VVVVVV is debuting in Leeds next week, so I’m crunching to get it ready in time! There were a lot of unexpected complications with my non-linear approach, but I think it’ll be worth all the extra work, in the end, when it’s finally done. It could be a very long time before I tackle something as big as this again, so I’m not going to rush it. You know what they say about the last 10%.

My browser start page is this – a countdown to the IGF submission deadline. Right now 12 days, 6 hours, 16 minutes and 55 seconds remain. So I figured it was about time I submitted something! I’ve thought about it a bit and decided that I’d like to submit two games – Don’t Look Back and VVVVVV. There’s just one problem; I don’t have the money.

I don’t talk about this a lot, so there’s a good chance a lot of people reading this don’t actually know what my working situation is. I actually make games full time – and full time as in, well, all the time; all day, every day. I quit my job two years ago and I’ve been trying to find some way to balance making the games I wanna make and being able to afford doing it since. My savings from work are long gone, and I got a loan about a year ago which has since run out.

So this is reality: very soon I will have to stop making games full time and start dealing with my debts.

My original plan with VVVVVV was to look for a sponsorship, but it’s grown too big for that to really be realistic. In any case, I find it hard to imagine it with a sponsor’s logo on the front, surrounded by ads. So recently I’ve decided that I want to try something else – I’m going to sell VVVVVV as shareware. It’s a big, scary decision to make, but it’s pretty much the only shot I have at this point at continuing to do what I love into the future! 🙂

I’ve love to know what you think about this. Please let me know! I haven’t really thought this through yet and I don’t really know how I’m going to do it…

A more immediate problem is that I really want to enter these games into the IGF, but can’t afford to! So I’m asking for your help! If you’d like to see me or my games in the IGF, please contribute.











The submission fee is $95 per game! Any contribution is appreciated, but as suggested by some friends here are a few kickstarter style targets to motivate you!

If you donate $10, I’ll send you a copy of VVVVVV once it’s finished. You can think of this as a preorder!

If you donate $20, you’ll get a copy of VVVVVV when it’s done and access to the beta when it’s ready at the start of November (if you like!).

Finally, if you donate $30 or more, you get all the above and I’ll credit you as a patron in the game.

(While donations are still welcome, preorders are no longer available. Thanks for the support! 3rd Jan)

(Beta access and the patron’s list are no longer available. 7th Dec)

Of course, any help at all is appreciated! I’ve never, ever asked for donations before.