作者：Lee Perry

首先，允许我作一个简要的声明。

我认识许多开发者。虽然我现在是独立开发者了，但我自认为有资格谈论“一般”的AAA游戏开发者。我从事各种规模的已发行游戏已经20年了。我曾在位于不同城市的6家公司（有的成功有的不太成功）工作。我很幸运，能在一些培养人才的公司里工作，那些人后来分散到许多著名的项目中去了。在Epic，我经常在全世界的授权公司之间奔走。几乎所有部门我都干过，最熟悉的是代码、设计、美术、声音和营销。我在几个开发者论坛上表现活跃。当我想到创意时我总是公开发表。我认识不少开发者。

以上所说不全是自我推销。我可不是一个外向的人。游戏业一直处于变化中，任何一个在这个行业捉摸滚打20年的人都会认识成千上百的人，即使是很内向的人，也能认识数百人吧。我说这些是为了证明我所说的AAA开发者对独立开发者的观点具有足够的代表性：

AAA开发者尊重独立开发者

在我的职业生涯里，我想不起有哪个在AAA公司工作的开发者会对独立群体或他们的作品表示不屑。却有相当多的AAA开发者羡慕独立开发者的自由和他们的推广渠道。许多AAA开发者也希望组成小团队，然后自己经营。当然，不少AAA开发者很满意自己的职业，然后就贬低开发者吗？不是的，绝对没有。

为什么？

老一辈开发者（我觉得可以这么概括）都很看重积极主动的人，最重要的是，能把对游戏开发的承诺体现在完成项目上。

yuyushiki-drecom(from serkantoto)

回到上世纪90年代早中期，也就是我刚开始做游戏的时候，成为游戏开发者还不存在什么正当的门道。基本上没有相关的学位，只有一两个专门学校开设了游戏开发的课程，在那时它们简直是最新奇的学校了。在过去，如果你想进入游戏行业，你的渠道就是做模型、做共享软件、做WAD、做BBS游戏，甚至还做文字冒险游戏。带着自己的热情，利用自己的时间，做自己的项目，这就是游戏业的敲门砖。

越来越多人没有任何正式的编程经验，也申请游戏职位。他们带上新学位证书，就以为具备了求职的资格，但多得令人惊讶的人根本没有东西可展示，没有出于兴趣、利用闲暇时间制作的作品，也没有与其他团队合作的经历，甚至没有从事游戏业的动机。

今天（事实上是经常）我收到某家长的信件，问我有没有适合他们的大学生儿子或女儿的实习工作。“我儿子上XX大学，想巩固一下3级的制图学。”没有，没有，没有！如果一个人连主动写自己的简历邮件都不肯……算了，我还是不把怒气撒在这里了。深呼吸……我离题了。

我想说的是，工作总是留给那些有热情和有“游戏”的人的。我们要雇用的求职者应该带上功能模型、可播放的演示片、用破解软件制作的角色模型，具有凌晨4点还做设计的觉悟……因为我们自己就是这样的人。我们雇用的人必须做游戏，因为这就是他们活着的部分意义，至于那些仅仅把游戏看作一种有趣的职业选择的人，我们不需要。

是否有AAA开发者突然间就不尊重积极的、主动的、有创意的独立游戏开发者了？大错特错，如果有这样的人，那么他的行为等于是无视组成这个行业的人。

今天，有才能的开发者与独立开发者的总是具有相同的来源。

在BioWare、Epic、Bungie和343等公司工和的开发者，他们正是会为独立开发者的努力欢呼喝彩的人。他们渴望看到你做出令人惊艳的东西，你引领潮流和你发布好游戏。甚至大公司如EA和Ubi也是如此……这些公司里到处是像你一样对游戏充满热情的开发者（EA是若干成功的独立游戏开发者的摇篮）。

（注：我并非抨击现在的大学。现在的大学里确实有很棒的游戏课程，以上说的只是过去的情况。但我的建议是，个人主动性和积极性仍是关键！）

如果你是行业新人，或从来没有从事AAA游戏，请你修正你对AAA开发者的假想，不要把他们当作一群父母帮其写好求职信后被雇来做小玩意的家伙。

他们只是大机器上的螺丝钉吗？不是的，随便哪个AAA开发者都有可能确实只喜欢装配模型（疯了？我就认识几个），或喜欢做赛车道、脸部模型、关卡设计、UI设计，或任何个人擅长的任务。作为大团队中的一小部分更适合他们发挥自己的才能，更不容易与自己制作整个游戏的你发生争执。他们只是做自己喜欢做的事，但仍然跟进且喜欢你的项目。他们仍然把你的游戏介绍给无数的其他人。

