Rami Ismail: the industry hears only the successful

Is it true that the gaming industry gives a podium only to selected and successful developers? This issue was raised on the last day of Reboot Develop as part of an informal session with Rami Izmail (Nuclear Throne, Ridiculous Fishing).

“The answer to this question is yes,” Ismail said.

He believes that “systematic survivor error” is widespread in the industry today. This is the name of the situation when there is a lot of data on one group – the “survivors”, but there is no data on the other – the “dead”, and researchers begin to look for common features among the “survivors”, not taking into account that more important data are just among the “dead”.

The theory is advancing in the gaming industry,” Rami develops the idea. – According to which success is the product of a series of correct decisions. This way of looking at things ignores the luck factor, which plays a crucial role, and also misses the experience of those who failed.

“One of the biggest challenges facing the industry is to convey to everyone that the voices you hear today have survived a series of random events that somehow led to success,” says the author of Nuclear Throne.

These voices – gaming celebrities – tend to believe that their position is directly proportional to their talent and successful decisions. Stories from such developers dominate both conferences and media platforms. At the same time, other stories that are more representative, since they reflect the experience of most independent developers, are very difficult to find.

“The voices of the majority of those you hear today are the voices of successful people. People don’t want to hear stories that making games is difficult, not always fun, and in general, most of us may fail,” Ismail laments.

“Find them,” Rami urges. “They are very important. You can learn a lot from people who have experienced [failure].”

Based on Games Industry material