A Special Thanks

Whilst surfing the web and getting ready to release my first game, I started to switch focus from coding and design to marketing and sales. Being an indie game developer, you really have to wear a lot of different hats - developer, salesman, PR, marketing, accounting, etc. It can all be a bit overwhelming - especially when you've never done it.

One of the first things you do is look around and see what others are doing. What are the standards and minimal expectations?

It's interesting how many indie developers have blogs. I think its the result of being truly independent, meaning that this is what they are solely doing to make a living. Without going to a 9-5 job and having that interaction with others, you begin to become socially isolated. There's no one to share your thoughts with. Having a blog makes sense. It provides an outlet for your thoughts, a place to vent, and a means to make contact to let people know what you are up to.

With that in mind I decided to start my own blog.

Problem. Someone else already has HiddenSanctum...and here I thought I had such an original name!

In reading the latest post, the blogger stated that he was no longer going to post and that he was moving on to a new chapter in his life. This was months old. I looked through the blogger FAQ and read the questions and responses for those seeking to start a blog, but the name was already taken. In a nutshell, the main theme was do not ask IPower Blogger about it because they will do nothing and you can try to wait 3 years for them to automatically delete it due to inactivity.

It was then that a totally radical concept came to mind. Why not just ask the blogger himself if he would give it up? Since he had one of those generic free email addresses, I wondered if even that was still active. If so, is he even still checking it? I figured I might as well try. The worst that could happen would be that I'd have to start a blog wth a different name.

Well, off went the email and a few hours later I got a response. "since you would have better use of it, sure you can have it." Wow. I wasn't expecting such a quick and positive response. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised.

You sometimes get a bit jaded in dealing with people. The majority of people always seem to want something from you or to use you to better their position. It's refreshing to run into decent people who just want to give you a hand or do you a favor for no other reason than just to be nice and wish you luck.

Ash, my sincerest thanks. I wish you the best as you travel down the road of life, and if you ever need anything, let me know. All of my games will be for PC and Mac, so expect a little something soon as a sign of my gratitude.