Purpose
A statement of Purpose
Building a game is a monumental task. It is a deeply collaborative — and at times conflicting — effort to create something that is simultaneously art & technology. And if your goal is not just to create, but to sustain a business, your game must also be commercially viable.
Over time, I have come to see every successful game as the product of a delicate balance between three fundamental forces: Business, Creativity, and Technology. Within game development circles, it’s not uncommon to hear passionate arguments about which of these forces should take precedence:
Business-minded professionals argue, "Without financial viability, the game won’t be funded."
Creative voices insist, "Without a compelling player experience, no one will care."
Technologists caution, "If it’s not technical feasibility, the game simply can't be built."
The truth is that each perspective is correct — but also incomplete. Every commercial game must harmonize these forces to thrive. And all mut recognize we live in a world where products live or die by their market — and that market is made up of players. Thus, it is players who hold primacy.
From this foundation, we can state our purpose:
We recognize that players want great games that enrich their lives, and developers want to craft and support those games.
From this understanding we gain financial success in an ethical manner, with which we reward our stakeholders, and grow our business.
On the surface, this may seem self-evident. However, there is a critical nuance about the primacy of players that requires careful understanding.
Primacy To the Game
Today’s players are sophisticated. Many can articulate what they enjoy and dislike about games with the skill of a junior designer. It would be tempting to think that if we simply ask players what they want, then we could build the perfect game. But this is a trap. As the old quote — often attributed to Henry Ford — reminds us:
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse."
Players can effectively express their preferences based on what they know and have experienced. But they are not reliable sources for envisioning new kinds of experiences they have not yet encountered. If the game is for the players, but we cannot rely on players to define it, then the logical conclusion is this:
Primacy does not belong to business, creativity, or technology alone — it belongs to the game, in service of the player.
When we fully embrace this truth, we can build great games that delight players and deliver great business results.