Meet Ross Przybylski

We recently connected with Ross Przybylski and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ross, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Confidence builds with experience. When faced with a difficult goal or attempting something entirely new for the first time, I don’t always feel assured that I’m going to achieve it. I’ve found that what works best is breaking down the daunting into a series of small and actionable steps.

In my career as a game developer, I’ve encountered many daunting goals – like developing a multiplayer server or creating artificial intelligence for a complex strategy game. When I first approached these goals, they seemed insurmountable. So I started by asking: “What’s a reasonable first step I can take towards this goal?” In the case of multiplayer server, I found a series of tutorials and followed the steps to achieve incrementally more advanced outcomes: connecting a game to a server with a “Hello World” message, adding a lobby, passing game commands to and from the server, adding database records, and so forth. When it came to tackling artificial intelligence, I leaned towards high-level articles that helped me see how to perceive a seemingly “magical” series of intelligent behavior as a series of basic input and decision making steps: 1) Define all the possible actions the AI can take within the game 2) Devise a way to sort this list in a reasonable priority order 3) Pick the top decision and execute it within the program. With each step taken, not only did my confidence build, I also established footing on which to take on greater challenges towards my goal.

Self esteem is the result of believing that you can overcome new and difficult challenges by proving it to yourself time and time again. As I continue to face difficult goals or build new skills, I believe and trust in my capability to find that small first step and approach it with a positive, can-do attitude out the gate.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m the founder of D20Studios, an indie game studio focused on developing intrinsically satisfying and highly accessible turn-based strategy games. My mission is to inspire creativity, critical thinking and positive community in players around the world.

Our most recently released game, Abalon, is a roguelike, fantasy adventure game that combines turn-based tactics and deckbuilding. We hit our 1.0 release in May 2023 with a positive 9/10 rating over 300 reviews and are continuing to grow past launch. Our multiplayer focused game in the Abalon series, Abalon Arena, just launched its first public demo in the February 2024 Steam Next Fest, and we’re aiming for a combined release of Abalon Arena on Steam and mobile devices later this year.

I’m super excited about it because the multiplayer element has the potential to bring players around the world together on a grand scale. Notably, we’re supporting a series of multiplayer technology that includes both real-time and asynchronous (the ability to play games without being simultaneously online) as well as a means to reestablish live connections from async games and support live community spectating. For players who grew up playing games like D&D or Magic the Gathering, we have created an experience that streamlines the complex mechanics of these games into a highly accessible and fast game experience. Provided we can get enough visibility, I believe Abalon will become the goto “coffee break” game for fantasy and strategy fans and serve as a positive keystone for friendships, creativity and stories recalling the epic moments players share together.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
It may surprise you that my top skill to being a successful independent game developer isn’t programming or 3D modeling: it’s grit, or the determined resound to persist towards the completion of your goals in spite of all obstacles, setbacks, naysayers, unknowns and factors outside your control. Passion – a love and joy for the work you do – is essential. And finally – a positive attitude – having a resound faith that despite the challenges and unknowns you will prevail.

How does one develop grit or passion? Are these even skills that can be developed or the innate qualities of entrepreneurs and the totally insane? I think it comes down to truly knowing yourself and what you really want out of life. A lot of people’s goal is to “make a lot of money” and more notably “do it quick, and with little effort”. To those I say, go out and buy a lottery ticket – because your chances are a heck of a lot better than becoming a success making games. Similarly, the world is filled with arm chair designers, quick to criticize the works of others with a few wise cracks on how they could “do it better”. That’s not the right attitude or even a close approximation of what it means to embrace the indie spirit.

To build grit, to have passion, to embrace a positive attitude, you need a purpose driven mission – a real reason that matters for why you must do what it is you want to do. Why is your work essential? When you can answer that and feel it in the fiber of your being, nothing is going to stop you. You’ll naturally make the sacrifices and life changes necessary to adapt to whatever your project needs to succeed.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Just the other day I was preparing to go live with a broadcast to thousands of Steam users watching the Next Fest. I had adequately prepared my streaming rig, tested it, and had everything working and ready to go. I had requested support building an audience from fellow indie devs and everyone was ready and waiting. Our featured broadcast time, which was fixed and limited to an hour of front-page visibility, was about to start. I hit the “Go Live” button to initiate the stream, and I get an error “Cannot start stream. Check your stream key, otherwise, there may be a problem with the server.”

It was a panic moment, and my brief initial reaction was a combination of cursing, screams of desperation and frantic muttering “I don’t know what to do.” But this kind of thing is actually quite commonplace in the technical world: no matter how much you’ve done to prepare, something inevitably goes wrong the moment you demo it to the public. After my initial response, I remember my past experiences, and put the focus back on the positive – “I can solve this.” – “What can I do first?” Stay calm, breathe, and troubleshoot the problem. Check the settings, check the internet, check and try everything again. I was fifteen minutes into our broadcast, but eventually something worked – I don’t know if it’s a setting I toggled or the connection finally came through – but it worked and I was ready to go. Now, I could’ve appeared on camera red faced and angry had I lost control of my emotions – but I kept calm, had faith in the positive, and picked right back up with a smile.

Whether it’s an intense panic moment or a more gradual drowning in a sea of tasks, don’t empower anxiety by believing your inability to know the unknown means you have failed. Seize back the power by remembering whatever the situation is, you will get through it and emerge more resilient.

I mentioned earlier how I initially deal with being overwhelmed with anger/yelling (which helps release a lot of the initial tension) to which I can then calm down and focus on how to solve the problem. However, I recognize this isn’t the optimal way to cope because it can create further tension and stress for those around you. I’m striving to learn greater control and respond first with calmness and gratitude, but it’s going to take a lot of work to overcome my natural tendencies. Self reflection, and listening from others how your emotions can affect them – is important to growth.

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