It’s just not possible to come up with a design that will please a theoretical target audience, like “If they liked Star Wars, they’ll love this.” As Gary aptly said once, almost angrily, when I remarked (about some proposed flaw in Karateka) something like “Oh, they won’t mind”: “Who are they? It’s us.” You can’t do good work in an art form you don’t love yourself. I still do, sometimes, really get into a video game – Lode Runner, Dr. Creep – and it’s that part of me that I’ve got to aim at pleasing. If I can’t satisfy myself, I won’t satisfy anyone else.
