The So Sad Demise Of MacGuffin Games - Scott Macmillan Tells All
For those out there who have ever thought of going into business for themselves, there are many pitfalls along the way, Sometimes things turn out great, but invariably things are never quite as expected along the way, one only has to look at the Indie Guru Scott Macmillan creator of MacGuffin Games.
In 2011 at a traditional Irish pub and restaurant called the Skellig, in Waltham, Ma., Scott gave a very insightful follow up talk on the demise of his Indie Studio and the ultimately untimely death of his baby MacGuffin Games.
Scott was featured speaker for the International Game Developers Association Greater Boston's chapter known as Boston Post Mortem and the Skellig was once again packed.
There were industry members and developers from major local studios with Irrational Games, 38 Studios, and Turbine all in attendance.
There was also smaller studio representation along with independents such as Demiurge Studios, Fire Hose Games, and Owlchemy Labs, not to mention media program students from area schools like Worcester Polytechnic, Institute, Northeastern University and Berklee College of Music. They were all here to hear one thing. The pitfalls Scott encountered with his MacGuffin Games and how they could be avoided.
Following on from his experiences of starting to grow and sadly closing his games company, he shared meaningful insights in lessons learned and pitfalls to be avoided using anecdotes of failures and successes to get his points across.
From his real life experience, he would touch on topics such as, why some game ideas one might have may not necessarily fly. Online marketing and the various challenges it presents. Why working from home can be liberating and exhilarating but can also be dangerous. What it's like when owning one's own company, and having other talented people working under you.
It's a true message from the heart about the rise and fall of MacGuffin Games. Yes lessons have to be learned along the way but if you don't have a dream, how are you going to have a dream come true?