If I had it my way, I’d have just joined people I liked and made stuff with ‘em. That’s how you get into creative things, or at least it’s how I got into creative things. It’s not the way it’s happening this time around, though. At least not yet. And on top of it, I’m in a financial bind I’m hoping to solve with this transition, which heavily implies I need to finish a playable piece, so that takes priority.
Long story short, I’m a language buff who went out of work because technology took it over. Been applying to job ads long enough to know what’s obvious: that’s going nowhere. If you want the long story, click on the doohickey, provided you prefer creative liberties over employment records.
Long story doohickey
Hi. 
I’m 40 and I’m from a land you’ve never heard of. If you did, I still prefer to keep it to the sidelines. The internet is a place where I can be part of the world without that sort of thing, and I prefer to keep it that way. If you’re still curious: in the land I come from, if you’re a vegan, you’d be wise to ask questions before you choose to eat anything at a bakery.
There is no point in making riddles about the language you’re reading. I learned it because of cartoons and whatever games happened to be in English when I was a kid. I was doing alright by the time Dexter’s Lab came out.
I chose to learn another one to understand more things on TV. I learned that a blond singer with spiky hair had opinions about gossip. I learned that a girl, her hair dyed red, ran in and out of parallel realities with one single constant: “Will you help me?”
I lived in a country where you could see an island just across the nearby strait. When the volcano was active on the island, I typically had to sweep ash from the balcony. More importantly, there was a language school where people came from all over the globe. That atmosphere is pretty much my natural habitat. When I learned enough of that language, I stayed in the country a few more years, taking any odd job I could get my hands on, just so I could stay in that atmosphere.
The type of work varied, but I’ve always been stubborn about one simple rule: it had to involve languages in one way or another. Bartended abroad, taught languages on occasion, translated, worked as an online typist for the US entertainment industry until recently.
Creative writing happened because of MMOs, or rather the people I met there. When I saw them roleplay, I couldn’t put my finger on the feeling at first. It felt like playing pretend: you’re in a different world with different rules, someone drops you a line, you make things up on the fly to play along. But then, we started writing stories together.
It eventually evolved into all sorts of creative writing, except that it wasn’t about making things up on the fly anymore, not by a longshot. Nowadays, it’s more about observing how someone’s mind works, seeing what comes out, helping with that, taking the time to decipher signals inside my own head, and there’s always fixing the pesky issues when it all ends up on paper. I’ve kept it almost exclusively in English. All of us could indulge in it this way. No wonder it stuck for two decades.
Well, it’s 2026. You might have guessed what’s happening with my language skills. Even this very platform boasts how you can get any language translated with a click. Gone are the days of transcribing interviews, looking up everything from period pieces to the terminology of a costume designer. Tried applying to edit, proofread, translate, teach, you name it. Work is zero. Income is zero. One reply from a company. It’s been a long year.
When I glimpsed a chance to mix all of this with video games, and there were unambiguous pointers about needing a portfolio, I stopped applying. Turned to making a portfolio instead.
I realize that to get any sort of work around here, a guy needs to have a playable. The game I’m making was initially supposed to be a twerp. Around 1,000 words that said, “Hey! I can write. I can do it without getting lost in code,” and along the way, I’d have said, “I work best in a multinational environment.”
But the draft fell flat. The muse is cranky. She’s been conjuring up cover letters to no avail for the past year, and then there’s the bills crowding in. I’m working with whatever she manages to pull right now. And actually, the rest of this game’s development might be the result of that.
It’s set in the Wild West, but it leans into trippy territory. It involves conversing with disembodied voices of people.
Last I checked, the Twine game had around 10,000 words and they’re nearing their end. I counted the possible nodes to around 200 when I stopped bothering.
It has a quest journal, three states to each quest, all of which involve at least one passage with the two NPCs.
I doodled a few drawings where they needed to be.
I record music for it on a wired classical guitar. It’s humble, but it’s enough for ambience. I’m currently looking for ways to record percussion with the one microphone I have - the one wired to that guitar.
Then, of course, I needed to get all that to actually work together.
It’s fun. Still doesn’t beat climbing a volcano with people, but it does make me lose track of time. When you grind at such a thing as removing background hiss from your audio, and you suddenly notice it’s three hours later, you know you’re having fun.
Taking a throwaway idea for the story was a good choice after all. This thing actually wants to have an ending. Otherwise, who knows how long I’d be working on the same project.
The two reasons I chose to write here are inherently at odds with each other. Touching on the first one, I never did things without people involved. Friends from the language school, friends from MMOs, friends who write for the heck of it. If I wasn’t writing this for the sole purpose of putting it here, making those language riddles in the doohickey wouldn’t have crossed my mind. It’s the way I’m wired. I have yet to see what being part of a game dev community feels like, though.
To make a bridge to the second reason, I’ve been making a playable so that people could get a feel for my work. It’s the first time I’m making one, and the more I work on it, the more skills I discover sitting in the back of my noggin. Music, choices, minor mechanics, bad art skills, not to mention making it all work with Harlowe. I basically treat the process as a sandbox where I keep getting drawn into creation experiments.
It’s not finished yet, but at least it’s an idea that wants an end (well, two plus variety) and knows where it is.
The second reason: I’m screwed. I need help turning these skills into actual work. The original intention was straightforward, but I don’t have a clear view on what I’m applying for any longer. I’m probably jumping the gun without finishing the game first, but I wanted to write here anyway.
Blending these two reasons feels very awkward. The creative process never involved money. I’ll welcome all advice you may have on this, though I’d enjoy kicking back with you guys all the same.
