"The truly great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- Mark Twain

I've always prided myself on being more than the average game developer, but even I couldn't orchestrate what my work has come to represent. Over the years, my solo antics have gradually transcended gaming to become a metaphor for independent achievement in general (to the extent that many of my fans don't even play the games!). The idea of renouncing conformity to pursue a unique vision is a universal one, and stands as the precursor to all of mankind's greatest achievements. Progress isn't made in any area until a pioneer steps up to the plate and dares to lay down the blueprint. As the phenomenon slowly took grip of my own work, I've had plenty of time to appreciate how this pioneering state can be cultivated, maintained, and applied to any creative endeavour that you care to mention! If you've never looked beyond the games, allow me to point out a few hidden messages that you might have missed...

Independence Day
"Birds travel in groups. Eagles fly alone..." - Ornithological Fact
The backbone of my message is, of course, independence. That word is thrown around all too often in the realms of entertainment and enterprise - but in my case, we're talking about the dictionary definition of "independent". From the original idea to the finished product, there's not a human being alive that can stop me from doing what I want, when I want, how I want. That empowering state of affairs is the key to everything that my work stands for - speed, creativity, economy, and even personal satisfaction. It's an obvious fact that the more you rely on other people, the more diluted all of the above become. More organization and bureaucracy cripples your speed, more compromise dilutes your vision, and more mouths to feed ravages your funds - all of which makes for one unhappy camper! Those basic principles seep into every other area of life too. When I'm not making games, you can find me cooking my own meals, cutting my own hair, and working through an endless list of other skills that are guaranteed to make life easier! It may sound fiercely anti-social, but a dependence on others is very much a weakness. Task after task, you're literally putting your life in somebody else's hands by begging them to fill in the gaps. By making sure there are no such gaps, you create a solid platform from which any height can be reached...

Mission Impossible
"He who seeks the highest point shall be looked upon as that point..." - Shaolin Temple
A by-product of independence is that you have to venture into some ambitious territory. This is where an even more important philosophy comes into play - the pursuit of the "impossible". In recent years, many have attributed that term to my work. Technically, it's not humanly "possible" for me to single-handedly do the work of entire team at all - let alone quicker and more creatively! Fine, but consider that it's also not "possible" for a bee to fly. Its body mass versus its wingspan doesn't quite add up. But does the insect care about "facts" or "statistics"? No, it just does what it needs to do and ends up pulling it off! And so it is with human achievement. A man can achieve almost anything once he ignores the 6 billion people telling him otherwise. Both mind and body can be trained to frightening levels if the right sacrifices are made. For example, I put it to you that it's possible for any able-bodied individual to become the next Bruce Lee. If they dedicated every waking hour to martial arts, decade after decade, that door would eventually open. It's just that it's hard to reconcile that incredible sacrifice with the precarious benefits. And so it is with my work. Technically, anybody can follow in my footsteps if they're prepared to sacrifice years of their life mastering each discipline (and the art of combining them). It just so happens that very few people are. Rather ironically, then, success is less about how much you want to "gain" and more about what you're willing to sacrifice...

Innovation Vs Imitation
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new..." - Albert Einstein
The qualities of independence and determination wouldn't mean anything if they didn't go anywhere, so it's fortunate that my thirst for innovation is just as prevalent. From day one, I've unleashed my unusual methods on unusual ideas to get unusual results. Whether you read "unusual" as a positive or negative quality is a matter of taste! Over the years, my experimental antics have attracted criticism from even the most perseverant of fans - but I wouldn't have it any other way. I once said that I'd rather "fail as an innovator than succeed as an imitator", and I meant every word. If you're not bringing anything new to a profession, it's very hard to argue your case for being there. You become quite literally "disposable", and it's only a matter of time before the industry spits you out as such. From the games themselves to the way I make them, there's not a human being alive that can offer what I'm offering - and that guarantees that I will always be relevant to somebody. Like an explorer discovering new worlds, you're always the king when you're in uncharted territory - no matter how small the land may be! And like a goldmine found within that land, the only qualities that matter are those that are rare...

The Root Of All Evil
"The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat..." - Lily Tomlin
Contrary to popular belief, my message is also one that opposes materialism. Having cultivated an environment where there's only one person to pay, I've been able to sell even the most desirable of games for as little as $14.99 (a staggering 4 times less than the industry standard!). Although you might argue that my modest efforts aren't worth much more, you don't have to look far to find developers charging twice as much for games that are half as good - and I could easily follow in their footsteps. It just so happens that I've made a conscious decision to pass the profits onto my players. And by "profits", I don't necessarily mean money. By giving finances a secondary role in my business, the work itself must become the "wealth". And it's spread in every e-mail I reply to and every article that I write - neither of which will ever match a game for financial reward. That, incidentally, is why you've never seen a website like this before - and probably never will again! Fortunately, I've already learnt that there's more to life than money. The first time I was ever "paid" to make a game, I turned down monetary payment in favour of a hand-crafted wrestling belt - which stands to this day as a testament to the moment a hobby turned professional. Money would have just been a number in the bank, and certainly wouldn't be around today! That which "comes and goes" is like a river that flows and splashes indiscriminately, whereas internal qualities stay with you forever like the land beneath your feet. I know which surface I'd rather build my home on...

