florian himsl video game designer

Florian Himsl: The Binding of Issac Game Developer Interview

As a game dev, do you find yourself playing too many games? Impossible right? Well, if you're in the early stages of your career, it might be possible.

Developer Florian Himsl felt this way, but fortunately made, and continues to make games even with a successful title!

Florian Himsl

Himsl is one of the developers behind the beloved title: The Binding of Isaac

Didn't want to be part of the "Industry"

When did you realize you wanted to be a part of the video game industry?

Florian Himsl: I never wanted to be part of the "Industry". When I said I wanted to make games people asked me if I wanted to join EA or Ubisoft. I found it sad that people's highest aspiration was to join a Borg like apparatus like that.

To me, games were about personal expression. I guess I am lucky the self employment route worked out, otherwise I would've been a foolish hobo with principles. I started making little flash games when I was 12, I already had some minor successes when I left school, so I could put off finding a "real" job indefinitely. Well guess I am technically part of the industry, but

It's still about making the games I want to make.

Could you share how you and Edmund met and teamed up to work on the Binding of Issac?

Florian Himsl: I loved Edmunds crazy art. His game Gish was the first of him I saw, loved it. His comics may have been the most edgy things ever created. And then he made flash games such as Dead Baby Dress up. So getting his attention was hard. Apparently he was already getting a lot of fan mail back then. So as a kid with broken english how would I get in contact? Guess I should've known all I had to do was

Show him my games.

I only had 1-2 released at the time, but he was impressed, guess he was looking for a programmer anyways. Those games were really rough. They were not lacking in depth but they were nearly inaccessible to a general audience and would mostly only impress someone who knows about the technical aspects of game dev. So we started working on Tri-achnid, a game based on a prototype I made earlier about a three legged spider where you had to drag each leg individually. It was slow and tedious but somehow the atmosphere Edmund created around it worked with that….

Made it seem artistic and deliberate instead. Edmund showed me that we could get paid too, by finding sponsorships and we didn't even need to rely on ads. Ads used to pay very well in games back then cause if you really wanted to make money you just put the ad right above the play again button in a game where you die a lot. And flash games in general were very lucrative in what would later be known as the golden age of flash games.

Edmund and I made 5 games including the Binding of Isaac.

What is one of your favorite projects to have worked on?

Florian Himsl: The most grotesque game I ever made with Edmund is called the C Word. A game about a little penis engaged in deadly combat with a large vagina with a face. While the most edgy game I made, it is also one of the most straight forward ones you shoot and you dodge and if you avoid taking damage you get rewarded. I used to play it a lot just to try to get that no hit run. I think it was genuinely addictive.

Who says programming isn't fun?

What are some misconceptions about being a programmer you see from others?

Florian Himsl: Anyone can do it, but most people have this instinctual disgust response to having to deal with math or just code in general. That's why programmers get paid so much.

Cause nobody likes to do it.

Nobody likes to dedicate their life to writing boring code that will make you spend hours fixing bugs, that were actually quite obvious now that you solved them. It's easier the sooner you start, so all it costs to be good at Programming is that you trade in your precious childhood for doing extra "homework" that your peers won't understand.

We don't have a gift, we just invested in a skill. It's not a gift if you have to earn it.

Do you believe school is required in order to become a video game programmer?

Florian Himsl: I guess it could help.

But all the information is out there, you can just use the internet.

I already learned enough to make money programming games before I went to college so I dropped out of college when I saw I had to do homework and take tests which felt like unpaid work at the time. But I could've definitely learned a lot there if I hadn't been so stubborn. Eventually I made the Binding of Isaac after that so my questionable life choices were once again rewarded.

It seems if you're a beginner and you have time and money to go to college for programming it could be the best way to do it. It will be a very intense process for you. If you're looking to get started just do some Unity tutorials. Just make sure you don't get stuck working with an outdated programming interface like Flash.

Could you share some of the challenges that came with the development of the Binding of Issac that you believed help you improve as a programmer?

Florian Himsl: For me all challenges come down to

Motivation

So I guess if you're trying to work to impress your childhood hero it is easy to get motivated. That's to say motivation is usually the thing that holds me back. It's a real problem.

To be honest I don't recall any technical issue I had. And the game only took 3 months for the initial release so I couldn't've been stuck on anything for too long. It's too bad the original Flash version never achieved a high frame rate or a good resolution.

Success, Failures, and Future

What were some of the reasons you believe the binding of Issac found so much success? What do you think you would be doing now if it hadn't been?

Florian Himsl: I like to think it's cause the gameplay is good, but in all likelihood it's cause people enjoy the theme of rebellion against an easy target like religion or they find Isaacs struggle relatable or something lame like that…

Also pewdiepie played it and it made many sales on that day.

I guess we'll see what happens when my new game Squid Invaders (a rogue-like space shooter) releases and it doesn't contain a crying human child for people to relate to.

When Isaac became successful I finally managed to fulfill my dream of playing video games all day for a few years until I realized that

The real self realization comes from work.

So I probably would have continued making many small flash games instead of moving onto making large 3d games that take forever to come out.

Could you share some of the mistakes you made on your game development journey that believe others could avoid?

I wish I had spent more time making games than playing them.

What are some of the plans you have for the future as a video game programmer?

Florian Himsl: I got a few cool games coming out, but no release date yet. Stay tuned.

For those trying to get into the industry, what are some of the most important things you believe they should learn in order to succeed?

Patience.

It took me forever to get started and I could only do it cause I had no bills to pay as a literal child. There is no guarantee that any of the games would work out and even make a single sale, or ad impression. I assume you get better with every game, so the first ones are going to have the lowest chance of paying off. Eventually you could get into exponential growth as your games keep getting better and your new games promote your old games.

Either way it's going to be a lot of work or a lot of luck.

Lessons to take from Florian Himsl

Lesson #1: Sacrifices and extra homework

I'm sure a lot of you want to make video games for a living. To make games, or do any medium for a living, requires sacrifice. Some more than others and game dev is definitely a big one. Are you willing to take the risk of being sleep deprived? Not getting paid when you finish your game? Potentially working 1 or 2 different jobs on top of that? I don't say this to discourage you, but bring the reality to the situation.

Lesson #2: Patience. Patience. Patience.

This is something I tend to have difficulty remembering at times. Patience is such a key factor in everything you do. It might sound strange, but you shouldn't expect the first thing you make, to be a hit. Not to say it can't be, but it takes time.

If everyone came out a great programmer, artist, musician, etc. what would be the point of learning a skill?

I try to go in with the mindset that this could be the one. If it doesn't happen, no worries. I'm improving with my craft and moving on to the next one. Besides, I really love what I do!

You can follow Florian Himsl on Twitter and subscribe on Youtube

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