The thumbnail image is a photo I took at a Rise Against concert at Festival Pier in Philadelphia, PA on August 4, 2018.
A small warning before you read this post: I say “punk” a lot in it (~55 times).
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on this blog. Between my senior year classes at Drexel and development on Runaway, I’ve had a lot of heads-down time lately. With everything happening now, I’d like to take some time to write a bit; it’s especially important when we are physically stuck in a small place to let our minds wander some. So this post isn’t so much about Runaway itself as it is about what Runaway and Burning Sky mean to me. My vision for both is to be the “punk rock of games”, and this blog is about explaining what that means to me.
Before I continue, I’ll add the disclaimer here that my ideas are entirely my own and can’t be considered the sentiments of an entire movement or community. I’m sure as many people reading this will agree with me as disagree, so don’t worry about which of those you fall into. As with any label, you’ll have to figure out what it means to you. So, here’s what it means to me:
Punk rock is being true to yourself despite resistance from Power.
Let’s break that down into two parts and talk about one at a time.
Being True To Yourself
First, you have to be yourself. Be honest with yourself and others about who you are. It’s not punk to go chasing something you’re not. It’s okay if you happen to like something that others do, but it’s not punk to pretend you like it. On the other hand, it’s not punk to pretend you don’t like something just because others do like it. The least punk thing you can do is to define yourself by what society does and doesn’t like. It doesn’t matter if that means distancing yourself from things that are popular or associating yourself with things that society dislikes. That is to say, punk rock is not nonconformity for the sake of it. It’s just embracing who you really are.
Despite resistance from Power
For me, punk rock represents resilience, which you really don’t have without a struggle. Facing resistance is important because it’s not punk to like something that everyone else likes. It’s also not punk to do something that no one cares about you doing. This part of the definition excludes the mainstream, which has always been the antithesis of punk.
What you define as “resistance” is really up to you. I used the word “power” not because it has to be an organized coalition like the United States government. It just has to be resistance coming from above you, be it your boss at work, professor at school, or parents at home. If they have no influence over you, then there’s no hardship to facing that resistance.
As an example, being open about your homosexuality is punk because there is certainly organized resistance to that throughout society. Some of it is organized and systemic, and some is small-scale. But I’m sure it’s not hard for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to find resistance in their lives, be it from their personal and social lives or academic and professional ones. There is increasingly support for homosexuality, but that doesn’t negate the existence of the resistance.
You may have seen meme adaptations of this image before:
This is the original format of the meme, originally created by Loserology on DeviantArt.
The girl in the top-left corner is holding a sign that says “I’m punk so I must rebel” as part of a statement on stereotyping. I agree with the premise that we shouldn’t stereotype people just for how they look. With that said, I have to make the distinction here between dressing punk and being punk. The girl in the picture is dressed in what we consider punk style, but she really isn’t punk if there is not rebellion. Again, it’s not punk to rebel just for the sake of rebelling, but rebellion for the sake of being true to yourself is at the heart of punk rock. So, without rebellion, it’s not punk.
The Appearance of Punk
Just the mention of “punk” can elicit a few different images: Clint Eastwood with a revolver, some mischievous youngins galavanting on an older man’s lawn, or black leather-clad teens with colorful mohawks and spikes.
I’m looking at you, Game Freak. Image taken from here and depicts Team Yell from Pokemon Sword/Shield, property of Nintendo.
For anyone who has not played Pokemon Sword/Shield, minor spoilers ahead. The image above is of members of Team Yell, who serve as one of the persistent antagonists throughout the game. In other Pokemon games, the antagonist organization is a large corporation/cult centered around a grand idea (or avarice, if you’re Team Rocket). Team Yell’s goals aren’t so lofty; they simply are fans of Marnie, a contestant in the regional Pokemon League tournament. They are rowdy and disruptive, but they are good-natured. Their efforts are often misplaced, but they aren’t trying to destroy anything. They’re simply taking a little too far their support for one competitor, like Eagles fans (take it from me, I was raised by Eagles fans and have been living in Philly for 5 years). You learn during the game’s story that Marnie’s older brother Piers is a Gym Leader and that his Gym is the only one that does not feature Dynamaxing, a phenomenon in which Pokemon grow to be as tall as skyscrapers.
Dynamaxing in action during a battle with a Gym Leader. Piers’ battle is the only one that does not have this, which honestly felt like a nice change of pace so late into the game.
