Here’s a strange thought, that occurred to me the more I thought about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the different reactions to it, and just the state of the world. Now following along with me while I delve into this thought train for a moment, even though it might not make any sense.

We have various depictions in books, movies, and especially games about different worlds where various realities occur. Such as; people with super powers, psionics, great wars, aliens, apocalypses, and all manner of other alternate-earths/alternate histories. Now of course take into account we have people out their whom really believe in the conspiracies they profess and how the world just seems so wrapped up in a manner of what do we really believe, what is really real and what isn’t.

Now then if it ever came to pass that one of these conspiracies, alternate worlds and so on actually turned out to exist, what would that do to society and really if we were actually living in them the whole time, how does this affect our creative works. It really would turn the whole thing upside down. Would we then stat making games that are based around the world we know it to be now?

Kind of a twisted thought I know, but it reminds me of the Matrix, the real world isn’t real but a creation by the system, which really is just a big life sim to keep humans occupied and then I wonder if our popular fiction and science fiction is left over programming of what our life sim in the matrix could be. Just thinking about this makes one’s head spin.

Of course I don’t believe any of it, but it does lead to some interesting creative thoughts. If our world suddenly changed into one where our fiction was truth, what would we do to make games in that world? What kind of games would those be? It’s like shifting your thinking to decide how to create games that fit as an escape for a game world?

I wonder now if there’s a potential wealth of new games to be created from thinking not outside the box but inside the box and creating to suit the world inside the box for the world playing outside the box.

It’s like this, we live in World X (Real world) but if I lived in world Y and I was a game designer in world Y, what game worlds would I make to fascinate and thrill the people of world Y? So you design your game based on the possible audience of world Y but deliver it to the people of World X, thus you have alt world Z where it’s so far flung no one thought of it before because everyone’s designing games world X.

Did I lose you yet? Probably but that’s okay as the idea will grow on you. I think I’m going to invest sometime thinking about this and maybe I’ll come up with something that would both trill and excite World X and Y. it’s a stretch and my logic is a little off today, but consider what we know.

-          Players like amazing fantastical worlds, Alternate reality worlds, and exciting new worlds to explore and play in.

-          Players want to experience something different, somewhere different.

Both those said, building something different within the framework of something different to begin with could have some pretty amazing results. I’m going to sum up with an example and leave it go as that.

If we lived in an alternate reality where aliens were an every day occurrence and psionic abilities were just a normal part of humanity, and we already fought and prevailed against a zombie outbreak, what kind of video games would be made for the players of that world?

How does that tickle your muse?

There this thing that I see many times over the years. Certainly within the gaming community, all kinds of people have great ideas about the next “Great Game Idea”. Of course the realities that go into making a game aren’t involved in their thought process about what it takes or how to go about making that “Great Game”. Of course the information is out there for those whom are willing to research into it, and of course all time and again people in the industry has written and commented or had talks and exhibitions on what it does take. But there often seems to be some component missing from this information, it gets referenced certainly but not really discussed.

Yes making games takes time, money, resources, people, etc, etc. But it also takes a large amount of dedication. Yes it takes Passion too of course, but the more often I hear that word “Passion” the more it takes on a buzz word kind of feel.

Dedication, perseverance, fortitude, persistence and determination, all aspects of a similar state of mind, but still words that describe the means that drive one to work their ass off to get where they want to go. With all creative types,  be it a game designer, an actor, a writer, a fashion designer, anything else creative, it can be difficult breaking into those industries, or getting your first product out, proving yourself, proving your concepts, and getting that notice that you “Made it”.

You can have all the creativity in the world, you can have all the practical knowledge you need, you could be an artist-programmer-writer-musician-producer-ninja with all the skills imaginable but if you’re not willing to put the time in and get things done, you won’t make it off the ground.

