If one indie game developer is deserving of the term ‘badass’, it is the one to which this post is dedicated. This is a person that has influenced me in many ways, both consciously and unconsciously. This fine gentleman is Christopher ‘Jack’ Nilssen, running the one-man outfit known as the ‘Dark Acre’.

Dark Acre Jack.

Earlier this year, I wanted to take up running again. It did not work out as well as I hoped it would due to me letting days slip without having the mental fortitude to carry on my running routine. Yet, I have tried again and again because I have a clear goal. A strict plan. And that plan is actually the one Jack put out on the web (you can find it here if you are interested). It may not look like much, but reading, on his blog, about the results from that plan and having an example of someone sticking to it makes it, to me at least, more than just a list of progressive running times. It was a set of footsteps to follow.

Then, the Dark Acre blog is full of details about the organisation and discipline that Mr Nilssen has set for himself in his now full-time indie dev life. This is invaluable to me, and his whole story is one I find immensely inspiring. And while he still has to release a full-scale game on his own, he already has made a lot of smaller projects, most of which oozes a style I find extremely appealing. The most recent example of that is his entry for the last Ludum Dare game jam, called ‘The Condemned’. The dark and brooding mood which seems to be prevalent in most of his games make them really cool to me.

Another influence Christopher Nilssen has had on me, albeit on a more subconscious level, relates to his sense of polish. Everything from his website to his games, and even his backloggery page, feels really polished and thought out, with a coherent style that has become part of my own aesthetic sense, I think. Revisiting his website recently, I found out that I actually made the theme of this blog quite similar to his, without ever making that decision consciously (sorry ^^; ). Inspiration comes in many forms, and I am grateful for that.

The Dark Acre captain is a man of many trades, being also a writer with several novels under his belt. He is also a man of challenge, participating to the National Novel Writing Month and many game jams like Ludum Dare. Even with all of that going on, he still stays quite easy to reach on social network, making him one of the most approachable game devs I know of.

Between all that and the iron resolve you exhibit in all your undertakings, I wanted to tank you, master Jack. Thanks for strengthening my own dedication to the craft of game dev, and for doing it with tons of style and panache.

The Condemned

You can find the Dark Acre on Twitter, in games or books flavours, or follow the man directly. Then there is the Dark Acre website and Google+ page.