Hi! My name is Ana, I made Mario Kart GB, and I am currently in film school!

Yep! I am, in fact, NOT a game designer at heart. In fact, my most recent video game, the top-down, MKDS-inspired, Mario Kart GB, was my very first! (Unless you count Super Mario Maker...)

I have been a filmmaker for nearly my entire life (check me out here if you like...), but a few months ago, I decided that I wanted to branch out. I had always wanted to take a crack at game development, but never really knew how to get into it. Once I learned about GB Studio, however, it suddenly merged my passive interest in game development with my other passive interest in the Game Boy (it's always been one of my favorite systems, ever since I got a hand-me-down Game Boy Advance from a friend at age 11). Since GB Studio is a drag-and-drop based program, I was able to get right to work, and I think I made something pretty cool, given the circumstances!

But, now that it's done, I have to ask... what am I going to do next?

Well, I'm going to go back to work on films, for one. In fact, I already have. Multiple projects are in the works and set to be released before September, and once the school year starts up again, I have BIG plans. Certainly, I am not disappearing from the art scene anytime soon (at least, not by choice!) But, does that make Mario Kart GB a one-off? A brief experiment in Game-Boy game-making that I can now safely leave in the past?

Well... no. And that's for a couple reasons.

1. This game got a surprising amount of attention!

Sure, it's tapered off at this point, but that doesn't change the fact that far more people saw this game then I ever expected would. I was prepared for this to just be a simple project I share with my friends, but now, more strangers have been to the page then friends of mine have. I'm no Balatro, but for something that I made in my spare time, in a field I had never touched just 2 months ago, I did pretty well! 

Because of all that, it appears as though I have a couple fans now. Can't be too sure, this is still a very small project, but I did get 10 followers, and 9 of those are strangers, so I think that means something. I don't want to let anyone down, so I should probably make some more stuff... right?

2. It's not really "complete" until it gets done twice, is it?

If I made one game, I'd have made a game. Nothing wrong with stopping there, especially if my passions lie elsewhere! But... I don't want to have made a game. I want to have been a game designer. And to give myself such a fancy title, well, I think I'd need to have more then just one game under my belt. Now I've dabbled in development, sure, but if I stopped here, that'll be all I've done: dabbled. 5 years from now, what could I really say about the experience? I'll tell you what: barely anything. But, by creating a second project, that all suddenly changes. I now have a history, a catalog, a story to my name. And then, only then, do I become a game designer.

Maybe that sounds stupid, maybe that IS stupid, but that's how I feel. I won't be truly satisfied with this form of artistic creation without at least one more project under my belt, one more showcase of everything I can provide to this medium. The only question left, then... is what's the project?

I see myself as having two real options: massively expand Mario Kart GB/make a Mario Kart GB 2, or... make something completely new. 

Obviously the easier option is to make more Mario Kart GB content. All I would need to do is come up with some slick new stage concepts and designs. Add on a few gimmicks, some more racers, maybe even a couple new items if I feel REALLY special... and that would be that. It would be work, for sure, and it would probably even be fulfilling, but it would not be too complex of a process. 

As for an entirely new game... well... I already have a few ideas that I might be able to flesh out into a full project, but nothing concrete, and certainly nothing I want to share now. So I'd essentially be banking on my own ability to flesh out a concept, get dedicated enough to actually finish it, and make it competent enough such that I am satisfied with the work I have done. And even then, I am potentially tanking my chances of getting eyes on the project, as it would likely be something COMPLETELY alien to the previous game (still in GB Studio, of course, just not Mario themed or a racing game). 
But, then again, I did it once before, didn't I?

So. Which to choose?

This is where I enlist the help of the readers. If you have read this the whole way through, then please, leave a comment letting me know what you think I should do next! Are you here specifically for the Mario Kart content? Or, do you just want to see any silly things I create, and want me to make more work in general? (or perhaps you do want something new, but you know exactly what you want that to be...?) 

If this gets no attention, then I'll know that the Mario Kart GB audience does not care enough to want any amount of creative control in what I make next. To which I say: thats perfectly fine! This was always supposed to be a project amongst friends anyway. I'll make what I want, and be happy while doing it!

But if this does actually get some responses, well then, mark my words, I WILL listen! I can't promise I will make exactly the game you ask me to if you have specific requests for something new, but if you want more Mario Kart, by all means, let me know! And, of course, if you want to see new projects, let me know too.

Thank you :)

-Ana