21–30 of 175 posts
"Jonathan Blow's beautiful, distinct 2008 platformer Braid is largely regarded as the original indie game" Really? I find this difficult to believe, considering the success of Cave Story back in 2004.
"Jonathan Blow's beautiful, distinct 2008 platformer Braid is largely regarded as the original indie game" Really? I find this difficult to believe, considering the success of Cave Story back in 2004.
1) it was on a console 2) it made the creator rich 3) it inspired a generation of puzzle platformers
All three of those things contributed to the growth of the indie community.
Interesting story, but I'd hardly call this "sacrificing his fortune." The title led me to believe that perhaps there was some sort of looming intellectual property or non-compete battle -- instead, he just spent his money in development efforts for his next game. That said, the game looks great -- and I'm sure he'll be very successful with this one, too.
Loved Braid, quite interested in trying out The Witness; hope it doesn't take too long to come to a platform I can play it on, as I have neither a Windows machine, nor any consoles, nor an iOS device.
Jonathan Blow is also passionately into the creation of a new programming language to compete with C++, with an emphasis on performance and ease of use. https://www.youtube.com/user/jblow888/videos
'Yes you can shoot yourself in the foot, hang the compiler, and launch missiles at the same time. You're a good programmer or you wouldn't be using this language. So don't do that. If you do, don't do it again.'
That's not always a good attitude to have in software development, but a modern language that backs away from the "wrap us all in bubble wrap" philosophy is refreshing.
Jonathan Blow is also passionately into the creation of a new programming language to compete with C++, with an emphasis on performance and ease of use. https://www.youtube.com/user/jblow888/videos
I always sort of wonder about stories like this, where fairly established game-devs have to rely on Kickstarter, or on their own funds to develop games. Seems like someone like Blow should be able to attract some investors.
1) Control over IP and final product. While some investors would likely give free reign to continue as he has been, identifying and coming to an agreement with them might seem time consuming, which leads to:
2) Doing business takes time, he may feel that time is better spent finishing the game.
There's a good chance there are more nuanced details to his decision to borrow instead of seek investment like project progress and terms of his loan.
I've followed Jonathan Blow for a while. He has a reputation for being condescending. If you follow him a Twitter then you might come to the same conclusion. But he has given some amazing talks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxFzf6yIfcc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Fg76c4Zfg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqFu5O-oPmU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjDsP5n2kSM
Also, as mentioned his new language is definitely worth checking out. Yes, a language is only as good as its adoption/tools/history, but I definitely think C++ needs a challenger and not many people are in the position where they can risk taking on such a thing. Since money is becoming an issue, I hope he tries to fund this language somehow.
I've followed Jonathan Blow for a while. He has a reputation for being condescending. If you follow him a Twitter then you might come to the same conclusion. But he has given some amazing talks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxFzf6yIfcc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Fg76c4Zfg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqFu5O-oPmU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjDsP5n2kSM
>>I've been following Jonathan Blow for a while now. He has a reputation for being condescending. If you follow him a Twitter then you might come to the same conclusion. I think that's neither here nor there in the context of this article.
"Jonathan Blow's beautiful, distinct 2008 platformer Braid is largely regarded as the original indie game" Really? I find this difficult to believe, considering the success of Cave Story back in 2004.
I always sort of wonder about stories like this, where fairly established game-devs have to rely on Kickstarter, or on their own funds to develop games. Seems like someone like Blow should be able to attract some investors.
I do not know him personally, but as a distant admirer I would say he doesn't seem like he would have any interest in dealing with investors.