Hey! Greg, I found you after listening to your interview on the Infinite Ammo podcast. I'm currently 17 and am working on releasing my first "commercial" game. Although, currently I feel like a big outsider in the community do you have any tips on getting past this and making games in general?
WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE... which wasn't REALLY that long ago... I was frequenting the game maker forums (and some webcomic forums too), and that's where I first met other game developers who went on to be close friends. The world of game making is huge, and the people I hang out with are just a small subset of that world. Which is to say, the scene doesn't really have a "center" you could be an "outsider" from--but lots of bubbles of like-minded people whose roots probably stretch back to before anyone else cared what they were doing.
So, I would try to find your own bubble! Get on twitter, or go to events (if you're near a city, there's often regular local events for devs), or go to school, or next time you meet someone in the real world who thinks making games sounds cool, MAKE THEM START DOIN' IT and before you know it you'll be surrounded by creative people making the next Things that're gonna knock all our socks off.
So, I would try to find your own bubble! Get on twitter, or go to events (if you're near a city, there's often regular local events for devs), or go to school, or next time you meet someone in the real world who thinks making games sounds cool, MAKE THEM START DOIN' IT and before you know it you'll be surrounded by creative people making the next Things that're gonna knock all our socks off.