Game design, along with writing, can be frustrating. This may not come as a surprise to many of you, but I think it’s a truth we live with on a surface level until we’re sunk in the thick of it. When we’re not feeling the frustration, we can brush it away, shrug, and say, “Sure, frustration comes with anything creative. It’s part of the deal.” It’s harder to say that when we’re experiencing the angst of something not working the way we want/need.
Frustration is the doorway through which doubt can creep. Resentment for the project can rise, a sense of failure can take hold. The extremes don’t happen every time, but the frustration is the seed from which all those nasties can bloom. It's important, even crucial, to understand the truth that yes, setbacks can happen when we’re creating something from the heart, and it’s okay. It doesn’t make us failure if a solution doesn’t come to us right away. It doesn’t mean that’s the end of our writing/game design/[insert creative outlet] career.
Game design, along with writing, is slow. Writing an outline for a new manuscript can take me a month or more. Then writing the first draft can take another month or three or four or five... Then there’s all the rewriting, editing, and tweaking. The same goes for game design. Planning what I want for the game takes forever. Then designing the pieces, building them, thinking up puzzles and interesting levels, then implementing them in a way that actually works in the environment and on the platform… takes an eternity.
I’ve learned testing is crucial. Test often. If I spend the time making everything look pretty before I’ve tested it, then I’ve potentially wasted a lot of time if at the end I discover it has to be redone from scratch. The same goes for manuscript writing. If I spend days, weeks even, prettying up a scene without checking to see how that scene works in the story, then I could be wasting time. And once it’s pretty, it’s even harder to throw away if it doesn’t work.
Because anything creative takes time to get right, because it can be frustrating, it’s important to remind yourself why you started in the first place. It’s important to celebrate the little victories—I actually got a mini puzzle working in my game. I was so excited to see it working that I celebrated the event even though in the big picture it was such a little thing. It helped me focus on the win rather than on the mountain of work I’ve yet to accomplish. And it’s important to remember your love for the project. That love will get you through fire.
This post was written for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month. To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.
(1980), Zork II (1981), Zork III (1982):
. I’d love to write a text adventure one of these days.
(1993): There were other zorks before this, including a comic book, but I didn’t play them. Then this one came out. This stepped away from the classic text adventure format and used ugly graphics instead, including videos of real actors. I couldn’t get into it. I mourned the death of text adventures. No graphics could match my imagination. Or so I thought…
(1996): At last they got it right. This graphical adventure game was pure awesome. It had atmosphere, great music, fantastic puzzles. They got the immersive experience totally right.
(2009): This is one of the best zombie movies, behind 
which is probably THE best. I love the list of rules to survive the zombie apocalypse. Rule number one: Cardio.
: The films include 
(2000), 
(2003), 
(2006). 
(2011), and there’s more to follow. I didn’t read the comic, but I did catch the Saturday morning cartoon, and the movies were even better. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine was awesome and scrummy all at once.
(1980): Slightly cheesy even in its time, but I enjoyed the magic and the music.
(1995-2001): I love stories with strong women in the lead so Xena appealed.
: my game console of choice. It’s great to away from the computer.
by Kylie Chan (2011): This is written by an Australian author about Chinese gods in modern day Hong Kong. The first series is truly fantastic.
series by Robert Jordan (1990): This massively long series has taken a lifetime to read--or so it feels. The first few books are particularly good.
(1983): “Do you want to play a game?” The size of the computers in this will give you a chuckle. Gotta love this iconic 80s film.
(1981): For the purposes of today’s post, pretend this starts with W-werewolf. This was a horror that got me laughing so hard, I thought my sides would split. I don’t have the same reaction anymore. The surprise factor got me at the time.
(2012): A wonderful animated movie about game characters and what they get up to at night when the arcade closes.
(2004): I’m horribly addicted to this massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) and played every expansion. I currently have four level 90 characters (the highest level you can have in the game at the moment). I generally only play at night now with my hubby after a full day of writing.
(1987): I didn’t actually play this table top game. Instead I painted the miniatures that go with the game. I painted so many Space Wolves I think I went slightly insane.
(2010-), 
(1975-79), 
(1988) 
(2003): I think the 
(2000): A superhero movie for the modern age. I love it. There’s something special about the Everyman who becomes something more. I would've liked to have seen a sequel of this one.
(1998) and 
(1999): First person multiplayer action. Lots of laughs and running about, and lots of pewpew action.
by Susan Cooper (1965-77): A brilliant kids book. This is the fifth and final in a truly fabulous series called 
. It’s set in Britain, about the struggle between Light and Dark. When I first read the series, I read it out of order, with 
by Terry Brooks (1977): Classic fantasy that was lots of fun to read. Apparently it took the author seven years to write.
(1966-69): I have to say that the original Star Trek is my favourite. There’s something about the dynamics between Kirk, Spock and Bones, and I loved the themes they explored, which were particularly challenging considering the time the series was made. (
)
(1989): a pen and paper roll playing game (RPG), similar to Dungeons and Dragons, only better. It had elements of both scifi and fantasy and was loads of geeky fun.
( 1996): This is the sequel to 
. Beautiful graphics and immersive story and great puzzles to solve.
(1988-99):