Author: Rasmus

Nerd and immigrant who uses words, pictures and sound to tell stories.
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Impressing 12-Year Old Me

Any time I do something big or important, I think of myself as 12 years old, and I ask what the younger me would think of what I am doing now. If the kid would be impressed, it was the right decision.

The reason I do this, is because I still carry many of the same dreams and am fascinated by the same things my younger self was into. And at 12, I still had a bit of the innocent naïveté of a child, without the awkwardness of being a teenager but with a well developed sense for right and wrong. I suspect others probably can relate to this as well.

So, it’s really a technique to try and stay true to my core, not be afraid of lofty dreams, and to keep seeking adventure. I think returning to that kid also acts as a way to avoid getting too jaded or caught up in life’s endless list of complications.

At 12, I was really into gaming. Especially roleplaying games and video games. I was also into organizing stuff back then, taking charge. Fast forward 35 years, and I am a producer in the gaming industry. Kid-me, from a decidedly blue collar family in tiny Denmark, would have his little mind blown. That’s a clear win, and the most direct tie back to my childhood. Most of the time, it’s much more subtle.

A common one I use, is “would kid-me trust this person?” It’s a pretty good bullshit-meter, because my default position was always not to trust adult strangers. And in continuation of my thoughts on donating work to other people’s projects, I absolutely use this technique as a measure, before making any sort of commitment. If kid-me disapproves, it’s an automatic pass.

In essence it helps me to be less constricted by outside expectations, and instead focus inward on what matters to Rasmus.

It doesn’t work for everything, of course. Specifically, it doesn’t work for things kids just don’t care about. Like choosing an accountant or cleaning your room. Kid-me never approves of those things, so I make sure to get him a small reward whenever it gets done anyway. Which current me is thankful for.

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I will work for free, but probably not on your project

The topic of working for free comes up regularly in relation to making video games. When I worked in photography, it came up all the time as well, and if you’re a musician you will not be a stranger to this debate either. Generally speaking I am against working for free, and especially if the work performed is also your actual profession. The real world is not so black/white, however. There are times, when there is nothing wrong with offering or accepting free work.

Let’s get one thing straight: I am not talking about working for “exposure”. Don’t do that. If someone has enough influence that being associated with them is enough to actually open new doors for you, that someone can also afford to pay you.

The free work I am talking about, is the kind you donate because you believe in the project or its creator. In my experience, these are usually niche projects with little chance of ever seeing commercial success, or even breaking even. And on this scale, there isn’t much “exposure” to benefit from either. Most indie productions fall into this category (whether you’re making games, movies, or music).

So, why bother? Why donate your time and talent to some weird, outlying project? I am glad you asked. Here are 3 quick reasons.

  1. It’s a chance to experiment with new skills, processes and tools in a production environment, without risking your day job/career if you mess up.
  2. It’s a way to network with others who are associated with (or fans of) the project. For me, if I walk away from a project with 1 new friend, it was worth the effort – regardless of other factors.
  3. It’s practice! No matter what your creative medium is, practicing storytelling, presentation and implementation many times over will only make you more confident and raise your mastery.

But before you ask me to contribute to your project, let me remind you of the second half of this post’s title. Why not your project? (Uh, this is assuming you, dear reader, is not already a personal friend of mine, in which case I probably DO want to work on your project – text me)

Context is everything! If I already know you, your pitch comes with the shared experiences we have, and my understanding of your goals and dreams, as support. If not, your project has to stand completely on its own. You could get lucky and pitch a project that happens to match something I’ve been wanting to do, but that is too rare to use as a strategy.

My point is two-fold. If you are asking others for help, play with open cards about your budget and goals, be inclusive, respect contribution limits, and please, don’t take offense when someone turns you down. Don’t go into it with a cold call approach. Get to know people before pitching to them and tailor it accordingly. It’s not enough to sell it in the moment, you want them to commit – so you have to commit in return.

On the other hand, if you are volunteering your work, please do so with your eyes open. Do it for love of the craft, for fun and for learning – when it feels like collaboration. By eyes open, I mean if you are working with someone you don’t really know, or you think there is even a tiny chance that the project might take off – get a contract written up!

Don’t volunteer yourself so others can get paid in cash, while you try and pay the bills with all that “exposure” you got. Most of us have been taken advantage of a few times, and it’s easy to become jaded from the experience. However, swearing off all others tends to end up feeling rather isolating after a while. Be picky, but say yes sometimes.

I guess you could boil it down to: Go ahead, work for free but don’t be stupid about it. And by all means, ask others for a contribution to your project, but don’t be a dick about it.

The featured image was generated using Midjourney and a combination of the prompts “I will work for free, but probably not on your project” and “Spend your time wisely”.

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Taking back my content

Many moons ago, mine was an active website. I’d publish new content regularly, talking about whatever I was doing or thinking about. I started doing this before it became widely known as blogging. Back then, it was just us nerds doing it. My first content management system was Notepad and a shareware FTP client, and I proudly wrote my html 4 with CSS styling – zero tables, baby! It was considered borderline reckless at the time.

Along the way, tools were upgraded and it became easier to focus on the content itself. Things were humming along – but then I just sort of stopped posting. What happened?

Social media came along, and eventually all my content ended up there. Spread out on every platform under the sun – because I’m curious and want to try everything. Though my initial plan was to use social as a way to amplify my content – the old hub and spoke approach – I started slipping.

I lost focus and ended up convincing myself that posting content to my own site was pointless. “No one is going to read it”, I told myself. “Skip the post and just do a thread on Twitter? Saves me some effort, and no one has to leave their social media app.” Seems like an easy win, right?

So, I have decided to go back to hosting my own content, reviving my personal site as the main platform – and all the other channels once again become more like spokes in a wheel, pointing back to the center. Like the original plan.

Of course, this move was partially inspired by the recent developments on Twitter, which reminded me that I have no control over all the content I have shared there, over the course of more than a decade and a half. That’s a lot of content.

Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t suddenly turned into a social media hater. Social media is great for silly memes and networking, it really is. Direct conversation with peers, idols and opponents alike can lead to all sorts of opportunity. Like any tool, it comes down to using it right, and I was being lazy.

So, welcome (back) to my personal site and the renewed commitment to taking control of my content. If you want to stay up to date, there’s an email box nearby – and of course, you can find me on Instagram, Twitter and Mastodon, too. I hope to see you around.

Header image: created using Midjourney and combining a few prompts around the theme of taking back content and archival.