A: From Andy himself:

I am flattered and honored by your request, but unfortunately, I generally turn down requests like this. Partly this is for selfish reasons: I am very busy and guard my time carefully, and I know from the few times that I have agreed to such appearances that they will inevitably lead to being asked to repeat the performance the following year, indefinitely. Fairness also leads to the slippery slope of feeling the need to say yes to all the other teachers and school groups who make this request.

I’m also resistant to this type of request because, for legal reasons, I need to avoid being shown unpublished game ideas, even — perhaps especially — from children. Generally speaking, we refuse to look at outside game design submissions without a signed NDA that protects us from being sued if we publish something similar someday. This is standard procedure for publishers, for good reason. I’m sure we could work to limit how much I’m being shown, if anything, but I’d really rather just avoid being in a position where a young person wants to show me their work.

But my biggest reason for reluctance about this has to do with managing expectations. I tend to be very negative when kids ask me about becoming a game designer when they grow up. As someone who actually makes his full-time living designing games, I am keenly aware that I am the extremely rare exception, and that I’ve gotten where I have only because of a unique combination of perseverance, privilege, and repeated strokes of good luck. In other words, I won the lottery. So my message to budding game designers is always to think of that as hobby material only, and to focus their career planning on something actually attainable.

Anyway, that’s the honest (perhaps too honest) truth about the matter. Again, thanks for the opportunity, and I hope you can understand my reasoning.

— Your Friend, Andy Looney