Dev Stories #4 - The Decision Process

I don't plan to convert this Patreon to lifestyle or motivational outlet, but I think this topic is kind of important in multiple areas of our daily lives.

Crossroads
As a game developer you often make design decisions that have long-term affects for the project and your daily routines. Sometimes these decision are easy and fast to make, but sometimes they are so multi-layered and complex that they need some  extra attention in terms of thinking time.

One of the most valuable lesson that I have learned in gamedev is that you need to recognize these "high-priority" decision moments when you face them. I personally imagine these moments like crossroads and every time I face a crossroad, I don't allow myself selecting the path and making the decision without a simple routine.

Walk routine
My routine around high-priority decisions involves just walking, no spreadsheets, no charts, just walking. Yes, some decisions do need data gathering, surveys and such, but in general I think our logical thinking is at best, when there are no distractions or virtual tools around us. I don't consider myself a person who naturally likes to hike and do all sorts of outdoor activities, but when it comes to gamedev and other important decision making, a simple walk is a must. It's actually pretty scary to think how many times I almost made the wrong decision before doing the walk routine, meaning after the walk it was so clear that the initial thought around the decision was wrong. I think this whole ideology is basically the same when people say "I'll sleep on it", but to be honest. I much rather thoughtfully consider things while I'm awake.

Example decisions
You might be wondering what kind of things and decisions I'm referring with this post. In terms of Road to Vostok and gamedev, many decision at this stage of the project are usually tied to publishers, partners and different kind of collaborations. Some of these are minor things which are easy to decide, like yesterday I made a decision to accept external help from a professional character artist which involved telling him some minor lore-stuff that I don't want to get leaked yet, but then there are these other major decisions when you just have to stop and take the walk. 

Mentors
I strongly believe that every decision so far that I have made for this project has been the right one, but for some I have also used a mentor who is much more experienced in the gaming industry than me. Without this mentor, I would probably already have made couple minor bad choices, even I did the walking.

I don't know if this person who I talk with considers himself a mentor but for me I definitely see him as that, even though our communication is pretty one-sided and based on these monthly update emails. I think the key mindset around mentors is to be honest for yourself and recognize that you don't know everything and there are always much more skilled people out there than you.

- Antti (Developer)