GameDevStories: The launch of Sometimes You Just Can't Win

Aright, it's been a long road, but it's done, and it's live:

Download Sometimes You Just Can't Win Here

Gentlemen, what I'm about to show you is not the game you thought I was going to create. What I'm about to show you is a glimpse into my mind and soul. Please hold your questions until the end (of the game). I know you will have a lot of them, but I'll understand if you rather I just leave.

For me though, the game is only one part of the story. The other part is writing about the game, and what it means to me. Sometimes You Just Can't Win is more of an experience, and a personal journey of my four working years at Tecmo Koei Canada. There are actually two companion pages, and I'd recommend checking it out after playing the game if you're so inclined on reading them.

Sometimes You Just Can't Win - An In Depth Look

and

Sometimes You Just Can't Win - Behind the Scenes

I'll be honest. It's not a game in the most traditional sense, but rather an experience. In a way, I feel like I can get away with a slightly less substantial game because there's a story behind it. I hope that you do stick with it to the end (my quick estimate, you can get from start to end in 20 minutes), and get a good feel for what I'm trying to get at.

I won't regurgitate what was written, but I'll explain my motivation on why make such a game.

So, why make this game?

Even though I started working on this game around the middle of July, it was something on the top of my mind. For me, this game is closure - a proper sendoff to a chapter in my life that I never really got closure with. I've always imagined that I'd either quit in a rage of fury, or I'd be downsized with at least some sort of mention in the gaming press. Ironically, on the day the we were downsized, Sony also downsized a whole chunk of people too. On the scale of footnotes, this didn't even measure.

Moreover, on a personal level, it wasn't the way I wanted to go. I had grown weary of the development process, and I had wanted out. And since I can't actually do that, I might as well create a reality where I CAN do just that.

Hey, that's what game designers do, we make stuff up!

Think of this as therapy.

So yes, give it a try, send feedback, angry e-mail, etc. I'll try to not take it personally.