Boredom In Development
Richard Gall
game/story line? Many a time I have found myself working on an exciting
storyline but got bored with looking at the source all day. When I get like
this I usually leave the game for a few days (sometimes even weeks) and then
go back to it. But this drastically slows down development. I was wondering
how many of you experienced this also, and what solutions you have to
re-igniting the spark to an adventure under development when boredom sets
in?
Richard Gall
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
"...And it will be a time of great strife
when the moons are united in darkness
and the dead shall walk the earth once more..."
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
* Please remove NOSPAM from my email address to reply to me directly. *
Ricardo Dague
I suppose the only sure-fire solution is to make the game
shorter. Choose a plot short enough that you can finish it
in a week.
Gerry Kevin Wilson
>>
>> I'm sure I'm not the only one who often gets bored while developing an IF
>> game/story line? Many a time I have found myself working on an exciting
>> storyline but got bored with looking at the source all day. When I get like
>> this I usually leave the game for a few days (sometimes even weeks) and then
>> go back to it. But this drastically slows down development. I was wondering
>> how many of you experienced this also, and what solutions you have to
>> re-igniting the spark to an adventure under development when boredom sets
>> in?
There doesn't seem to be much you can do about it, since a lot of writing
IF is drudge work. I don't know about you, but I just can't get excited over
adding in synonyms and junk like that.
Really, you just have to be persistant. Don't give up on it, even when you
get bored with it, and you'll finish it. If you give up on each game when you
get bored, you'll never finish anything. I've followed that strategy, and so
far, if I've started a game, I've usually finished it, unless I really fell out of
love with the basic idea behind it. Heck, I finished that really long game that
everyone kept kidding me about. That was like passing Sisyphus' boulder,
but I kept at it. There's just no other way.
-= To persevere, trusting in what hopes he has, is courage in a man. =-
-Euripides
----
G. Kevin Wilson -=- Intern at Alderac Entertainment
Neil K.
> I'm sure I'm not the only one who often gets bored while developing an IF
> game/story line? Many a time I have found myself working on an exciting
> storyline but got bored with looking at the source all day. [...]
My perspective would be... I wouldn't say I get bored, but I certainly
get burnt out. I try to channel my procrastinating energies by focusing on
other, related issues. (eg: working on developing the graphics and sound
for my game, etc.) This I tend to take to ridiculous extremes, but we all
have our vices.
Of course, the main reason I find myself procrastinating is because my
game in progress is so damned huge. Writing smaller games (ie: defining
more attainable goals) is certainly more likely to promise eventual
results.
- Neil K.
--
t e l a computer consulting + design * Vancouver, BC, Canada
web: http://www.tela.bc.ca/tela/ * email: tela @ tela.bc.ca
Andrew Plotkin
> I'm sure I'm not the only one who often gets bored while developing an IF
> game/story line? Many a time I have found myself working on an exciting
> storyline but got bored with looking at the source all day.
Sure. A game isn't done when it's bug-free, it's done when your desire to
fix more bugs is exceeded by your desire to never look at the goddamn
source code again. :)
My only suggestions:
1) If you have a big exciting climactic scene, write it last. It's usually
more fun, so you have something to look forward to.
2) For gods sake *don't* put the game down for a few days. That way lies
disaster. Work on it *every day*. It doesn't matter how much. If your
day's work is fixing one bug, or even one typo, that's fine. But don't go
to sleep without having loaded up your code, edited something, and
compiled it.
--Z
--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the
borogoves..."
Drone
<M...@NOSPAMcyborg.force9.co.uk> wrote:
> I'm sure I'm not the only one who often gets bored while developing an IF
> game/story line? Many a time I have found myself working on an exciting
> storyline but got bored with looking at the source all day. When I get like
> this I usually leave the game for a few days (sometimes even weeks) and then
> go back to it. But this drastically slows down development. I was wondering
> how many of you experienced this also, and what solutions you have to
> re-igniting the spark to an adventure under development when boredom sets
> in?
>
Well, my knowledge doesn't extend far enough to finishing games, per *se*,
but following the very legitimate and worthwhile advice of 'write what you
know', I figured I could tell you how not to finish games, since that
seems to be my metier.
