Examing Brian Fargo on the Road to Mastery

     I recently read Mastery, by Robert Greene. In the book, Greene explores masters of their craft, and the paths they took to get there. Obtaining the title of "Master" is not done overnight, but there are daily strategies you can employ to get there. After reading this book, I noticed a lot of similarities in the attributes of a master in someone in the video game industry: Brian Fargo. Fargo is highly accomplished in the video game industry and so I decided to examine his path to mastery to see how it aligned with Greene's theories. I went through interviews, presentations, and even my own personal correspondence with Mr. Fargo to examine the path of success in the video game industry.

Fargo's Path to Mastery

     Brian Fargo has been a pillar of the video game industry for over thirty years (Maher, 2015). Known for his involvement in the Wasteland and Fallout series, he has been a long-standing pillar of the industry. The path of a true master is one laid out by Greene (2012) in Mastery, “Let us call this sensation mastery—the feeling that we have a greater command of reality, other people, and ourselves” (p. 1). This paper aims to apply Greene’s philosophy of mastery to the path of Brian Fargo. It examines the path that Fargo has undertaken thus far on his creative journey, the keys to mastery he has applied throughout his career, the emotional pitfalls he has overcome, and strategies he has enacted.

The Path

     Brian Fargo began his career in the video game industry by cold-calling video game stores, pretending to be a customer interested in a copy of his own game, Demon’s Forge (B. Fargo, personal communication, July 15, 2016). This bold marketing technique caused the stores to order more copies of the game because they were made to think that there was widespread interest (B. Fargo, personal communication, July 15, 2016). Never before had someone approached the industry with such an innovative approach (Maher, 2015). This was the beginning of Fargo’s path to mastery. He would go on to be recognized as a star of the industry and a legendary game designer (Wojciechowska, 2015).

Keys to Mastery

     The road to mastery is not always obvious or apparent. Greene (2012) contends, “Masters manage to blend the two—discipline and a childlike spirit—together into what we shall call the Dimensional Mind” (p. 175). Being able to awaken this innate, subconscious psyche requires one to apply their intellect and flexibility on a creative voyage (Greene, 2012, p. 176). Greene (2012) informs us that there are three distinct stages of this creative process, which will be vital in awakening the “Dimensional Mind” (p. 175). Armed with nothing more than an Apple II computer and a true passion for science fiction and fantasy, a teenaged Brian Fargo stood poised to begin this journey (Maher, 2015).

     The first stage of the creative process to mastery is called the “creative task,” which involves altering your very perception of the world around you (Greene, 2012, p. 179).  This means being able to perceive things contrarily from everyone else, thus knowing where to direct your energy. Greene (2012) emphasized that it is entirely up to the master, and no one else, where to direct this creative energy (p. 179). In an interview, Brian Fargo discussed the game climate when he first entered the industry, “We’d try all sorts of different creative things out…you could tinker with different things and different ideas. Everybody was pushing the envelope in every category” (Darren, 2007, p. 47). Fargo’s self-directed creativity and obvious passion indicates that he had already begun to point his creative energy towards releasing video games that would forever alter the industry. Fargo (2012) would go on to contend, “Ultimately, it was the cause and effect that people really enjoyed.”

     After embarking upon the creative task, Greene (2012) tells us the next step is to develop creative flexibility by utilizing the five “creative strategies” (p. 181). One such strategy that can help enrich creative flexibility is to cultivate negative capability (Greene, 2012, p. 181). The core of this strategy requires the master to place aside any perceived notions of personal importance to gain a greater understanding of the universe around them. Greene (2012) reasoned, “Truly creative people…can temporarily suspend their ego and simply experience what they are seeing” (p. 182). Brian Fargo has shown that he has the ability to cultivate negative capability many times, none more so than when he was forced to resign from Interplay Entertainment. Reporting for The Orange County Register, Chuang (2003) asserted that Fargo might be the “ousted founder of Interplay Entertainment,” but that leaving Interplay has been an overall positive experience. Fargo was now free to hand-pick his own creative team and approach games the way he wanted (Chaung, 2003). Instead of letting his ego or pride control his actions, Fargo used the event as fuel for his creative task. Not only that, but Fargo would come to not regret the way things had turned out, showing a level of mastery. In an interview with Wojciechowska (2015), Fargo was asked if he regretted the events that had led to him leaving Interplay. Fargo responded, “Not anymore. At the time I did, but I’m in a better place now” (Wojciechowska, 2015). Fargo would come to realize that the path he was on near the end of his time at Interplay Entertainment was the wrong one, a false path. He wasn’t afraid to reassess the situation, removing himself from the equation. He was no longer driven with creativity or passion, was no longer having fun (Wojciechowska, 2015). By leaving Interplay, he was now able to replot his course.

