Hecht

Adam (Chucklefish):

Jay (Chucklefish):

Stephen (Chucklefish):

Tom (Chucklefish):

Everyone at Chucklefish got here in so many various different ways that there is no one path to take to get into the industry. The best advice I can give is to just go for it and make something. Whether that’s taking part in a game jam, or just making your own little thing for fun. It doesn’t need to be a huge fully featured game to grab people’s attention. Often, showing that you can follow through and finish something is impressive in and of itself. I think for Eric, Stardew Valley was a true passion project - It shows through when you play the game, you can almost feel it!Don’t just be inspired by other games, find inspiration outside the medium. The most exciting games I personally played of the last five years were the ones that felt fresh and inspired by people’s life experiences and interests in film/art/literature outside of the typical game paradigms.I think it’s also important to be willing to stretch yourself and learn new skills to expand your repertoire. While being highly specialized in one area can do a lot for you, having some flexibility in multiple fields can be incredibly valuable on a small team.It might be different in AAA, but for indies at least, being a great game designer is not enough. There is so much involved in game development that everyone has to take on multiple responsibilities. Developing skills in other areas as well - e.g. art, programming, music, business - will make yourself more valuable as a team member and a game designer. Eric was not only an aspiring game designer when he began Stardew Valley, he was also a very skilled artist, coder and musician.