(1) Work out every single plot point and character reaction on paper
first, so that all that could possibly be left is weeks and weeks of
coding drudgery.
(2) Play the parts you've already finished again and again, thereby
rendering yourself immune to the impact of any good ideas contained
therein.
(3) Explain the plot several times to any of your friends who might be
interested in playing, thereby guaranteeing that the finished game will
hold no surprises for them other than the fact that it's been coded.
(4) Start planning the sequel. Hell, make it a trilogy.
(5) Upgrade it to the newest Inform libraries.
(6) Announce it on r.a.i-f.
(7) (this one I claim personal credit for) Spend a week coding what you
have so far into your own personal MUD server, so that you can finish it
"dynamically" and then "simply" port it.
(8) (another personal fave) Write a FileMaker Pro 'game-planning database.
(9) Ask yourself whether it's going to be good enough. Go on, ask.
Drone.
Richard Gall
I agree with everything you all suggest, more or less. When I get bored
(tired) of developing the source and I leave the computer side of things for
a few days, I find myself working on developing the game on paper. This
includes the storyline, maps, puzzles and twisting surprises. It should be
clear to everyone that you can only write *good* IF from the heart. I have
come to the conclusion that if the will is simply not deep down, then the
chances are the game won't turn out that good since it will lack caring
attention to details. But this is probably stating the obvious :)
One of the other aspects of why I get tired with development sometimes is
not through lack of will or interest. Quite the contrary actually, its the
fact that my games can never be as good as I desire, which is where the
working comes in, fixing up, creating a better storyline. I have some
excellent ideas and series of stories under development right now and the
fact that I am not using any standard IF development languages doesn't help
any. I'm also using my own IF language, which is also under development,
perhaps when this is also complete I will make it available for others use
publically.
Rick
M...@NOSPAMcyborg.force9.net
Jonadab the Unsightly One
> I'm sure I'm not the only one who often gets bored while
developing an IF
> game/story line? Many a time I have found myself working on an
exciting
> storyline but got bored with looking at the source all day.
No, you're not the only one.
> When I get like
> this I usually leave the game for a few days (sometimes even
weeks) and then
> go back to it. But this drastically slows down development.
That's funny; I'm able to develop at the same speed
whether actually working on the game or not...
> I was wondering
> how many of you experienced this also, and what solutions you have
to
> re-igniting the spark to an adventure under development when
boredom sets
> in?
One solution I've found is to alternate the kind of thing I'm
working
on within the game. For example, when I get tired of coding up
grammar
and verbs and routines I switch and write some room descriptions,
and when I get tired of that I put in some neat objects with some
nifty before routines, and when I get tired of that maybe it's time
to code up some more general routines or work on an NPC's
responses. Another option is to switch back and forth between
working on my text adventurer and developing levels for Descent.
Alternatively, if I get tired of developing I can spend a while
reading rec.arts.int-fiction instead, hoping it will get me geared
to work on my game again.
-- jonadab
(email the above name at bright.net)
David Burke
>I'm sure I'm not the only one who often gets bored while developing an IF
>game/story line? Many a time I have found myself working on an exciting
>storyline but got bored with looking at the source all day. When I get like
>this I usually leave the game for a few days (sometimes even weeks) and then
>go back to it.
I made the mistake of leaving my current game for a few weeks, and
that became months. It took an effort of will to restart coding. I now
make sure I do at least something every day that I home.
Sometimes all I do is tidy up a piece of code, add a new synonym, or
correct some spelling or grammatical error, but at least progress
towards the finished article is being made. I actually enjoy the
process of thinking of other things that players may try and adding
the code to handle it. I am better at adding the polish than I am at
thinking up lots, or writing good descriptions.
--David Burke
Wanderer in the Fourth Dimension
www.btinternet.com/~david.burke/drwho2.html
TenthStone
minds on Tue, 13 Oct 1998 13:11:08 -0500:
>Well, my knowledge doesn't extend far enough to finishing games, per *se*,
>but following the very legitimate and worthwhile advice of 'write what you
>know', I figured I could tell you how not to finish games, since that
>seems to be my metier.
