GDC Festival of Gaming
3 HN recommenders · recommended in 3 months, 2020–2025
1:01:04 · 150K views · Apr 24, 2019
At GDC 2019, Bennett Foddy and Zach Gage ask why game developers rarely sign their work. They argue that indie developers could benefit from putting their names on their games.
HN recommends it when people ask why games aren't marketed by creator like films, and for the value of attaching your name to your work.
3 comments from Hacker News
Thank you for bringing up such a great point. I've worked with people in the past who only call me by a handle, even face to face. Some people really could care less depending on the scene. Other people will want to know everything about you, and it's your preference where your boundaries lie. I've also hired anonymous engineers before, depending on the work. If it's confidential IP or user data, it's risky to work with anonymous employees, though I am fine with them being pseudonymous within the company as long as I have verifiable data on file in the event of a sudden disappearance, breach of contract or something else. Personally, I have a few handles as well as my company, and different engagements may go through me personally or through my company. I'm forthcoming about my name in less public spaces, but Hacker News is quite a public space. I still sometimes consider attaching my name, but for now I don't. I express my own opinion on this website and don't want it to affect others. Bennett Foddy and Zach Gage have a great video [0] about the value in prominently attaching your name to your life's work and brand, and I think they raise very valid points. There are pros and cons to every approach, and I just recommend letting your principles and personal boundaries guide you; if you're fine with your name being public or semi-public, go for it. If not, you can still carve a unique path through this industry with a healthy bit of networking and showing up with a shovel. I t
> I wonder how many people swore at him for what they got put through ;) I heard him mention in an interview that he received a lot of abuse (cathartic, not mean, from the way he described it). I think the mobile version actually used text messages, which must've been fun for him after the game took off. EDIT: It's here, in a GDC presentation: this video -- the whole presentation is worth watching.
Still are a lot of indie games that are marketed based on the famous developer. Great talk on that from the GettingOverIt/QWOP dev, 'Put Your Name On Your Game' this video