> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.killscreen.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Luke Schneider - URL: https://www.killscreen.com/one-luke-schneider/ - Published: 2012-01-25T09:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2015-11-17T14:34:01.000Z - Description: Luke Schneider, the solo member of the Radiangames studio, talks with Jason Johnson about the solitude of leaving a major gaming studio and going it alone as an indie. - Author: Jason Johnson - Tags: Interview, One Up, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-26 09:39 *As the sole member of the* [*Radiangames*](http://radiangames.com/?ref=killscreen.com) *studio, Luke Schneider has been making some of gaming’s best shoot ’emups for the past two years. But despite the high quality of titles like* Ballistic *for Xbox Live Indie Games and* [Super Crossfire](http://killscreendaily.com/articles/reviews/review-super-crossfire?ref=killscreen.com) *for iOS, his venture into self-employment has not been a rousing success. At times, Schneider feels that dealing with financial concerns and the burden of working alone is more than he bargained for. Our conversation revealed his day-to-day struggles* *in chasing the indie dream.* **You were working at Volition before you quit to make your own games. Was it hard to adjust to the change?** Just the loneliness aspect more than anything. I’ve always had a good work ethic. I’m self-motivated, so that hasn’t been much of an issue. It’s more like, over a long period of time, I notice that I’m not talking to a lot of people—even on the internet. When I go on the internet, it’s mostly to talk, but it’s also distracting, so I don’t do it much. I have a family, so that’s nice, but in terms of having friends that I talk to on a regular basis, there’s not a lot of them right now. I’m still friends with a lot of people from Volition, but I don’t reach out and contact them very much. **Does anyone help you with your games?** I don’t have anyone. I talk to my wife sometimes about a game’s art style and other general “what should I do next” questions. That’s my situation right now. I don’t have money to pay anyone to come work with me. I’d like to work with an artist, or have someone who deals with the publisher and marketing. I just like working on the games. One nice thing about working on *Super Crossfire* for iOS was I could talk to my producer and ask him about certain design questions. It was nice to have someone to talk to. **It seems odd that you would leave a major studio to go to work on the Xbox Live Indie Games platform. Why did you start there?** I wanted to make console games, and I didn’t want to deal with publishers. I’m really fast at making stuff, so I thought I would make a bunch of little games and eventually one of them would take off—that people would start associating Xbox Live Indies with quality games. But that never really happened. *Fireball* didn’t sell that well. *Inferno* and *JoyJoy* sold a little better. **Were you worried about the risk?** I’m always worried, but I always believe that the next thing is going to be big. When I was working on *Super Crossfire*, I’d say, “This is going to do really well!” It’s done OK, but not very well. **What did your wife think about you going independent?** She knew it was coming. She knew I wanted to do it for a long time. It would have come a little earlier, but the stock market crashed and all my options at THQ became worthless. I was going to sell all my stock when I left, but that turned into zero dollars. I decided to save more money the old-fashioned way. We’ve cut back on everything for so long now that we are used to it. “I just work as fast as I can for as long as I can.” **How did you cut back?** We don’t buy as much stuff. We have a CRT TV that we’ve had since we got married. We got it as a wedding present over 10 years ago. The volume button doesn’t work. But it’s really heavy, and my daughters can bang on it. So that’s nice. I haven’t had to upgrade to all high-definition stuff. I really want to get a PlayStation 3, but there’s no reason to get one yet because I don’t need a Blu-ray player. Hopefully next year. **Did you cut back on food?** We hardly eat out anymore. We used to go out to restaurants all the time: Chili’s, Applebees, whatever. Olive Garden is pretty expensive. Now my wife cooks. She makes really good taco pizza. Really good enchiladas. Spaghetti every week. Once in a while, we have tilapia or salmon. All the homemade stuff is a lot cheaper than eating out. Another major thing is that we used to buy a new car every three or four years, and now we have the same cars that we’ve had for 5 years. \[I drive\] a Honda Fit. It’s a compact hatchback. Very cheap. **How far is your commute?** It’s four or five minutes. I would work at home, but I have daughters. It’s really nice to have that separation. My productivity is really high when I’m at work and able to focus. It’s worth the cost to have an office. **What is your work schedule?** It’s exactly the same schedule as when I worked with a company. 8:30 to 5:30. **Do you take breaks?** Nah, I don’t take breaks. I just work as fast as I can for as long as I can. **Do you ever get tired of making games?** Thinking about the overall designs of the games is always a challenge. I spend more time thinking about stuff when I’m at home now than when I was at Volition, because I actually care more about it. I get tired of being responsible for everything sometimes. I just want to ask someone a question or ask their opinion. I do get tired, but it’s part of what I signed up for. I just have to keep going. I can’t stop. **What makes working independently worth it?** *\[Long exhale\]* Well, just making so many cool games. Uh, I don’t know if it’s worth it. That’s a question I ask myself when I’m being contemplative. Why don’t I go work for an iPhone developer who is actually successful? It’s possible that I could run out of money and have to move and get a job at another developer. But I’m hoping that the start of the year will be awesome, and then I won’t have to worry anymore. **How have things been going financially?** *\[Laughs\]* They haven’t been going well! **Where do you think you will be five years from now?** *\[Sighs\]* I have no idea. I don’t even know what I will be doing after I port this other game to iPhone. I will probably still be making small games by myself, or at least with a couple of people. *\[Laughs\]* I’d rather not do it by myself forever. I’d like to have a couple of people to work with—if only for the company. *Illustration by* [*Sarah Jacoby*](http://www.thesarahjacoby.com/?ref=killscreen.com)