Jake Evans on Finding Your Inspiration
The refrain in Depeche Mode’s B-side “Pleasure Little Treasure” expresses an existential sentiment we all share. As the phrase “everybody’s looking for a reason to live” echoes before the chorus, we’re forced as the listener to consider our own reasons to live. What drives us to keep going forward? Especially more so in a world filled with gloomy uncertainty and a constant onslaught of negative news, it’s very easy to lose sight of ourselves and what drives us.
This is why it’s important to take a second every once in a while to step back and look inward. As we gaze at the culmination of experiences that shaped us and led us to who we are today, we’re reminded of those people and things that pushed us through the difficult times. It’s no different for game developer Jake Evans. Evan’s, or “Crayz” as he also goes by, his long career path has been rife with challenges and struggles. Yet Evan’s was able to overcome all of those obstacles by maintaining his inspiration, inspiration he got from one person, his cousin.
A Long Journey
Just starting out in any prospective career is difficult, and that’s especially true in the tech world. The prior knowledge, skill, and drive it takes to succeed in that highly competitive field is not for the faint of heart. Evan’s journey began as a teenager, as his adolescence coincided perfectly with the dawn of the modern internet. Immersed in the world of Myspace, he was quickly carving a niche for himself in the development world. As he puts it, “we created a few websites where people could grow their MySpace friend count and customize their profiles with designs and whatnot. Eventually we got so good at it we had multiple profiles with tens, even hundreds of thousands of friends (nowadays you call them followers).”
After this experience and Myspace’s slow vanishing act from the public eye, Evan’s had to make some money. After graduating high school he found himself working tirelessly in the oilfields of North Dakota just to get by. This wasn’t his true calling however, and after four years of that he left it all behind for game development. He would then go on to spend the following six years educating himself further in the world of game development before publishing his first game on steam in 2018. Since then he has released and published another game, as well as landed himself a game developer job with Facepunch studios.
As with any journey, Evan’s faced a lot of hardship along the way. Through extended bouts of being nearly homeless, hunger, and dwindling finances, he found
himself sacrificing everything to achieve his goal. While he has achieved success now and has a bright future ahead, Evans wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without maintaining his inspiration.
Inspiration
In the video game world, there is a dynamic colloquially referred to as “Big brother, little brother”. The “Big Brother” role applies to the usually older kid primarily playing the games. If there’s one controller then he has it. If it’s a multiplayer game, he gets to use controller one. If he messed up a difficult jump, it was probably your fault and he’ll let you know it. Then there’s the “Little Brother” role. This honorable title is given to the other one, the sidecar to the big brother. This person is the one watching the big brother play, trying to squeeze in advice as his only means of interaction. They’re also to blame for the big brother ever messing up in his game of choice.
This was no different for Evans, who had the honor of having the little brother role with his cousin Isaiah. Growing up, Isaiah introduced Evans to the world of multiplayer gaming. Suddenly Evans was exposed to games like Counter-Strike and Diablo II. Games with dynamic online communities and vibrant gameplay. Evans rode in the sidecar during this period, watching eagerly as his cousin quested tirelessly all while no-scoping his enemies.
Isaiah passed away unexpectedly in 2009. Having to come to terms with such tragedy was difficult for the younger Evans. Suddenly he found himself with the big brother role. Evan’s persevered, however, and he never looked back. Although Isaiah may have left the earthly realm, he has continued to sustain and live in Evan’s heart. He is what drives Evan’s. Thinking back on this period in his life, he cites Isaiah as the source of his inspiration, mentioning that “these games have had a special place in my heart ever since and are the reason I decided to start making my own games – because I wanted to recreate them, but better.”.
Since then, Evans has gone on to accomplish incredible things in his field and life. Now at 29, Evans works alongside his peers at Facepunch studios to push the limit of what’s possible in gaming. When he’s not in front of his computer, he finds himself with friends enjoying the beautiful outdoors that Montana has to offer. Yet whether he’s snowboarding, enjoying a cool drink with friends, or sweating tirelessly over his keyboard, Evan’s can thrive in part because of the person who inspires him most.
Follow Jake Evans (crayz) on instagram and twitter.