This Just Might Work

When you're making something new, every creative project has moments when the dots connect and you think this just might work. Or in contemporary parlance: "we're so back".

These are internal peaks, where you achieve a brief plateau of bliss and harmony and it feels as though the project is pulling you along, rather than the other way around. String enough of these beautiful moments together and you'll find yourself with a project worthy of releasing. Just this process is incredibly painful with no guarantee of reaching the proverbial finish line–shipping is impossibly hard.

With putting work out comes a different kind of peak moment – external affirmation. That is, when outsiders use or consume your project in the manner in which you intended. And then–as the project sprawls out and begins to take hold, something unexpected happens. They begin to use your project in ways you never anticipated, in ways that wonderfully delight you.

It's at this moment when you come to realize: "ok this is working". No longer is it theoretical, your internal creative energy has enmeshed itself in the world and is being fed back to you. You've found a sustainable loop.

It was March 26th 2016. My Counterstrike platform PopFlash had been public for 8 months and I received an email from a concerned father.

The email said:

Hey guys. We would just like to confirm something. Apparently a team that my son was playing against have had a letter from you to say that he was cheating. Because this game was against his old team I made sure I watched every round. At no point did he have wall hacks or Aim hacks or for that matter any other hack. I personally believe that the email that you have sent to the other team could very well be a false email and that they are impersonating members of your team. I have copied a link to the email that was sent.

If this letter is real then that is fine but i just thought you should be made aware that this is happening if its not. Also I can confirm that my son was definitely not cheating. I'm more than happy to prove who I am as well. My sons account is ShiNobi. Did you find that he was cheating?

Tom Feld¹¹  I changed the names for privacy

See the thing is, I'm the only employee at PopFlash. And I was pretty sure I hadn't sent this email. Puzzled, I opened the attachment:

the names are masked in purple

The stretched logo. The "you're" misspelling. The "PopFlash.com" right alongside our real domain (popflash.site). The ban being listed as only 24 hours²²  Cheaters are banned permanently. It was clearly fake.

I couldn't stop laughing. That was the moment I knew this project was different. Never in a million years did I expect something like this to happen–that someone would go to great lengths to craft a fake email in order to trick their peer. It meant my humble, one-man video game platform was a figure of authority to these teenagers.

I quickly responded and mentioned that I, of course, did not send that email and their son had not been banned from PopFlash. I felt bad for the kid, but I couldn't contain my smile.

Tom replied:

Hi Daniel

Thank you for your quick reply. We know who made and sent the email but unfortunately we don't have the original because it was apparently sent to the opposing team after they created a ticket. My son is working hard on his reputation and I told him not to play them as they would try to cause trouble. From everything I've heard he is a great player but needs a break with a decent team. That and the fact he is only 13 works against him.

Anyway thanks for your assistance.

Perhaps "Tom" wasn't even his father, but the player himself. It didn't matter to me. The service was being used in a way I had never anticipated and it proved that it was profoundly resonating.

That was the moment I knew this project had passed a threshold–I can't fully explain why–deep down, I just knew. It took many more years to reach profitability and revenue, but moments like these gave weight to my effort and encouraged me to keep going. It told me I was on the correct path.

Many years later PopFlash is my full time job. Thank you Tom and the naive teenager who fraudulently banned his friend from my website. You guys gave me the energy and validation to keep at it.