“I had lost the spark” on Why He Almost Retired From Video-Games Before Going ‘Indie’ Changed His Mind

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“I had lost the spark” on Why He Almost Retired From Video-Games Before Going ‘Indie’ Changed His Mind

Johan Persson is an LA-based indie game developer who has had a notable career spanning more than 25 years. He has been part of some of the most critically acclaimed games, including the Battlefield franchise.

VR gaming landscape helped reignite Persson’s spark. Image Credit: Muddy Pixel

He started playing around with game development when he was just 12 years old; however, even he thought of opting for an early retirement at one point in his career until he discovered a whole new area to put his resources to good use.

Battlefield’s creator found his calling once again

Persson contributed a lot to Battlefield 1942. Image Credit: DICE

Persson had been deeply involved in video games since adolescence, and as he transitioned from a teenager to an adult, he kept that spark within him alive. He would play video games with his friends over a LAN during his foundational years as an adult while completing his education in computer science, which enabled him to develop games of his own.

He worked at EA/DICE for well over 14 years and spent another 10 more years working at various other studios across Los Angeles. He has contributed a lot to Battlefield 1942. However, like all great minds, he found the flame within him getting dimmer and dimmer with each passing day he spent contributing to the world of video games.

It became a monotonous task more than a liberating one until he stumbled upon a whole new genre of video game development. Shedding light on the same, he

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A couple of years ago I started working on a flying VR-game. VR made everything look fresh again. It was a bit like when hardware accelerated 3D-graphics were introduced some 25 years ago.

It reignited the spark for developing games. ​ I had lost the spark during some of the later years in the industry, I thought perhaps I had outgrown game-development. When I went indie, I realized that I simply had a very narrow preference for the type of games I enjoyed working on.

After he started working on his VR game called Worlds at War, it felt like a fresh start, and he could feel the flame reigniting. His transition as an indie developer helped him find his true calling.

Choosing the life of an indie developer has its pros and cons

Worlds at War established Persson’s career as an indie developer. Image Credit: Muddy Pixel

As an indie developer, you are the sole person responsible for the project. You do not get a huge team that contributes to your success or failure, which might feel liberating up until a point it doesn’t. However, there are a lot of indie games that give tough competition to some of the big-budget AAA titles.

Working in a team enabled developers to bounce off ideas and have long and fruitful creative discussions that might end up contributing a lot to the game, whereas on the other hand, as an indie developer, you are on your own, which does give the developer immense creative freedom and flexible timelines to work and could work well in the favor of the game. Even Hideo Kojima believes his studio is an indie studio.

It is also not the easiest task to pay one’s bill while developing a passion project in the home office, which might pose problems in the long run. For some, indie development might be the way forward; for others, it might not. To each their own. It has worked wonders for Persson and many others. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.

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