Tim Sweeney

They'd be connected by going north past the end of the current board would take you to a new one if it was open, or maybe it was blocked and you couldn't go there. I built this whole game world around that, and this was the game that became ZZT. And I was having fun with it, building it and playing it, but I didn't know if it would really work. So I did this experiment.

They'd be connected by going north past the end of the current board would take you to a new one if it was open, or maybe it was blocked and you couldn't go there. I built this whole game world around that, and this was the game that became ZZT. And I was having fun with it, building it and playing it, but I didn't know if it would really work. So I did this experiment.

They'd be connected by going north past the end of the current board would take you to a new one if it was open, or maybe it was blocked and you couldn't go there. I built this whole game world around that, and this was the game that became ZZT. And I was having fun with it, building it and playing it, but I didn't know if it would really work. So I did this experiment.

I started inviting neighbors over, like some adults, some kids of all different ages, and sat them down from it and said, like, here's a game I made. Figure it out. And, you know, I had to force myself not to tell them what they need to do, right? Because I really wanted to learn if they were able to. you know, discover it all for themselves.

I started inviting neighbors over, like some adults, some kids of all different ages, and sat them down from it and said, like, here's a game I made. Figure it out. And, you know, I had to force myself not to tell them what they need to do, right? Because I really wanted to learn if they were able to. you know, discover it all for themselves.

I started inviting neighbors over, like some adults, some kids of all different ages, and sat them down from it and said, like, here's a game I made. Figure it out. And, you know, I had to force myself not to tell them what they need to do, right? Because I really wanted to learn if they were able to. you know, discover it all for themselves.

You know, today we would call this, you know, user experience test. And there's a whole field of research around user experience research. But back then it was just inviting some kids over to play the game. I took notes about what they got stuck on and what they enjoyed and where they felt bored and just iteratively polished the game until I felt it was good.

You know, today we would call this, you know, user experience test. And there's a whole field of research around user experience research. But back then it was just inviting some kids over to play the game. I took notes about what they got stuck on and what they enjoyed and where they felt bored and just iteratively polished the game until I felt it was good.

You know, today we would call this, you know, user experience test. And there's a whole field of research around user experience research. But back then it was just inviting some kids over to play the game. I took notes about what they got stuck on and what they enjoyed and where they felt bored and just iteratively polished the game until I felt it was good.

And I put it out and released it on, well, this was before the internet. So there were bulletin boards. I uploaded it to a bunch of local bulletin boards. And from there it started spreading because, you know, the way to build up cred for bulletin board users was to upload new files and to claim that, Hey, I was the first that brought this to you.

And I put it out and released it on, well, this was before the internet. So there were bulletin boards. I uploaded it to a bunch of local bulletin boards. And from there it started spreading because, you know, the way to build up cred for bulletin board users was to upload new files and to claim that, Hey, I was the first that brought this to you.

And I put it out and released it on, well, this was before the internet. So there were bulletin boards. I uploaded it to a bunch of local bulletin boards. And from there it started spreading because, you know, the way to build up cred for bulletin board users was to upload new files and to claim that, Hey, I was the first that brought this to you.

And, uh, you know, so there was a natural tendency of the software to spread. I decided to use the shareholder model, you know, so I didn't just build this one game. I built a trilogy of three games. Um, I released the first one for free and I said, Hey, if you'd like this, buy the two sequels. Um, and I, I included my parents mailing address and, uh,

And, uh, you know, so there was a natural tendency of the software to spread. I decided to use the shareholder model, you know, so I didn't just build this one game. I built a trilogy of three games. Um, I released the first one for free and I said, Hey, if you'd like this, buy the two sequels. Um, and I, I included my parents mailing address and, uh,

And, uh, you know, so there was a natural tendency of the software to spread. I decided to use the shareholder model, you know, so I didn't just build this one game. I built a trilogy of three games. Um, I released the first one for free and I said, Hey, if you'd like this, buy the two sequels. Um, and I, I included my parents mailing address and, uh,

He said, you know, send us $30 and you can get the sequel to this game. And the check started coming in within a few days. I was making like, getting three or four orders a day. I was making like $100 a day. I'm like, woo, I'm rich. Because, you know, being a 20-year-old, that was like a pretty big deal.

He said, you know, send us $30 and you can get the sequel to this game. And the check started coming in within a few days. I was making like, getting three or four orders a day. I was making like $100 a day. I'm like, woo, I'm rich. Because, you know, being a 20-year-old, that was like a pretty big deal.

He said, you know, send us $30 and you can get the sequel to this game. And the check started coming in within a few days. I was making like, getting three or four orders a day. I was making like $100 a day. I'm like, woo, I'm rich. Because, you know, being a 20-year-old, that was like a pretty big deal.

I looked at money always just as a tool to help you fund accomplishing cool things. And having enough to do the things you want to do is the critical thing. It's always been just very utilitarian. But the knowledge that other people all around the country and then a month later all around the world were playing the game, that was mind-boggling.

I looked at money always just as a tool to help you fund accomplishing cool things. And having enough to do the things you want to do is the critical thing. It's always been just very utilitarian. But the knowledge that other people all around the country and then a month later all around the world were playing the game, that was mind-boggling.