If you have a great idea then pursue it, learn how to do things, find like minded people to form a team, but even with teams you run into this same issue. We’ve all seen it over and over again, people come together and plan out something epic, but it falls apart because someone gives up. It takes time and people are impatient and often in this “On demand” world of ours, people expect immediate results.

In a perfect world that could happen, sure.

In reality you have to work your ass off to get somewhere, you have to do things you otherwise would avoid to gain skills; you have to invest hours working on building your game, your CV, your portfolio, your creds. From concept to development to production and beyond it all takes work. Not in the metaphorical sense, but in the get down and dirty and kick ass and take names.

There’s no reason at the core that you can’t bring your “Great Game” idea to life, if you’re willing to poor you time and essence into making it happen. Hell, you can make a really good pitch for your idea but then you have to deliver on it. We’re not talking about some abstract thing, we’re talking about standing up and taking action.

I’m guilty of forgetting this sometimes and I let myself go slack as I work on different projects or take side gigs to expand my horizons. Like anyone I get lazy sometimes when I’m faced with work or projects I might otherwise avoid like the plague, but I kick myself and remember the goal, remember where I’m aiming for. So not only am i writing this for you my dear readers, but also for myself, a good self ass-kicking and reminder to practice what I’m preaching is good for the soul, so is admitting my own missteps on the great path of life.

Reminders are great for this; I’m not talking about some tacky poster on the wall, but just that one memento of past achievement or that one game or book that inspired you. We all need out talismans that keeps us focused, but even then you need to remember that no one’s going to get you want you want if you don’t have the drive and determination to carry through and deliver your own destiny.

You want to do something, you want to create and make something, then my best advice to you is to shut up and do it.

I find it interesting that while there is elements that could be considered “gamer” fashion, it’s not really a style per se. Certainly we have brand name t-shirts and the like from various companies, or representing various games, they run between t-shirts, hoodies, jackets and other fairly basic clothing forms without any actual variance in style. Then of course we have cosplay which isn’t exactly as fashion so much as a passion to dress up as characters from various games/movies/anime/etc.

Is there room in the world for a true gamer fashion style, I believe so and sometimes I’ve kicked around the idea of building one. Taking accounting of what we have and finding a hybrid middle ground to which we can show both our passion for the games we play and our loyalty for the companies that make and publish those games.

I’ve had the images in my head of course of taking game inspired designs and turning them into a real fashion line. No I don’t mean as costumes for Halloween or for cons and various other events. I mean a true blue fashion line that can range from everyday wear to formal wear that isn’t so far left field but something far enough out from the mainstream that the ‘core will appreciate it and the casuals can choice as easily as they wish amongst their other “normal” wear.

I’m certainly not talking about freakish monster creations but fashions and clothing that show a brilliance of creativity and take inspiration and ideas from the games and characters we’ve grown up with and loved. We have people designing clothing for their characters and avatars, all manner of fan art depicting characters we enjoy or in game worlds we might wish to live in. So it stands to reason we can turn those creations and designs into real clothes. Maybe a steampunk line that while not overly tech heavy but has a charm and elegance that seems to be missing amongst current day fashions. We could bring some things to the normal market and start our own couture just for the sake of doing so.

We see the stereotypic forms of clothing that identify “cliques” in movies and we all know that the atypical gamer is some overweight, usually underdressed dork who needs a makeover. Why don’t we break these stereotypes by bringing the creativity we have within the game community from artists and character designers, designers and players to make our own mark on the fashion world; and present something we can wear as we like? Showing both our passion but that we in fact are not fashion tragedies but fashion forward moving into our own space as the growth of games spreads across the entertainment markets of the world.

We always talk about how we are pegged by the mainstream for being this or that, our representation in movies and television is lacking to show how diverse and non idiotic we actually are.

We are gamers and there’s no reason we cannot stand proudly and reflect that using the creativity and passion we all possess as a common trait amongst us. We’re already taking over the entertainment industry, might as well break into the fashion industry with our creations, create our own style, our own trends, and rock it hard.

So who’s with me?