I'll go simple and direct: "I make videogames" - but it turns out people have a huge variety of preconceptions about what that might mean. Which company do I work for? No. Have you made anything I might have heard of? No. That's so awesome, you get paid to play games? No, neither of those. Why are you such a terrible person, responsible for the brain-rotting drivel that's destroying children's lives? No. Couldn't you do something more natural? Yes and no. So you work in tech, you're rich then? No and no.
Clearly that word gives the wrong idea, I'll try: "I'm an artist". This isn't bad! People get the right overall idea; we all like art as a general concept; you don't expect me to pay for things. Until they dig a little bit further and want to know what kind of art? What medium? UHhh [frantically trying to avoid the v word] interactive digital something
Often I go with "I work in games". I don't quite know what people take from it, but it's somehow vague enough to usually avoid these confusing discussions and we can move onto something more interesting (like the other person).
But okay, someone's found out I work in games: what kind of games? All the kinds. Any kind. Every game. Okay I didn't make every single game that exists, but it was enough of them that this isn't easy to answer. "I've worked in a variety of genres". Ugh. I have though! I'll try to gauge how literate the person asking might be - but even then, my main genre they literally named after me. What am I supposed to say?
"Oh like mobile games?" Yes. Some of my games run on mobile devices, that's not the most interesting thing about them but sure, that'll do. "That must be pretty.. ching ching! (*rubbing fingers together*)". THIS AGAIN.
Wait so if it doesn't make money, why are you doing it? Do you even have a job? (No.)
Once when I was interrogated by border police (not for the first or last time) they really wanted to know what I did and who I worked for. I gave as clear and straightforward answers as I could, and they kept asking again and again, obviously not believing me. Until one of them finally did a google search and shamefacedly told the other "let him go, everything he's said is true".
The Secret Lives of Games (formerly Eggplant, formerly the Spelunky Showlike) have started a year-long series talking about my work. So far the first introductory episode is up, and I think it's the best explanation so far of WHAT DOES MICHAEL EVEN DO. It's on the long side (two hours) but if you've ever wondered, here's an answer. I'm just going to link this next time someone asks me. Take that, border control.
I really appreciate that they're doing this - aside from it being personally about me, which is nice for sure - but from the perspective of taking games seriously as an artform. In any other medium, it's not unusual to have a show looking back across an artist's work; a Yuri Norstein retrospective or whatever; but even in games hardly anyone takes games seriously. This is something distinctly countercultural: the claim that play is not merely something a multi-million dollar industry can be built around, but something culturally important and worth talking about.
