I’m making a New Year’s Resolution. I never make those, although I suppose there’s a first time for everything.
It’s about making things.
I’ve made things (stories, games, websites, etc.) for several years, yet looking back upon all those years, I have published very few finished works.
Part of it is because of a (possibly irrational) fear. If I were to release my work, I’d probably be embarrassed by it. So instead of making software feature complete, or completing my plotlines, I try to make them as perfect as possible. I’m too careful, try to cater to all kinds of possible audiences, try to predict all of the responses…etc., etc., etc…
But that’s contradictory to advise I’d posted earlier: something that is done is better than something that will be perfect. I’m trying to convince myself more than I’m trying to convince anyone else.
Every time I start a new project, I promise myself to complete it. That almost never happens, and I lose interest after a month or two, and move on. Then, there are people who in the same time I’ve been wasting, push out a game every three days or write whole novels. Perhaps I shouldn’t read the blogs of those people, as it just makes me feel worse.
Above all, I love to create things. But I also try to match great works, which is a hard, long, and nigh-impossible process. So my (belated) New Year’s resolution is this:
Finish at least one personal project every two months.
Two months is about the time I can work hard on a personal project before losing interest in it. If I can keep up this goal, I’ll have 6 new projects by the end of the year. And no matter how bad I believe the games / stories / art I complete, I’ll try my hand at publishing them anyways. Might be a lesson in social skills.
2012 was a very confused, chaotic year marked by unfortunate bouts of depression. Let’s hope 2013 turns out to be far better.
Ambient Maze 