Breaking ground, breaking in.

A few weeks ago I signed up for Facebook and Twitter. Twitter sat well with me as it wasn't very "social". It felt like murmuring to yourself in a room full of people: someone may or may not have heard you. Facebook, just never sat well with me. Days after signing up, I was going to close the account. I realized it's just for friends and family to gab and talk about random things. I have to accept that part of it.

The whole goal for those two accounts was to promote my goings on as I become a full-time indie game developer. Wait a second. Let me say that again: Indie Game Developer. I like the way that sounds. Anyways, I am on Gamasutra now. Long time reader, first time blogger. I feel much better here. I know YOU know what I am going through and it just feels like what I don't have: an office for chit chat and blabbing my mouth about how work is going (or not going).

So November 17th I officially hit the "Indie" status by releasing my own game with Unity for the iOS. The game is called Toaster Kun. Honestly, the character is about two years old and I needed to learn the process dealing with Apple. It's simple: tap the screen and increase the counter to the quota to go on. No matter how simple the game was, it meant a lot to me. My goal is to be 100% stay at home dad game developer. Be it contract or for myself. This game was the first step on that journey. And this journey, my family goes with me again, but the risks are not that huge anymore...

I say not that huge because it was huge before we left America. I worked in San Diego at Sony, then thinking of moving up, I tried Midway Chicago. I made the choice and moved my wife and kid with me. And with my luck I caught it right when things were going to poop. We tried to stick it out in Chicago, but ended up selling things I could not take and we drove down to Texas to look for work there. A month of that and my wife said "Let's go home". Home for her is Japan. Everything I owned was sold minus: PS3, 360 and choice games, clothes, the computer equipment and camera. So that's 4 locations spanning two countries in less than 8 months. When I finally made it to Japan I told her I'm going indie.

She was like "What's indie mean?".

So now almost two years later. I feel like the luckiest person on the planet. Not because of the game. But because of my wife. All she knows about games is that somehow I make them, and she just likes to play them. She trusts me in my choices and stands by me (most of the time) when I make them. Here we are, living upstairs in her parents house (no basements in Japan). Two kids and no cats (I miss my cats way too much). Life hit the reset button, or for those of us with little brothers: Life kicked the NES and now it's flashing the reset light... Life KNEW you were on the last level of Rygar and Life KNEW Rygar has no save system... so you chased Life down the hall and punched him in the back as hard as you can.

So please check back from time to time as I start my next game. I feel like I can talk to you folks like co-workers. On Dec 8th I'll announce it. I swear it will not have a toaster in it.