'You will not enjoy videogames anymore if you work in a big game studio:' New Blood's boss weighs in on what sets it apart amid an industry crisis

In a recent interview with members of indie collective/developer New Blood, I asked them how they attribute their current success in the face of so much misery, layoffs, and studio closures in the industry. «We're not beholden to shareholders or investors or anything like that,» said studio boss Dave Oshry. «We get to make what we want⁠—that's our whole motto: 'we hate money.'

»We don't actually hate money, money's great, but if we wanted money we'd make a Dusk survival horror crafting game. An open world survival horror crafting deck builder roguelike Dusk."

Don't expect to see that version of Dusk anytime soon⁠—Oshry credits the studio's continued health in the face of the games industry's current contraction to its developers sticking to their guns on what they want to create: «The games we make, we make for ourselves. It just so happens other people also want these types of games.»

Oshry contrasted this with the growth at all costs mindset he sees on the corporate side of the industry, which he argues is detrimental to making good games and enjoying yourself while doing so. At around 30 people, Oshry's content with the size of the fully remote developer: «I care personally about our developers and everybody working at New Blood, making sure everybody's happy and having a good time, and making sure that everybody's voice is heard.»

Growth is something to be considered and contained at New Blood, versus an attitude of «More people, more game, more stuff, more features, more loot box, more transaction, more money, more line go up,» as Oshry characterizes it, arguing that people who love games should avoid getting sucked into that trap.

«People ask me a lot: 'Dave, if I want to get into games now, how do I start?' And I say don't. Quit. You should have started five to 10 years ago. Go to trade school, get a real job. Become a plumber. People need those.

»You don't want to be employee number 356772 that reports to somebody that reports to somebody that reports to