The Humble Beginnings of Gale Force Logic

Where to begin.....

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

First, I'd like to describe what I've been led to believe is my entrepreneurial spirit.  Most of my colleagues have worked in their respective fields for a number of years.  Many of them are successful, and have earned their place in society.  Like them, I've work hard and manage to have a blossoming career as a software engineer and IT professional. But over the last year, there's something that's been consuming my thoughts, and causes me to lose sleep at night.  That something is the lifelong dream of working in the game industry.

Some who have this aspiration see themselves adequately contributing to a team of developers creating the next level of IP that's going to have kids clawing at the hem's of the parent's garments and watching their creation fly off the shelves.  I have had this dream too, but as I've fell deeper into my sleep, I can tell that there's more in store.

Good ideas are a dime a dozen.  Many times my mind escapes to places that allow me to think of good ideas, and how I would implement them.  In my work, I have even managed to patent some of these novel concepts.  I've now reached the point where ideas come so often, if I don't write them down, I tend to lose track.  This is where the true realization begins.  You see, it's not the merit of the ideas that you come up with, the quantity, or the state of their ubiquity; it is in the execution of those ideas that make the difference.  This is truly where the rubber meets the road.  After figuring that out, I soon discovered that it's time to organize these fragmented revalations into a mission or common goal.

Allow me to put these concepts together: 

1) Landing a fruitful career in the games industry is a lifelong dream.

2) It's good to have ideas.  It's great to execute them.

3) Taking your ideas and wrapping them around a misson statement or covenant that gives your thoughts direction and purpose is the beginning of true innovation.

I have thought about these points for quite some time. I recognized that this is the mindset of an indie game developer; not just a developer from an individual standpoint, but the makings of a successful game studio.  You could imagine what probably happened next- lights go off, the angels sing, birds begin to chrip, etc.  I finally figured out the journey that I sincerely want to take with my life which is the road to opening up my own indie game studio.

The Goal

OK, let's be realistic.  The idea of opening a games studio is quite lofty.  It's even more ambitious in this particular economy.  But the immediate goal is not to become the next Epic, or the next Blizzard.  The goal is to have a small team of passionate developers churning out quality titles that captivate our target audience.  We would do this by analyzing the market(s), seeing what games are being played, and making our best guess on creating titles that are within our reach while simultaneously appealing to players that we believe will purchase our products. Next, we would use agile processes and techniques that would reduce the risk, and increase the quality of our creativity. And last, we would leverage the knowledge of an accomplished marketing personnel to drive the awareness, sales, and preference for our titles. 

The Opportunity

Now that I know what's been eating at me, and now that I know what the goal would be, I started to research the industry to see where the opportunities are. Many of them revolve around social, on-demand, and digitally distributed products.  I can tell you that Gale Force Logic has its finger on the pulse of these areas of the market, and formulating competitive IP as offerings in them.  My advice at this point and time is to know your industry- know what's going on in close proximity to you and on the other side of the globe.  There is dedication to knowing your industry as well.  It's not something you read once and say, 'OK, now I know the industry'.  It's a continuous learning process.  I can tell you that because I am certainly a student.

I hope that this brief blog post reaches your thoughts in tact, and if you're an aspiring studio head, you might even say to yourself, 'wow, this sounds really familiar'.  Maybe even if you're a successful studio head, you could assure me that I'm on the right path.