Why did I make “How Do I Draw?” - and what I found instead

How Do I Draw? started as an idea for a game jam. It wasn't for any jam in particular. I just liked the idea. At its core it is a joke game poking fun at my own inability to create art. I've had a few set-backs developing for the Oculus Rift DK2, and thus Erusal and How Do I Draw? are now things that exist. How Do I Draw? was just practice. It's a throw away in-joke with myself.

What's coming out of it, though, is the best community interaction I have had yet for a game release. Some people don't get the joke and rate it 1/5 on Game Jolt, sure, but the people who do get it are a pleasure to talk to. I love seeing the art created by players in YouTube Let's Plays, tweets, and reddit comments. Knowing that I have helped someone to create something, even if it is through an intentionally difficult etch-a-sketch, is immensely satisfying.

This has made me consider the question, "why do you make games, Jack?" Is making games fundamentally different from my current career? Not really. In my career and in game development you start with a concept, tease out all the details into a specification, implement, test, fix, test, fix, and eventually release. The creation process is the same. If there isn't a difference, why don't I just take the 20+ hours a week (often much more) I use for my game dev hobby and devote them to the job I get paid to do? The difference relies in what happens after releasing a game. After release I get to hear that players chose to spend some time challenging and enjoying themselves using something that I made. I can talk freely with anyone on the planet about a few minutes of happiness that I helped them achieve in their lives. That, I think, is why I make games.

Thank you to everyone who has played a game that I have made, and double thanks to those of you who speak to me through Game Jolt, Twitter, or Reddit. You rock.