On Wednesday, October 2nd, Professor Gordon Bellamy’s CTIN 463: Anatomy of a Game class, where students learn game development insight from professionals, welcomed indie developer Edmund McMillen.
The father of “The Binding of Isaac” series shared his vision of video game creation with an emphasis on letting who you are inspire your art.
Staying indie in the face of adversity
McMillen shared his experience on both the early days of the indie video game community and what inspires him to continue making games in the current video game industry.
Caelia LaPenna, a junior in Interactive Media and Game Design who requested for McMillen to be a speaker this semester, explained that the unique perspective he brought to the table was important for students to hear.
“This was our first time having an indie developer be featured in 463, and this side of the spectrum for games is one that needed to be talked about, especially since our major acts as a de facto indie studio when taking Intermediate Game Design or AGP (Advanced Game Project),” said LaPenna.
McMillen, while admitting that remaining independent has not always been easy, explained to students that it is still possible in the current landscape.
“All that matters is that [your game is] well designed or doing something interesting in some way that hasn’t been done,” said McMillen. “I don’t think you need to sacrifice, or borrow money, or need a publisher, or whatever else to do these things. Not everybody’s going to say that.”
When asked how a new solo developer should approach game making without financial resources, McMillen stressed the importance of design over any “extra fluff,” taking the art direction of his games as an example.
“The Binding of Isaac,” a roguelike dungeon-crawler where players control main character Isaac navigating through rooms of monsters haunting his cellar, was bought by an estimated 5.5 million players since its release in 2014, according to Playtracker. It currently has an estimated 1.1 million monthly users.
“I never got money from anybody to do any of the projects that I was doing. I made ‘The Binding of Isaac’ in three months, in Flash, with a friend. If you look back at that game, it looks like mud,” said McMillen.
McMillen also took the examples of “Minecraft,” “Roblox,” and this year’s “Ballatro,” to show that historically successful games have not always relied on their graphics. His experience helped aspiring game designers better understand the process of game development, especially in the indie space.
“He has an incredibly unique insight into the development, publishing, and hustling side of indie games: focusing on doing and making what you love,” LaPenna said. “Know what makes you unique and be prepared to sell yourself whenever and wherever possible.”
Being artistically true to yourself
One of the ways McMillen sees people becoming successful as independent developers is catching people’s attention, or “turning heads” as he calls it, and the best way to do so is by being unique to yourself.
Much of McMillen’s work is inspired by his own personal experience, much like any artist in any discipline.
“An artist can’t help but put something personal about themselves [in their work], even if it’s just themselves, even if it’s because they’re having to look in the mirror to do expression so they’re inadvertently drawing their face in a lot of their work,” said McMillen.
For McMillen, being authentic in your work is key in defining a relationship with your audience.
“Being brutally honest can help you connect to other people [...] in ‘Isaac,’ putting in pieces of an argument that I heard between my mom and dad when I was five before they divorce[d],” McMillen said. “That’s something other kids have experienced. [...] Even people who haven’t, have some idea of what that feels like in some abstract way.”
“I encourage all artists to write from the heart, write from personal experience, write from your fears, your preoccupations, your obsessions,” McMillen said.
An amazing resource for aspiring game makers
CTIN 463 has been turning heads in the USC Games Program, as both enrolled and walk-in students have been flocking to see key figures talk about their experience in the industry.This semester, the class also welcomed the likes of USC alumnus Alex Beachum, responsible for the Creative Lead of hit indie title “Outer Wilds,” and senior Riot Games animator Alex Ferreira Simões.
The class is a helpful resource for students looking to join a tumultuous game industry.
“Going through my junior year and striving for an internship the following summer is definitely daunting,” said LaPenna. “I feel the different perspectives offered by these professionals helps more than can be described, even if their field of work differs from mine completely.”