I have wanted to post more design or management advice like I did a few months ago, but it feels so tone deaf right now when so many great people and teams are being suddenly torn from the industry.
I disagree, actually! I think now is a great time for both design and management advice. As people are thinking about next steps in their career and lives, they're often being introspective and trying to figure out what they want or doing personal growth. Hearing advice can help expose them to a new thought or point them to a direction they hadn't previously considered. This would apply even to folks who are leaving the industry as much of the advice can be transferrable to other industries (certainly management advice, but even design advice can apply to product or process design). I'd view it as a service to people who are taking steps down a new path and would encourage you to continue!
We can't stop. As the industry falls apart around us, there are those of us who keep fighting for what it is that makes games great. Be the change, ignore everything else.
If you give people examples of what good management looks like, they are more equipped to recognize the situation they are in (or could get themselves into). It’s never a bad time to help people to learn and the industry will never improve in the ways that we aspire to help it do so without talking (maybe ceaselessly) about it.
In these times, I think it's extremely valuable for people to hear your thoughts on design, management, and game development in general. You never know if what you put out there helps to inspire, uplift, or make someone think differently about a situation. Even if that situation is in the future.
Acknowledging industry challenges while offering support shows empathy and awareness.
I felt the same way. One day I decided to start posting more on LinkedIn about things I've learned over the years and it seemed like a bad time so I told myself, "I'll wait until the market turns around and we don't have so many layoffs." That was a year ago now and there still doesn't seem to be a time when the market looks good again.
I would argue now more than ever people need your nuggets of wisdom Greg. It's considerate of you to think of others at this difficult time for the industry, but advice and leadership is always welcomed in any form.
Sharing your thoughts is still giving guidance and people have more time to listen than ever before and a greater need for better leadership within than ever before.
I think your words are always messages of encouragement. The layoff people of today can potentially be the new game studios of tomorrow.
Executive Producer @ Chaosium | Creative Direction, Product Development, Game Design
3moDude, please keep posting. I've landed a job, and yet I still wake up in the morning with an existential crisis hanging over my head. Did I completely mess up my life by going into gaming? Reading your stuff gives me hope. I mean, that may sound corny, but it's the truth.