The WHY and the WHAT

Now all of this is really aimed at the person(s) who want to break into the video game business. and be the next "big thing", the kind of people who want to set up their own studio designing, developing and creating their own projects, it's a misunderstood fact that any hobbyist (with sufficient self disclipline and perserverance) CAN actually create their own video game and put it out on the internet for all to see and play (if not pay).

The key difference is that the true hobbyist is generally prepared to plough on for as long as it takes, isn't really that bothered about the commerical aspects and would just rather make fun games (in fact the process of making the games is often more important than the finished project and many projects never actually get finished in favour of some new more interesting project on the horizon).

Someone who want's to create games (or any software product) as a successful commericial venture is subject to a lot more outside pressure, the old business adage of "Time is money" applies. All of this development takes time, can you afford the time? Are you prepared to commit the time?

A lot of indie developers actually start out as hobbyist's that have a dream of making it big, making a successful commericial game in their spare time (thus keeping financial development costs to a minimum) and this is okay - some developers actually make a pretty good living out it (or at least a reasonable second income that helps to offset the costs of their geeky gadget fueled lifestyles, the only downside is that they may have to make sacrifices in other areas (i.e. lack of "quality time" with significant others)

At the end of the day which ever category you fall into is fine, the key thing to understand (and here you have to be 100% honest with yourself) is understanding WHY are you starting this project and WHAT are you hoping (or going) to achieve when it's complete. Keep these two answers firmly in your mind, stay focused on them during the dark times or when you start to have doubts and wonder if it's all worth it.

If your WHY and WHAT is commercial success then YOU have to be hyper critical of your idea (because you can bet your backside that everyone else will be) - that doesn't mean you should reject all forms of originality in preference for yet another match 3 clone (far from it - the games industry is currently crying out for innovation, but if your just starting out a period of incremental innovation of current / past successes will at least allow you to "stand on the shoulders of giants") it just means that you have be damm sure you can make a go of it (especially if you've got a mortgage to pay and mouths to feed!).

From here on in it may look like I'm focusing more on the commercial success angle, but really I'm focusing on the plain old "success" angle - if you (hobbyist, indie or commerical) want to make your game a success then you owe it to yourself at least to make a concerted and dedicated effort.