Snyder occasionally blogs about game development–algorithms, patterns, and puzzles. On his website, he includes all sorts of short games and GIFs he’s created over the years and in short, has been a very busy and creative man. Luckily, he took some time to let me pick his brain about his journey as an indie developer.

Creating The Floor is Jelly

GS: What was the most difficult challenge you faced making The Floor is Jelly? What was the easiest? What was the strangest or most unexpected?

I’d say the most unexpected challenge has been finding a way to continue working on other projects after release. I’d heard other developers talk about a post-release slump, but supposed I was immune, this not being my first game by a long shot and being used to feeling a little drained after finishing any given project. Working on Jelly, however, I’d gotten myself into a state where I was sacrificing all other activity for the sake of working on this game. There might arise a smaller project I wanted to work on, but I would push the idea aside to continue working on TFIJ.

Every moment I spent procrastinating, even though I see rest as necessary to sustain creative activity, was colored with guilt at not being active. When I released the game, these feelings didn’t go away. I kept pushing aside smaller projects, feeling guilt at any leisure, because I’d in some way forgotten how to be a person without a large, singular project to fill my time. I ended up doing literally nothing for a long period, without understanding why.

In an earlier interview, he elaborates on game fatigue, citing how he lost his vision as a whole while creating his project.

The music for The Floor is Jelly was a result of a chance encounter with a sound artist at the 2012 Game Developers Conference. Snyder presented the demo and one of the guests who enjoyed it was Disasterpeace, who has made music for other steam games like FEZ, January, and Hyper Light Drifter.

GS: You met Rich (Disasterpiece) at a GDC. What are your thoughts on networking in the game developer community? Do you think it’s harder or easier than any other industry?

GS: In a previous interview, you said that The Floor is Jelly wasn’t your most popular game because it wasn’t a browser game. What IS your most popular game? What was your favorite?

Surviving as a student and game developer

My personal favorite is probably either UN EP or Thirteen Gates, but I have a hard time picking. Every game has its flaws, and, because I’ve spent so much time looking at my own games in the process of making them, the flaws in my own games seem glaring to me. I tend not to look favorably on work I’ve made in the past.

GS: What was your high school experience like, being a student and game designer? What about college? How did you manage your time?

Reflecting on the future

GS: If finances weren’t an issue, what would be your dream job? Would you continue being a jack-of-all-trades game developer or pick a niche?

So I guess making games was a kind of escape. That sounds cliched, perhaps, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Games were a way I could prove my own worth, to myself and to others. I just had to be clever enough, or work hard enough, or whatever else. They gave me a validation I wasn’t getting elsewhere. They made me feel like I was worth something when nothing else did, and, naturally, I threw myself into them. I guess all that is to say: I didn’t manage my time.

College was better for me, and I was fortunate in that respect. I met more people who thought like me, and who I connected with more strongly. I was at an art school, so the coursework I was assigned was generally more rewarding to me. I knew was I had to do to pass the classes that disinterested, and did that, I worked hard for the classes that interested me, and in whatever spare time I had left I made games.

GS: How do you want gamers and developers to describe your style; what do you want to be known for?

GS: Do you want to continue being a solo indie developer, or perhaps join a team or studio?

Snyder can be found on Twitter and his website. If you want to try out The Floor is Jelly for yourself, you can find it on Steam.