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Notes -
And lets lump @HalloweenSnarry in with this too
My point in bringing up id software's Softdisk days, or Westwood's workmanlike porting jobs, or Bullfrog's start writing business software or ports, is not that these were obviously geniuses from the jump, who've godlike talent was plain as day in everything they did. It's to point out you don't get good at anything working on a single project for 10 years. You need to crank out 10-20 workman like finished projects before you make your first Doom, or your first Command & Conquer. I'm not harping on the notion that the programming was better (though I think it was), or that the games had better core gameplay loops (though I think they do). I'm pointing out that these game developers racked up feedback on their products at a much faster pace than game devs today who slave away on a single mediocre arena shooter for Sony for 10 years straight.
I recall stories of high school boys in the 80's cranking out Commodore 64 programs and mailing them into magazines or publishers who'd compensate them based on sales. This is a more effective gauge of raw talent than anything we have now, and a number of famous devs got their start this way. It's a combination of extremely low barrier to entry (One C64), quick turn-around (One month to make a game), and most importantly, minor consequences for failure. And of course modern gaming is the exact opposite of all that. We're not selecting for talent anymore, because whoever gets hired is just some shmuck for years given little chance to test their potential. Go look at what Miyamoto or whatever was doing a couple years in. Those guys were steering the ship.
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