     The final phase of the creative process involves the “creative breakthrough” (Greene, 2012, p. 199). One notable creative breakthrough that Brian Fargo had centered around the creation of Wasteland 2. Greene (2012) tells us that when faced with challenges, masters will have the ability to put aside a project until they come up with a creative solution to push the project forward. Brian Fargo was able to achieve a creative breakthrough when trying to turn Wasteland 2 from an idea to reality (Fargo, 2012). After attempting to pitch the game to countless studios and not receiving traction, Fargo decided to boldly endeavor to raise investors through crowdfunding (Fargo, 2012). The results were both unexpected and would drastically change the industry. Hamilton (2013), reporting for The Orange County Register, stated that over four million dollars had been raised for Wasteland 2 through the crowdfunding website, Kickstarter. Fargo, as a master of his trade, showed a true understanding of the industry and those who support it, allowing him to break through the complications facing him.

Emotional Pitfalls

     Every path to mastery will be confronted by six, emotional pitfalls: complacency, conservatism, dependency, impatience, grandiosity, and inflexibility (Greene, 2012). Brian Fargo, like any master, has probably had to struggle with each of these to varying degrees. One such pitfall that seems evident over Fargo’s path to mastery is impatience (Fargo, 2012). Greene (2012) informs us that impatience, as an emotional pitfall, is one of the greatest pitfalls of all. Some masters get to a point where they feel their work is done, but in reality it is your impatience undermining your judgement (Green, 2012, p, 202).  By constantly changing his approach to game design, Fargo has shown a great competency at overcoming complacency (B. Fargo, personal communication, July 15 2016). Overtime, it would seem Fargo adapted different techniques to avoid impatience such as reigning in his focus to be able to direct it to the appropriate areas. Fargo has shown a willingness to always strive to push the envelope of creativity further (Fargo, 2012).

Strategies for the Creative-Active Phase

     Greene (2012) provides several strategies for overcoming obstacles on the road to mastery. One example was that of Yoky Matsuoka, a revered robotics engineer, who greatly altered the course of the industry (Greene, 2012). Matsuoka was able to overcome an obstacle that plagues every field: technical lock. Greene (2012) asserts that a technical lock happens when we “become locked into seeing every problem in the same way, using the same techniques and strategies that became so imprinted on us” (p. 228). Fargo has shown a great skill, just like Yoky Matsuoka did when refining the field of robotics, in being able to break away from the types of behavior that might lead to such a block. Whether it was when he was cold-calling retailers (Maher, 2015) or when he turned to crowdfunding his project (Hamilton, 2013), Fargo has shown he is not afraid to go outside the normal route of complacency in his field. Both Matsuoka and Fargo show an innovative approach to working in their field and thus don’t view limitations as roadblocks, but rather as hurtles than can be jumped.

     In conclusion, Brian Fargo has shown an immense understanding of the path to mastery, as laid out by Greene (2012). He has shown that he has the ability to have a greater understanding of reality and thus has followed the path of the master. Fargo has exhibited that, over the last thirty years, that he has the ability to approach and overcome obstacles utilizing the tools of the master. These skills have allowed Fargo to become a master in his field and will continue to push him forward, to groundbreaking new techniques and breakthroughs, in the future.
   

References

Chuang, T. (2003). Interplay founder back in the game; Brian Fargo has a new company, a new video game and eager fans. The Orange County Register. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=4B0K-NR80-TWCN-K27N&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true

Darren, G. (2007). THE GFW INTERVIEW: BRIAN FARGO. Games For Windows, (9), 46-48. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=25740164&site=ehost-live

Fargo, B. (2012). Unite 2012 - The Power of the Crowd. YouTube. Retrieved 16 July 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHx18deFL0c

Greene, R. (2012). Mastery. New York: Viking.

Hamilton, I. (2013). Game makers play to the crowd. The Orange County Register, p. 1. Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=585R-9D01-JBK9-92N5&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true

Maher, J. (2015). » Brian Fargo and Interplay The Digital Antiquarian. Filfre.net. Retrieved 16 July 2016, from http://www.filfre.net/2015/05/brian-fargo-and-interplay/

Wojciechowska, S. (2015). Bethesda Did A Great Job With Fallout: Interview With Brian Fargo, Creator Of Cult RPGs - GAMEPRESSURE.COM. Game Pressure. Retrieved 15 July 2016, from http://www.gamepressure.com/e.asp?ID=124