Goodbye World: Finding a Way Forward

Goodbye World is a game from YO FUJII about game development, the challenges that accompany it and the choices game devs face in times of adversity.

“Programmer Kanii and graphics artist Kumade are two friends who met in college. After graduating, they’ve been creating indie games together, but so far life has been harsh. Their games don’t sell, and most of their time is spent working part time jobs to make ends meet…

As Kanii desperately tries to find a way to make a product that sells, Kumade makes a decision―” 

We got chatting to the devs of Goodbye World, and had some time to dive into the behind the scenes of the game, and the symmetry of the game and their own journey.

Making games is often born of passion from the devs, but often that passion can be put out amongst the difficulties and roadblocks that present themselves in the process of creating the game. With that in mind…

What do you think new developers should keep in mind when balancing passion and wellbeing during the game-development process? 

“How you deal with difficulties and roadblocks would depend on what problems you are facing at the time, but something I find important in seeing a project through till the end is to not get swayed too much by the opinions of others.”

It’s crucial to self reflect and ascertain what you want to make and what you believe are the right choices to create it.

How do you think senior game devs and other professionals in our industry can support new developers?

“The kind of support new developers require would depend entirely on the problems each developer has, but using SNS to discuss and share problems can be a useful tool to find solutions.”

An awfully common theme that we see amongst game devs is walking the line on burnout because they feel so strongly about the project they’re investing in.

At what point should game devs look to dial back their efforts in an attempt to avoid burnout? 

“For me, creating one game gave me a better idea of what I want to do next and what I’d like to try in the future. Finishing the game wasn’t the objective I had in mind all the time, but instead I worked towards small goals step by step. Perhaps that’s the key to retaining interest in the creative process.

If you do burn out, I would imagine recalling the reason why you wanted to create games in the first place would help reignite your passion.”

What lessons did you learn as a game dev through the process of making Goodbye World? Was there a symmetry to the story in real life?

“I feel like I gained a deeper understanding of things. It’s as if I’ve gained a broader perspective through creating a game. Now I’m confident I can make something I never would have thought of making in the past. I’d like to make better, more interesting games in the future.

and about your question “Was there a symmetry to the story in real life?”, Hmm, I’ll leave it to your imagination.“

You can grab Goodbye World now on Steam or buy a physical edition from Numskull Games.

Read more about the effects of burnout here from Callum Underwood, Patron of Safe In Our World.