential dread. It’s about how to set healthy boundaries, lean on your support structure, and prioritize your wellbeing in the middle of failure, or worse, success.

I’m a software engineering manager, a father and a hobbyist game developer. I’ve been an avid gamer for my entire life (all forty plus years of it) and love tinkering with things. I’ve designed many games but I specifically want to talk about my experiences running a successful crowdfunding campaign for my game They Stirred, which was both great and terrible for my mental health.

Find Mathew on LinkedIn
Checkout They Stirred on itch.io

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