minh le reddit AMA best of

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1dkeht/iam_minh_le_aka_gooseman_cocreator_of_the/

I actually ran out of copies of CS as I promised to send the remaining few I had to a couple reddit guys already. I'm in a pretty bad financial situation right now and I can't even afford to buy a new copy so It'll have to wait till things get better with my bank account. If you msg me on twitter in a month or two, hopefully I might be able to send something (other than pocket lint) to you..
Follow me on twitter @GoosemanTI

 

How did you manage to live all those years while you were developing TI?
  tough one as there's so many skills that I find useful. It really depends on your role in the game development process. For a game designer like yourself. It's really important to understand all aspects of game development, from the content creation process, to the programming side. Having a working knowledge of how these processes operate and how they integrate with each other is crucial to being able to design a game properly. Also, it will do wonders of gaining the trust of your artists/programmers that you're working with. I find most artists/programmers have more respect for a game designer who can understand all aspects of game development. Game design is a very commutative process and involves working closely with all members of the team, so it requires a great deal of organization, and being able to look at the bigger picture as well. You need to know who your target audience is, and design your game around that and try not to fall into the trap of designing a game that will please everyone.

s, make sure you do what you do for the love of doing it. Don't think about the end goal. Think about the happiness it brings you on a day to day basis. If you really love making games, you need not care about where it will take you. Try to focus on delivering a product that will make yourself happy first.. and chances are, you'll make someone else happy with that product.
If you want to get started in making games, it's not an easy road as there's sooo much information out there and it's hard to decide where to look. I do recommend game schools as they're a very focus place where you can hone your skills in a very efficient manner. If you're really daring you can pick up a book from your bookstore and try some of the tutorials in those books.
The important part is to take it step by step and find enjoyment in the smaller accomplishments you make. It took me 2 months to make my first model and that was the stepping stone to making my first mod (which eventually took another 2 years). I never would have made it that far if I wasn't so thrilled about the process of making models and making those models come to life through programming.

. I know there were moments of great joy and happiness.. Oh wait, here's an interesting thing. Back in the early 2000s, there was a huge amount of money being thrown around the internet and more specifically towards internet advertising. Our CS website was getting a huge amount of traffic and was generating a considerable amount of money each month just through ad revenues. I remember looking at the cheques each month and thinking, "Should we be getting this much!?!? I feel like I'm mugging an old lady... stealing from a baby...". I felt a bit ashamed and dirty making that much money just through ad revenues... but I was able to comfort myself by buying gold jewelery and driving around town in my suped up Honda Civic.
TI: interesting experiences..hmmm.. god, too many to list.. Let's just say, when I'm done working on TI, I could easily qualify working at a mental institution.

No regrets whatsoever. Valve did A LOT to bring CS to where it is. They took a fairly rough game and polished it up and put in the marketing and promotion to make it a household name. No way in hell could CS become what it is today without their strength.
I have great memories of working at Valve and they gave me a great opportunity which I wasn't able to fully utilize.

 

Why would you ever quit Valve? Seriously, what was the cause for your departure from Valve? I think Counter-Strike would be a much better franchise if you were still around.

My head wasn't right and I didn't have the courage or conviction to be a leader in a company full of talented people. It's a decision that I sometimes look back on and wonder if things would have been better for me and/or for Valve if I stayed but I try not to dwell on it too much as I feel I made the best decision I could at the time, so I have no regrets about it.

 

 

 

No expectations for CS. It was just a mod that started out as something I felt like I wanted to do after working on similar mods in the past. I'm really happy with how CS has evolved and all of that is due to how Valve has taken it. They're a really great company that makes smart business decisions that appeal to the target audience.
I think CSS and CSGO are an indication of that smart decision making.

Any tips on how to make games? Or to become as famous as you?

Yes, make sure you do what you do for the love of doing it. Don't think about the end goal. Think about the happiness it brings you on a day to day basis. If you really love making games, you need not care about where it will take you. Try to focus on delivering a product that will make yourself happy first.. and chances are, you'll make someone else happy with that product.
The important part is to take it step by step and find enjoyment in the smaller accomplishments you make. It took me 2 months to make my first model and that was the stepping stone to making my first mod (which eventually took another 2 years). I never would have made it that far if I wasn't so thrilled about the process of making models and making those models come to life through programming.

hahha.. that's a great question. I manage to live by living with my parents. It's pathetic but it's a great way to save money :)

 4) I think anything is worth the time and effort to get into if you truly love what you're doing. I do admit there are times where I feel burnt out and want to take a break from the industry but these moments don't last long and I usually regain the urge to get back to work when I see other cool games being developed.

 

Gabe is a great thinker and someone who's not afraid to take chances. I really fortunate that I was able to work under him. Yes, he's a very amicable person in real life in spite of the fact that he has a room full of knives...