Triple Threat
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything..." - Vici Derrick
Behind the scenes, the real backbone of my work is what can only be described as a triangle between mind, body, and soul. After all, a triangle is the strongest shape and can never be broken! It occurs to me that life is like an ongoing game of "rock, paper, scissors" - and you need access to all 3 options to even stand a chance of winning. In this case, the mind gives you something to offer, the body stands up for it, and the soul keeps everything headed in the right direction. If you're not playing with a full deck then you're doomed to lose to players that are! Each quality grows stronger with the support of the other, and weaker without it. Intelligence without fitness leads to insecurity. Strength without intelligence leads to humiliation. And either of them without soul doesn't lead anywhere! Not only does it benefit your character to have 3 such dimensions, but it can also have a similar effect on your work. In the sleeve notes of Wrestling Encore, I mentioned "fans of the sport, the games, and the philosophy". I was referring to the fact that the game appealed to people on 3 separate levels. Some enjoyed the wrestling content, some enjoyed the game as a concept, some respected the independent spirit in which it was made - and some enjoyed all of the above! The point is that at least one of those qualities was bound to resonate with somebody. It's basic structural engineering. When you're 3 layers deep you're less likely to fall, and when you're 3 layers high you're more likely to touch the sky...

Deconstructive Criticism
"Little minds are wounded by the smallest things..." - La Rochefoucauld
When a man dares to be different, he attracts ridicule from a public that fails to understand him and scorn from the peers that understand him all too well. A lethal combination that can kill any mission before it even starts! Unfortunately, this has grown to be my specialist subject in recent years. When you're single-handedly responsible for something, you become an antenna for criticism as much as anything else. Rather ironically, I choose to deal with it by NOT dealing with it! It used to drive me insane if so much as one person had something bad to say. Now I honestly couldn't care less about the comments that ricochet around the Internet and in magazines. With every word, they're saying more about themselves than they are about me! It's important to consider the source. Does it come from an authority in your field - somebody that's where you want to go, or who you want to be? Anything less comes from a place of pure speculation, and should be disregarded as such. In my experience, the first to criticize are the last to contribute. A man that's focused on his own positive achievements simply hasn't got time to pour negativity on others - nor would he choose to do so even if he did. That, incidentally, is why you'll never see me bickering on online forums! If you care what other people think, you're essentially giving them the keys to your spiritual home. Upon giving them to a stranger, you can expect to find your happiness and dignity stolen like the treasures they are...

The Truth Is Out There
"Virtue is not left to stand alone. Those who practise it will have neighbours..." - Confucius
One of the many criticisms that's thrown my way is that I'm a devious con-man - which is a shame, because my message is also one of truth and honesty. Nowhere in the realm of game development (and arguably entertainment in general) will you find somebody taking more time out of his day to reveal his methods in more detail. Day after day, I post a substantial account of what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and why I'm doing it. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of words that surface in articles, interviews, and e-mail replies - all of which are there for no other reason than to enhance your understanding of my work. That transparency even extends to the published products - which are broken all the way down to $14.99 because I'm honest about the fact that there's nobody else to pay. In fact, I'm probably the only entrepreneur in history that tells people NOT to buy his wares! If you're not completely onboard, I don't want your custom. It wouldn't do either of us any good. And therein lies the secret of my philosophy. I once said that "I'd rather fail for the right reasons than succeed for the wrong reasons", and I meant every word. A stolen victory is both hollow and finite. It's only a matter of time before it buckles under its own deceit, whereas a pure achievement serves you for as long as you choose. Personally, I also find that a fear of the truth is a sign of insecurity. If you fret over your weaknesses, you have no faith in your strengths...

Hard Times
"Resistance builds strength - whether it's in the gym or in the outside world..." - Sylvester Stallone
The path of integrity and independence is seldom travelled because it's a rocky road! The one thing that all of the above points have in common is that they voluntarily choose the hardest path. It's not easy to be independent, to innovate, to shun material reward, to be a 3-dimensional character, to endure criticism, and to expose your weaknesses. So why do it? Well, that brings us to perhaps the greatest philosophy that my work demonstrates - the importance of hardship. It's human nature to chase a blissful existence that's low on effort and high on pleasure, and yet that attitude rarely achieves anything - least of all contentment. The divine dichotomy of life dictates that nothing can exist without its opposite. There's no rest without work, no warmth without cold, no joy without pain, and even no life without death. If it was impossible to die, what would life mean? If it was impossible to be unhappy, what would happiness mean? And so it is with those rich people that rattle around their mansions wishing their life had some meaning, and those lazy people that lie in bed until the afternoon wishing they had something to do. By removing hardship from their lives, they've lost the wall against which they could've sharpened their claws. The game's over. They've used cheat codes to fly through the experience without appreciating it. A teacher of mine once used the analogy of a couple of caterpillars that he found in his garden. One struggled through its shell to blossom as a colourful butterfly. The other was way behind schedule and didn't seem to be making any progress, so he gently cut it out with a knife. When the butterfly emerged, it was black and white because no blood had gotten to the wings! Without the blood, sweat, and tears, its life had no colour. Ever since I heard that story, I've been happy to work as hard as my goals demand - because it means I get to be the man that I always wanted to be...

Final Thought
"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it..." - Edith Wharton
For every person that's inspired by all of the above, there'll be another that dismisses it as pretentious nonsense. That's their choice. It's also their loss. Every entry on our list is there because at least one person has cited it as a source of inspiration. Look out for the kid that's realized he doesn't need anybody's help (or permission) to achieve what he wants. Prepare to be amazed by the guy that knows that anything is possible with the right sacrifices. Applaud the artist that's the king of his own world rather than a slave to another. Respect the entrepreneur that's discovered a resource more valuable than money. Don't mess with the guy that's decided to back up his mental strengths with a physical frame and a positive attitude. Give up trying to discourage the warrior that doesn't care what you think. Honour the tower of integrity that has an answer for everything. And try to keep up with the man that's not afraid of hard work. As for the guy that's mastered all of the above? Drop everything and leave your profession as soon as you see him coming - because it's only a matter of time before he takes it over!