By comparison, Piers’ Gym is just a basketball court in the back alley of a super-small hole-in-the-wall town, where all others are in large stadiums like in the video shown above. Piers doesn’t let that change how he runs his Gym. That is punk. Not the back-alley part, but the fact that he doesn’t go chasing after something larger just because everyone else does it. He receives judgment for it and is considered less of a Gym Leader as a result, but he doesn’t give in. Piers is punk.
Marnie follows her dream of becoming a Pokemon League champion despite Piers wanting her to inherit his Gym. If Piers disowned her for that choice, then she’d be punk as well. But he doesn’t; instead, he sends Team Yell to cheer her on. So, she doesn’t quite embody punk in her behavior. Likewise, Team Yell is close to being punk, but they aren’t quite there either. They support Marnie’s punk mission, but they support it simply out of allegiance to Piers and to her and not to support her values. Punk is the manifestation of ideals through actions. Without one or the other, it’s not punk.
More Disclaimers
With all of this said, I need to add a few notes:
Punk rock is not an excuse to be a jerk. You still have to be a decent person and treat everyone with respect. There is no room for hate in punk rock.
It is not punk to be stubborn just for the sake of it. If your parents are trying to talk you out of doing something stupid, it’s not punk to cover your ears and ignore what they are saying. You should always be open-minded, and attempts from others to have a rational conversation with you can’t be considered resistance.
It is okay to not be punk. I identify with the punk rock community, but I don’t feel the need to live and breathe it in everything I do. Funnily enough, it’d be pretty un-punk to try to shape who I am into something just for the sake of fitting into that mold.
The Punk Rock Of Games
I hope all of that makes sense. Now, you’re surely wondering how all of this applies to Runaway and to Burning Sky. The Burning Sky mission statement is a first-pass at addressing this:
Burning Sky Games is an independent Philadelphia-based studio engaging players in gritty action and unapologetic narrative—the punk rock of games.
The games are “gritty” and “unapologetic”. I chose those words to describe how our games will mirror the style of punk rock, a style that is raw and expressive. So it’s safe to assume that all Burning Sky games will be fast-paced, raw, and expressive — like punk rock. That’s not to say that our games won’t have any slow moments or that we won’t take the time to polish them. Rather, I’ll make sure that our games:
Aren’t padded out with shallow extras that don’t add to the experience. I love a lot of songs that are less than 3 minutes long. The band has something to say, so they get in and say it — then end. That’s it. We won’t keep the game going when there’s nothing else meaningful for you to play.
Don’t use art or sound styles just because they are pretty and popular. Punk songs use the best music for the tone and message. Likewise, I chose the graffiti style for Runaway because I love the aesthetic and feel it fits with the gameplay and themes.
But as I discussed above, the pace and tone are only the aesthetic and sound of punk. The true spirit comes from making the games we want to make, regardless of any trends in the industry. We’re not making games to become rich; we’re making games that we’d want to play ourselves. We’re addressing issues we see with other games to lead by example.
We won’t cut corners. Resilience is built through hardship, so I won’t take the easy way out and compromise my vision. I’ve honestly struggled many times to find people able and excited to work on Runaway. People are excited by the “parkour platformer” part of the pitch, but most I’ve talked to don’t feel so excited about the “punk rock” part of it. The art and sound I’m going for require a niche set of skills with illustration, graffiti, and punk music, but I still to this day stand by that vision. I have committed myself to finishing this game, even if I must do so alone. That attitude will extend to every game I make.
Each game will explore themes relevant to punk rock, though I won’t just keep rehashing the same things. Looking more closely at Runaway itself, the punk rock spirit is at the core of the narrative. The main themes are about building your identity while also finding a sense of community: the conflict of desiring both individuality and belonging. It is a struggle I faced growing up a lot, so I will show that struggle in the characters. The characters and the world are heavily shaped by my own experiences with and perspectives of punk rock. I want Runaway to be a way to interact with the punk spirit for punk rockers and a window into the genre for those unfamiliar with it.
Closing
Suffice to say that punk rock is important to me, so I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to put all of this into words. I hope this helped all of you to better understand how our punk influences shape our mindset and, through that, our work. Please leave comments with your thoughts on this; I would love to see what others’ perceptions of punk rock are. And with that, a final question for all of you: what inspires you to create, and how?