I have a book called "Bli Best med Mental Trening" which translates to "Be the Best Through Mental Training." It's written by someone supposedly known as Norway's best psycological mentor. I've yet to read the book, but it has gotten high praise. Perhaps I should.
Of course, it has no direct relevance to whatever we do here, but for this topic, it definitely does. I wonder if it has an English copy...
Every developer wants to create the new BIG THING.
Every developer thinks he can create the new BIG THING.
Some developers are stuck in attention deficit loop where you start a project where you learn so much that it's worth starting a new one with the knowledge. (not finishing stuff)
There are ways out of it. Out of not finishing stuff.
But it hurts... Because you will suddenly be painfully reminded that you're not special and that you're just another developer.
That feeling of seeing new mod be announced with hype only to die weeks after.
Every community has their top people. For this community... there are some I don't even want to type their names.
You think of them as good people, they might seem like it. They might even be.
But as far as your project is concerned, they're evil.
If you work on something for 3 years only for it to be pushed down cause of some snarky comment made by a higher ranked member, you're going to be defensive. That didn't happen. But might... But how would you feel? Would you like to improve? For me... No... I want to hang myself, or at least hang the modding stuff.
Let's be real here. This is a joke. This... modding thing is a big joke. It's dying... everyone knows that. SOMA will come and you think "EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE" no it wont. did Machine for pigs change a lot? No... very few people use it's stuff. yes, it helped with 1.3 update and stuff, but community is still dying.
It's the matter of time.
If you think you're a developer... think again... you "just" a modder. Get hold of some engine or throw it away.
It's not a waste of time if it's enjoyable and brings something nice to the table. Yes, the community is stripped compared to how it was a few years back, but that doesn't mean it's gone already. The reason we're all here is because the game still has some interest and value around the webs.
First of all, I'd like to say that I don't like bumping dead threads, but if the thread was started by me and I've changed my view or have something new to bring into it, I feel responsible to update the thread.
Besides, I think I have some interesting points I have found out about myself that might apply to some developer who reads this post.
I'll make a Custom Story!
You know the drill, you browse the internet, looking for something to entertain you so you can survive another afternoon, hopefully without being bored too much, when you suddenly discover a YouTube video or a Blog Post or a Picture, or even a Game that actually resonates with you and you feel the little guy inside you, waking up, slowly starting to yell: "That's Cool! You can do it, you are capable of doing that!" and you browse some more with your inspiration growing until the point of you creating a pointless folder for you files, bragging to your friends about your latest and greatest idea that will surly revolutionize the whole Amnesia Moding Community. You spend half an hour creating an icon for your folder or the description of the Custom Story before your motivation starts to fade upon realizing how much you actually need to do.
There is a reason as well as cure for this... But it's quite long so I'll put it into a spoiler dropdown. (I'm very tempted to put a rickroll there, but I'm not going to do that... or am I?)
Spoiler below!
I'm not the best teacher, so I'll actually tell you a story that happened to me.
It was the 24th of December 2015 (a few days ago) and I was with my family, sitting in the living room, watching some Christmas themed movies and I was happily making my Custom Story on my laptop. I went quickly for a bathroom break and as I was washing my hands I looked at myself in the reflection of the mirror. The poor developer, unshaved and in a sad state staring at me made me think about what I've been doing last 2 months, especially last two weeks.
As Christmas break came along and people started to have free time I knew what I was going to do. My ideal time spent was in front of the scree, modding Amnesia, creating awesome stuff till 3AM before falling into the bed and repeating the whole process after waking up.
I probably don't have to mention that this approach is the worst thing you can do. I was pretty sure that if I'll only mod Amnesia 24/7 with some music and movies playing along, that I will get used to it and will actually like the process. Needles to say that it didn't work. Though my body got used to it my mind and especially my creativity suffered. It got so bad I couldn't even put furniture into a room without choosing something totally out of place like a furnace in the middle of a living room.
That's where I realized what's going on.
Everything we do is based on many variables, in order for us to not have to manage all of them we simplify things. This simplification has led to me thinking... (if I'll make 2 levels a day... I could finish the story in 2 weeks). These variables interact with one another in the slightest little ways that will eventually make 20 minute session with "good variables" worth much more than 5 straight days with "bad ones". It's like adding 5 instead of multiplying by it... it's not worth it and the result will be far from desired.
So I took actions... I cleaned myself up, went for a walk, meditated, enjoyed some really nice food and by the time I came back home... there it was... My creativity and inspiration returned. I couldn't wait to actually make some progress and I took it slow. I worked for 20 minutes before taking a break (which is called "Pomedala technique?" I'm not sure) and the results are amazing. I got so much done, in those few days I did everything I struggled with and fixed so much things I would have overlooked.
TL;DR I guess that being obsessed with making the next amazing thing is not the best way to go around making a mod. You need to take breaks and especially leave the place you're moding in. Go watch a movie with your friends, go shopping, meditate, take a shower or better yet, go on a rollercoaster ride. And do it often.
So, guys... what do you think? Effective breaks or just Procrastination?
(This post was last modified: 12-28-2015, 09:05 AM by Spelos.)
(12-27-2015, 02:11 PM)Spelos Wrote: I guess that being obsessed with making the next amazing thing is not the best way to go around making a mod. You need to take breaks and especially leave the place you're moding in. Go watch a movie with your friends, go shopping, meditate, take a shower or better yet, go on a rollercoaster ride. And do it often.
So, guys... what do you think? Effective breaks or just Procrastination?
I have to say that I have recently come to this same conclusion.
With the release of my demo for Helena, I've had a few many people ask when the full release will be. Truth be told, I've no idea. The end of next year would be nice, but let's face it, it took darn near three years just for the demo.
But your post made me realize, this is the method I've been using.
Sitting down for hours and days at a time, trying to force the creativity, has often led me to more setbacks than actual progress. Most of the time, what was created in those forced sessions ends up being scrapped.
Lately, I've taken to more daydreaming about Helena, little details that would be fun to implement, rooms ideas, etc.; writing every little thought down, then sitting at the computer, examining the map built so far and deciding from there, where has this inspiration led us.
It is slower, but a far more effective method of work, especially if you have a full schedule of other things to do..... or if you are a procrastinator.
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