Video games are fun to play but hard to make. Large studios can have the size and budgets of a Hollywood spectacle, but that doesn’t mean independent releases are impossible.
Over in Victoria Harbour, one man has spent the past few years creating a video game on his own, and it’s been published on a large viewing platform for the masses.
‘Rubble’ is the creation of 32-year-old Grant Tabler, who released the first-person physics-platformer onto the Steam video game service in November of last year.
“I’ve been living in North Simcoe since 2016,” Tabler shared. “Originally I’m from Barrie, but moved up here to be closer to family. I’ve enjoyed having this connection to a quieter area.
“My aunt runs the Newton Street Art Barn in Victoria Harbour; that’s a commission-based art space where a lot of the local artisans bring their wares to sell, so I’m connected a little bit that way.”
Having grown up with video games throughout his life, Tabler’s interest in computer science as a high school student at Barrie North Collegiate Institute took hold until that course was removed and he spent time each week travelling to Eastview Secondary School for their computer science class.
Tabler’s life carried him to a career in journalism and teaching role in China before returning to the region to pursue his dream.
“I got into a game design post-graduate degree at George Brown College,” said Tabler. “The way that program is structured: at the tail end of that degree you do a thesis game rather than a written thesis. Rubble was initially my thesis game, something I started working on there."
Rubble is set in a futuristic game show where the player, as the contestant, has to overcome physics-related difficulties such as anti-gravity with the use of a gun in a destructible environment; collapsing walls to escape is just one example of level design Tabler came up with.
Working with a limited budget, Tabler employed an entire range of free and open-source software utilities to create the game. Rubble runs on the Unreal 3D engine with 3D design models made in Blender, and game assets like visual walls using Gimp while audio used Audacity.
Also keeping costs minimal, support was given through Tabler’s family. Each week, Grant would provide his father Bob with a rundown of what he had changed and revised, with input graciously accepted. Grant’s father Bob expressed pride in his son’s accomplishment.
“It’s a ton of work. Most people would get discouraged a long time ago, but to see it through to the end and get it on Steam is pretty impressive,” Bob Tabler stated.
Developing a video game as a single person forced Tabler to strengthen his own self-management and self-structure skills, including learning when to pace the game's elements from others.
“When I talked to many different artists and interacted with people at the Art Barn, that was always the biggest thing,” Tabler explained. “Artists always tell you that it’s very difficult to say: ‘Okay this is done now, I can stop working on this part of it’. It’s much more complicated with that in video games because there’s so many different pieces that you have to make that decision for.”
For his own advice, Tabler said that those wanting to learn how to design their own video games shouldn’t overdue it with a large project, and instead should focus on learning the basics – such as making a game character jump – as well as looking for constructive collaborations such as the Toronto Game Jam to network, learn tight schedules, and have fun.
As for the future, Tabler said that Rubble would be his stepping stone in becoming recognized within the video game industry.
“At this point, I’m looking to use the content that I’ve created to try to apply to more formal studios,” said Tabler. “I’m trying to get into a full game design studio.
“I’m open to creating more game content but it’s difficult, especially from a marketing perspective, to have it be its own self-sustaining thing. Right now I’m trying to use some of my portfolio content and examples like this game to make it possible to apply to larger studios that are in Canada or abroad.”
When asked if Grant’s father Bob had played Rubble, the elder Tabler laughed.
“I’m not a gamer,” he said. “As soon as you say WASD, I run for cover; I’m a point-and-click kind of guy.”