当有人声称那些术业专攻开发者并没促进行业发展，没有为艺术做贡献，阻碍了游戏业……只是因为他们更加珍视某些东西，比如剧情。在我看来，某些人的声称是有害的，是妄下定论。

内心怀有艺术梦想的游戏开发新人，通常有一种倾向，他们很容易把EA或动视当作“权威”。但这些大公司并不能影响作为独立开发者的你以及你的设计能力。我希望你不要再把AAA当作像“市场力量”一样的压制力量。束缚你的能力的唯一一个因素，就是没有人购买、知道、支持、或认可你的游戏的处境。我（和所有AAA开发者）知道这是残酷的。

做游戏是一件困难的事，沮丧是家常便饭。有时候，你会觉得有一股无形的力量正在压制你。每一天你都会遇到平台问题、冷遇、商业趋势、阻碍等，没完没了。20年以前，我从做“自己的”游戏开始，但我绝对不能问心无愧地说，我做了一款“我的”游戏，因为完成一款游戏涉及各种各样的因素。

虽然你会觉得好像有一股强大的力量正等着对你迎面痛击，虽然你有时会觉得你的创造力被压制了……作为已经克服障碍、大半辈子都活在障碍的另一边的开发者，我提醒你，这些压力并非来自AAA游戏领域的兄弟姐妹。

似乎我们正在被那些试图使开发者互相挤兑的人陷害了；不要被迷惑了。不要怀有消极态度。不要以为开发者当中也分三六九等。不要以为我们，无论是独立开发者还是AAA开发者，会上演关于文化大战的戏剧故事。不要让别人误导你的观点；你应该自己在网上在聚会上亲自接触开发者，你就知道在开发者中找到互相支持的伙伴是多么容易的事。

最后，特别是如果你是游戏记者，请不要散播或煽动分裂观点；这么做一点意义也没有。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The truth about how AAA developers view indies

by Lee Perry

The following blog was, unless otherwise noted, independently written by a member of Gamasutra’s game development community. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Gamasutra or its parent company.

Want to write your own blog post on Gamasutra? It’s easy! Click here to get started. Your post could be featured on Gamasutra’s home page, right alongside our award-winning articles and news stories.

First, allow me a brief paragraph to establish something.

I know a lot of developers. While I’m currently independent, I feel qualified to speak about the ‘average’ AAA game developer. I’ve worked on published games of various sizes for 20 years. I’ve worked for six companies (both successful and not) in different cities. I’ve been fortunate to work at a couple companies that have acted as incubators for talent that later spread to pretty much every major project you can name. At Epic I routinely traveled to work with licensee companies around the world. I’ve worked in nearly every discipline, or intimately with the departments of code, design, art, audio, marketing groups, all of it. I’m active in quite a few developer forums. I speak publicly when I can with other creatives. I know a lot of devs.

I don’t say all that to be self promotional. Hell, I’m not even an outgoing ‘people person’. The industry is always in motion and anyone who has stuck around for 20 years knows about a billion people, or they’re extremely introverted and only know a few hundred thousand. I say all of that to qualify my sample size for the one very clear statement I want to make with this post:

AAA developers respect the hell out of indie developers.

I can recall nobody in my career… none, zip, ZERO developers at AAA companies that offhandedly disregard the indie community or their outlets. In a surprising amount of cases AAA devs envy indie freedom and current distribution options. Many hope to cluster into small teams and make a run at it themselves. Sure, many AAA devs are very happy with their careers, but looking down on indies? No. Don’t believe it.

Why?

Here’s one truth about any developer you might think of as an old-timer (and again I feel very at-ease making this generalization). We value people taking initiative, and above all completing projects as demonstrations of their commitment to developing games.

‘Back in my day’ (yes, I said it) starting off in the early-mid 90′s, there were no official routes to becoming a game developer. There were basically no degrees, only one or two specialty schools focused on games, and they where honestly a novelty to most. In the past, if you wanted to get into games you did so by making mods, making shareware, making WADs, making BBS games, making total conversions. Hell, you even did so by making text adventures. You got into games by doing your own projects on your own time, with your own initiative.

