While most game developers are focused entirely on what they're

Tim Sweeney, the architect of digital realms, once spoke these words of foresight: “While most game developers are focused entirely on what they’re shipping in a year or two, a technology developer like Epic has to look much further out and plan many years ahead.” In this declaration lies a truth not only for creators of games, but for all who build, dream, and labor for the future. He reveals the difference between those who think only of the harvest of today and those who plant forests that will shade generations yet unborn.

The meaning of his words is clear: game developers, whose task is to craft worlds of play and imagination, must deliver swiftly, for their success is measured in immediate delight. But a technology developer is the silent foundation upon which such worlds stand. The tools they create, the engines they forge, and the frameworks they design must endure beyond seasons, shaping not only one story but the possibility of countless stories. Thus, their vision cannot be narrow; it must stretch far, beyond the horizon of the present, into the uncharted realms of the future.

In the ancient days, master builders understood this same principle. When the architects of the great cathedrals of Europe laid their stones, they knew they would never see their work complete. Some cathedrals took centuries to finish, each generation adding to the vision of the last. Yet they labored with patience and foresight, knowing that their task was not only to serve the present worshippers, but to create a house of faith for centuries to come. So too must the technology developer build with eyes set not on the applause of today, but on the endurance of tomorrow.

Sweeney’s words remind us also of the builders of Rome’s aqueducts, those veins of stone that carried water across mountains and valleys. The citizens of Rome thirsted for water each day, but the engineers of the empire built with designs that would last for ages. Many of their aqueducts still stand, still serving, long after their makers turned to dust. Such is the power of planning many years ahead: it allows one’s work to outlive one’s own breath, to endure as a testament to vision and perseverance.

In contrast, those who think only of the next year, the next profit, the next fleeting triumph, risk becoming like sandcastles upon the shore—bright in the moment, but washed away by the next tide. The wise, whether in stone or in code, know that true greatness is not measured by immediacy, but by legacy. To build technology, or art, or life itself, requires more than short-term vision; it demands the courage to imagine futures that others cannot yet see.

From this teaching arises a lesson for all seekers: cultivate both patience and foresight. Do not measure your worth solely by what you complete today, but also by what you set in motion for tomorrow. When you begin a task, ask yourself—will this endure? Will this nourish others long after I am gone? Let your labors be not only answers to today’s needs, but also seeds of what the future shall require.

Therefore, children of tomorrow, take Sweeney’s wisdom into your own path. If your craft is immediate—art, trade, or service—then do it with excellence. But if your calling is to be a builder of foundations, like Epic, like the cathedral makers, like the aqueduct engineers, then steel yourself with patience, and plan many years ahead. For the world is in need not only of sparks that burn bright, but of lamps that shine steadily across the ages. And if you labor with such vision, your work, too, shall become a legacy that endures beyond your time.