Unbound Creativity

In the book Nicolas tries to give some possible explanations why the game is such a staple in many top Adventure Games lists. His final conclusion, which is shared by Dominic Armato is that it’s the characters that are developed in the game. I hadn’t really realized it yet, but that hit the nail on the head.

I see myself in Guybrush. He starts off as a doofus with a dream. Becoming a pirate, a simple dream. But his rags to riches story of actually doing it, stumbling through the trials. I’ve always been susceptible to “zero to hero” stories. Although in his case I think we can all agree that he remained a doofus. I still remember all the lines to the “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck” conversation between Guybrush and the carpenter at the start of MI2.

But what maybe struck me most when reading the book is the freedom that the people in LucasArts were given. At least during the first few years of the company. I, also, firmly believe that if you put passionate people together and you let them do their thing, you will get results. Now mind, it isn’t a recipe for success, it’s a recipe for getting work done. When not bogged down by administrative tasks¹ and trusting, you will eventually get a return on that investment. A big caveat to this theory is the passionate bit. You can’t just put random people from the street in a room, ask them to design a car and expect excellent results.

Many startup companies go through this phase. At first, anything goes. You go over to your boss and ask for xyz and ’lo and behold the very next day xyz has been taken care of. At that stage, trust is given almost implicitly. Either management is someone who takes up the job of being a manager on top of their regular job and knows exactly what you’re asking for and sees why that’s important or how it improves the company. Or they trust you, because they hired you. You’ve proven your potential and you get some slack to make requests.

Then, the company starts growing. More people get hired and units start forming. Suddenly, in order to get xyz you no longer go through your boss but you have to make a request to another department. People who don’t know you (well) are making the decision. These people might not even know what it’s like doing your job. No longer is it a given that you know what you’re doing. You now also have to provide a rationale as to why xyz is something you need. There has to be a cost-analysis before any purchase is approved.

I wonder if this change in companies is either due to people no longer working in close spaces together, or if it really is an inherent trait of a startup company that more freedom is given freely.

I abhor nepotism. I’d much prefer if people were to be judged on merit. But it does seem that nepotism opens doors. And merit, requires work. I can’t speak for everyone, but I would like to be remembered one day for what I did, and not for who I’ve known.