More and more we started seeing people applying for positions who were coming from fledgling formalized programs. They would bring in their new diplomas, wielded like a permission slip for job offers, but in a surprising number of cases they had no actual material to show, no free time passion projects, no collaborations with mod teams, no… proof of drive.

To this day (even more frequently in fact) I get letters from parents asking if we have internships available for their college aged sons or daughters. “My son goes to X college and wants to tighten up some graphics on level 3″. No. No, no no freakin’ no! If a person does not have the initiative to write their own introduction email… I’ll stop that rant right there. Slow exhale… I digress.

My point is that jobs inevitably went to the people who had passion and ‘game’. The applicant with a functional mod, a playable demo, character models they created on busted hacked software at 4 in the morning based on some design pitch they have… those were who we hired, those are who we ARE. We hired people who -had- to make games because it was part of their being, and passed on those for which it was just an intriguing occupational option.

To think that random AAA developers suddenly no longer respect motivated, self driven, creative, innovative indies who ship games and push the wider art form of gaming? It’s more than wrong, it displays an ignorance of the actual individuals who make up the industry.

Quality developers have always, always, came from the same fabric that indie developers are cut from today.

Indie ladies and gents, you might not know them personally (yet), but you simply could not ask for a bigger group of people cheering on your efforts than random developers working at places like BioWare, Epic, Bungie, 343. They’re eager to see what amazing things you come up with, what trends you initiate, and who takes off and launches a great IP. Even huge companies like EA and Ubi, wait for it… are loaded with passionate developers a lot like yourself (EA was a stepping stone of several indie heavy hitters).

(Quick side note: I’m not discouraging modern colleges. There are truly excellent gaming programs out there now, the above is speaking of the past landscape. My advice remains though, personal initiative is still critical!)

If you’re new to the industry or simply have never worked in AAA, please, revise any assumptions you have that AAA devs are widget makers who were hired after their parents wrote their cover letters.

Aren’t they all just cogs in a machine? No. Random AAA developer X might really just love rigging models (crazy, right!? I know several), or love designing race tracks, or love facial animation, or lighting levels, or mo-cap, or UI design, or any other number of personally rewarding specialized tasks. The fact that they work as a smaller component on a larger team that allows them to perfect their specific craft does not put them at odds with you creating an entire game by yourself. They’re just doing what they love, but they still follow and adore your work. They still evangelize your bad ass rogue-likes and platformers to countless others.

When someone claims those specialized developers are not furthering the industry, that they’re not contributing to the advancement of our art form, that they’re “in the way”… simply because they value something other than, say, narrative specifically. It’s a cancerous, judgmental sentiment in my opinion.

Often there is an undercurrent of standing up to ‘the man’ with any intrinsically artistic scene. It’s easy for someone new to game development to hold up EA or Activision as such an ‘authority’. But they hold no sway over you and your ability to design whatever you want as an indie. I ask you to refrain from holding up ‘AAA’ as the same oppressive force as ‘market forces’. The only ‘man’ out there limiting your ability to create the game you want to make, is the situation where not enough people buy your game, know about your game, support what you’re doing, or validate your work. I know firsthand (all AAA devs do) those are harsh mistresses.

Making games is tough, often disheartening work. At times it feels like there are unseen forces working against you. There’s platform issues, unwelcome influences, business trends, roadblocks and complications every single day, and it doesn’t stop. I set out personally to create ‘my own’ games 20 years ago, but I can’t honestly say I have made a game that is “mine” yet due to the broad array of factors involved in simply finishing a game and putting it out there.

But know this. While it may feel like there is some powerful force waiting for you to fall on your face, while it feels like your ability to create what you want is being actively oppressed sometimes… hear what I’m saying as someone who lived on the other side of that fence for most of his life… it is not coming from your AAA brothers and sisters.

It feels as if we are being bombarded by people trying to pit developers against each other; don’t fall for it. Don’t get sucked into the negativity. Don’t assume we have high school class systems among developers. Don’t assume any of us, indie or AAA, fit the stereotypes that make for dramatic stories about cultural battle lines. Don’t let others shape your opinions; reach out to all kinds of devs online or at gatherings and see how easy it is to find a supportive comrade (spoiler: it’s not hard).

Lastly, especially if you’re a games journalist, please, don’t propagate or encourage these divisive personal stereotypes; there is nothing constructive or genuine about it.

Thanks for reading.(source:gamasutra)