When this website was born just over 2 years ago, I never dreamt I'd get to the level that I'm at. I half-heartedly put together a few programs that vaguely resembled games and assumed that was as far as it would go. However, the games got better each time, opened up new possibilities, and gained a bigger following. Within a year of putting my hand to game development, I realised I was en route to one day mastering it. What was originally a hobby looked set to be something altogether bigger and more consuming. I'm not there yet, but this year I took my biggest ever step by turning professional...

Public Enemy #1
Understandably, the news was met with a distinctly mixed reaction. For 2 years my fans were treated to free games and then that relationship was to be shredded by something of a double-edged sword. On one side I was securing my future, on the other I was compromising my past. A third of people were happy for me, a third of people wished it wasn't the case but accepted it, and of course a final third deeply resented it. It is to that final third that I dedicate this article. The third that equate my 'turning professional' to 'turning heel'. I won't exactly justify my direction, because it doesn't need justifying. I will, however, explain it. What follows are the key reasons why my games are now published...

Ring of Honour
One of the biggest reasons is simply the honour of having a game published. A developer wants a publishing deal like a musician wants a recording contract. Whether it's a game, a movie, a CD, or even a performance, it's a thrill to put something out into the world that people care about. It's fulfilling to walk into an entertainment store and see your work there on the shelves. Sure my games aren't exactly there yet. They won't set the world on fire, but even that doesn't dilute the satisfaction. There's part of me that would happily give the games over for free just to have that honour. Fortunately, that isn't the case...

Show Me The Money!
Admittedly, the single biggest reason is that I now get to make games for a living. Before you scream "sell out", consider what that means to my work. Up until now I've been a student making games in my (plentiful) spare time. Soon, like any responsible adult, I'm going to need a full-time job. Now, that job is either to make games or it's something completely different. Make no mistake about it, if it's 'something else' there won't be an awful lot to see on this site. Sure I've come this far in my spare time, but the games are so much better now that they demand a lot of work. Look at the Credits list in my latest games - it's no exaggeration to say I do the work of an entire team of people. Quite simply, I either make games for a living or it doesn't happen. It's literally all or nothing. Also, contrary to popular belief, I'm not exactly making a killing from these games. I'm a limited game developer with a limited appeal - you do the math...

Raising the Bar
Clearly money plays an important part in the quality of my games, and so too does the CD format. My two latest games are each around the 10mb mark. Sure that isn't 'enormous', especially not for broadband users, but it's a far cry from the days when my games were around 2 or 3mb. Would you really want to download games that big? I know I wouldn't bother. Rest assured those file sizes are not down to reckless game design either. The games are so sophisticated now that they need to be that big. Sure I could keep making games that are 3mb, but we'd be back to that last Federation Online game that had crap graphics, crap sound, and only 12 characters instead of 95! The full games would scarcely be better than the demos that you can download now. If my games are going to get bigger and better then they need a bigger and better platform. So the only alternative is to distribute them on a CD, and if you're going to do that why not do it properly...

World Domination
The final reason for publishing my games is one that anybody reading this probably wouldn't realise: NOT EVERYBODY HAS THE INTERNET! There are thousands of wrestling fans out there that can only play the games that they have in their hands. Thousands of wrestling fans that think that WWE games are all there is. By putting my games in a box, and ideally in the stores, they can reach a whole new audience. At the end of the day, all I truly care about is entertaining as many people as possible - and these publishing deals are a huge step in that direction...  

Roll With The Punches
So there you have it. My games were once free, now they're not. My games were once crap, now they're not. Things change. Whether that's for better or worse depends on your point of view, but from mine there're no two ways about it. Are all my games going to be published from now on? Quite possibly. If that means it's the end of the road for you then I understand. Find somebody else that makes free games that are worth playing and enjoy them. I hope they benefit from your support as much as I did. In the meantime, I'm going to step up to the next level and see if I can cause a stir in the mainstream...