Aubrey Hesselgren

I've not been to gamescon. Pax West is the biggest conference I've been to.

The overwhelming feeling I get from games conferences is how many games there are. Some are more unique than others. But I am sure that each and every one of them gets some play time from someone.

It's crept up on me how much like music scene (or TV via Youtube) games have become. It's no longer about being famous for 15 minutes; you're famous to 15 people.

Aug 22, 2018 at 12:53pmWeb
Show threadAubrey HesselgrenAug 22, 2018

There's an uncomfortable realigning of expectations to be done about 'hitting it big'. And a need for lots of self awareness about personal privilege when saying /that/, in case you come off as tone deaf.

"Just do it as a hobby" is advice that would have really offended me, coming up, but it's on the tip of my tongue sometimes. Like I'm watching people dance near a cliff edge.

I want to be encouraging without feeding into delusions. I want to warn without pulling the ladder up behind me.

Show threadChris RemoAug 22, 2018
@hilariouscow I struggle with this when asked for advice, because I genuinely sometimes wish I’d gotten a more stable career and kept various creative endeavors to a hobby. But who knows how I’d feel if I’d done so?
Show threadJPAug 22, 2018
@Remo @hilariouscow From about 2007 to early last year, working a day job felt like such a burden, I could feel it bleeding away my energy. Even as it became clear in the last few years that working in isolation was also untenable. I'm hoping I can readjust my mindset about the former enough to feel fulfilled where it counts.
Show threadJPAug 22, 2018
@Remo @hilariouscow and yeah "famous to 15 people" is good enough for me, because i've seen so much evidence that being famous to millions is only feeding a howling void nobody deserves to have inside them. recently my sibling (an actor) was at a gathering of immersive theater people in NYC and someone asked, "are you related to JP LeBreton?". and i was reminded that, for me, that's plenty.