We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Roo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, John thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
I started programming with my dad. We did small projects with microcontrollers like the Arduino to turn lights on and off with sensors. These projects gave me a grip on programming in general. I’ve always been a gamer and always taken an interest in retro gaming. I decided I wanted to make a game. I chose the gameboy because I thought it might be easier than creating a modern game(it was not easier). The goal was simple. Make a game with a start, a middle, and an end. So I set off to make my first game, Quest Arrest for Gameboy. Once I finished the game, I gave it away for free just to gain players. It turned out that the audience quite enjoyed the game and they requested a physical version of the game. I obliged them and the games limited 100 copies sold out within minutes of release. This showed me that I had a business opportunity in front of me. Not only could I work with something I am passionate about, but I can also make a living. Doing something I love. I instantly reinvested the money into creating and publishing more games. Today I have 6 games released to the public that can be purchased at Www.TheRetroRoomGames.com….there is still a great amount of passion that goes into the process and its handled with such precision. I am very grateful for the audience that I’ve built and I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to work with games. I am lucky for that and will never take it for granted. I will continue to work hard and bring great games to those who love retro gaming!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are lucky to be going through what seems to be a “retro revolution”. People are collecting, trading, and creating retro games more than I have ever seen in my life. We are lucky to get new games for these amazing old consoles that we grew up loving. Developers and publishers are breathing new life into retro. I was just lucky enough to fall in right as this was happening. I had already spent countless hours searching the thrift shops for retro games, I had already joined communities that focus in talking about retro games. It was only fitting for me to fall into this place. Its my passion. Its a place I love naturally. Id be here even if business wasn’t involved at all. I’m proud of all the work I did and all of the things I’ve learned along the way. I am happy that the road is long from coming to an end. I’m so proud of the community for preservation of retro consoles and games as well as supporting my dreams to work with games.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I was originally an event coordinator working in the music industry. The pandemic had hit and took away all live performances. This meant that money dried up and I could no longer support myself. I was lucky that this new business opportunity came to me, especially out of something I am passionate about. It really was like a 180 degree turn in my life.
Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?
Close calls happen all the time with businesses. Especially with my need to just survive. Life is not inexpensive. I was truthfully in need not only financially, but for my mental health sake. To be in a position of working jobs that you hate and seeing no way out really puts a damper on a human mentally. We do what we can to make it work, but it can be draining. I had so many close calls with money just because I would chase my dreams and take some sort of leap of faith. I’m just extremely lucky that in this case it worked out.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.TheRetroRoomGames.com
- Instagram: @theretroroomroo
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRetroRoomRoo?t=7J4DPBi9p9XQSSPe4Gzxyg&s=09
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/YcHt4ES43FQ