Embracing Failure

I’ve just set myself up to fail – not just once, but twelve times. Once a month for the next year, there’s a very good chance that I will fail. The task? Creating a video game inside of a month.

It’s part of the “one game a month” challenge (as detailed on the coyly named onegameamonth.com) in which video game devs are encouraged to finish one game a month throughout 2013. I’ve just signed up for the challenge on the website, so now I’m committed… and will probably fail to keep that commitment.

Oh, I have every intention of following through. But while my design kung fu is strong, my coding skills range from laughable to really hilarious. And while I may have some spare time around the holidays, I can see it quickly running out when the new year rolls around and starts demanding paying gigs. And yes, I’ve got at least 12 ideas that could be turned into tiny-yet-complete games, but the odds are against me actually finishing any of them. Because finishing is the really hard part.

So I will try, and I will probably fail. Because trying — whether or not you succeed — is how you get better. And I want to get better. I need to get better. And if I have to fail to get there, so be it.

Besides, there’s always the next year.