Hello! I'm Tom. I'm a game designer, writer, and programmer on Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizards. Here's some more info on all the games I've worked on, here are the videos I make on YouTube, and here are two short stories I wrote for the Machine of Death collections.
By me. Uses Adaptive Images by Matt Wilcox.
In general I really like open game development – talking and writing publicly about what I’m working on – but I do have one problem. The time when I want to share what I’ve been making is when, after an exhausting amount of work, I’ve finally created something I’m happy with. But sharing it invites critique: anyone who sees a way it could be better will generally tell you about it.
And it’s just the wrong time to hear it. I spend all the rest of my time dissatisfied – that’s how I get things done. The point when I’m actually happy with it is the light at the end of the tunnel, and sharing it is part of how I celebrate. Having it picked apart right then – even if the suggestions are fair – is crushing. I go from exhausted but happy to exhausted, miserable, and daunted. It doesn’t even help me make the thing better, because I’m too demoralised to work on it anymore.
Sometimes, of course, I ask for feedback. But when I don’t, I think I’m going to just quietly disable comments. It’s not a case of “Oh god the comments”, it’s just an evasive way of saying “I’m not looking for feedback on this.” I stay aware of any real problems by doing lots of playtesting, and if it’s something that doesn’t bother actual players, it’s not worth having my enthusiasm drained over it.