>
>(1) Work out every single plot point and character reaction on paper
>first, so that all that could possibly be left is weeks and weeks of
>coding drudgery.
>
>(2) Play the parts you've already finished again and again, thereby
>rendering yourself immune to the impact of any good ideas contained
>therein.
>
>(3) Explain the plot several times to any of your friends who might be
>interested in playing, thereby guaranteeing that the finished game will
>hold no surprises for them other than the fact that it's been coded.
>
>(4) Start planning the sequel. Hell, make it a trilogy.
>
>(5) Upgrade it to the newest Inform libraries.
>
>(6) Announce it on r.a.i-f.
>
>(7) (this one I claim personal credit for) Spend a week coding what you
>have so far into your own personal MUD server, so that you can finish it
>"dynamically" and then "simply" port it.
>
>(8) (another personal fave) Write a FileMaker Pro 'game-planning database.
>
>(9) Ask yourself whether it's going to be good enough. Go on, ask.
(10) Write a particularly interesting bit which doesn't fit with the
story. Remove it from that game file, start writing another at the same
time.
(11) Decide you want to implement something that's not in the
libraries. Start rewriting the libraries.
(12) Implement clothing and/or body parts.
(13) Read r.a.i-f.
(14) Stop reading r.a.i-f for awhile, feel guilty, and spend a day and a
half responding to the 300 new posts.
(15) Rewrite the storyline.
(16) Redo the geography.
(17) Decide that want you really is three different main characters,
portraying the events of the story for three different perspectives.
Realise that this entails making most of the descriptions you've already
written obsolete/biased towards the first character, and rewrite them.
Later, descide you'd rather that one of the three wasn't a player
character at all, and remove him for another character. Rewrite the
storyline. (personal experience)
(18) Write a play from which to redevise the storyline. Make cirtical
comments upon that play, much like textual notes. Reconcile the code
with the new storyline. (personal experience)
(19) Join ifMUD and regularly appear there, while still balancing one's
occupation.
(20) Try to write anything at all during the IF Competition.
-----------
The imperturbable TenthStone
tenth...@hotmail.com mcc...@erols.com mcc...@gsgis.k12.va.us
Doeadeer3
In article <3628d5aa...@news.erols.com>, mcc...@erols.com (TenthStone)
writes:
>(20) Try to write anything at all during the IF Competition.
Do I get points for doing about 16 out of 20?
Boy, I thought *I* knew how to procastinate. Obviously I still have a lot more
to learn from the masters.
Doe :-)
Doe doea...@aol.com (formerly known as FemaleDeer)
****************************************************************************
"In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane." Mark Twain
nob...@student.anu.edu.au
> (11) Decide you want to implement something that's not in the
> libraries. Start rewriting the libraries.
> (12) Implement clothing and/or body parts.
Clothing is trivial (really!) in Inform PROVIDED you fix InvSub, and don't
touch add_to_scope [The problem is when you start off attempting to hack
add_to_scope and then discover that in order to catch "wear clothes" you
need to muck around with held which leads to an attempt to rewrite the
parser ... =]
I make no such claims about body parts (although one of these days I'm
going to rewrite the *&^&*(^( libraries to handle composite objects nicely
(IE: not using add_to_scope) ... see (11) =) At that point, body parts
will be relatively trivial. [Well .. provided that the lib can handle
possessives nicely .. LOOK AT MARION'S EYES without having to give the
eyes a name of "marion's", so that they're automatically created ...]
Hurry! Only 335 days to entries close for the next IF competition!!!
--OH
TenthStone
Mon, 26 Oct 1998 20:01:17 +1000:
>, mcc...@erols.com (TenthStone) wrote:
>> (11) Decide you want to implement something that's not in the
>> libraries. Start rewriting the libraries.
>Heh .. you're psychic, aren't you ... this way lies insanity =)
Try rewriting them in French, only to discover the parser wouldn't support
the final product.
>> (12) Implement clothing and/or body parts.
>Clothing is trivial (really!) in Inform PROVIDED you fix InvSub, and don't
>touch add_to_scope [The problem is when you start off attempting to hack
>add_to_scope and then discover that in order to catch "wear clothes" you
>need to muck around with held which leads to an attempt to rewrite the
>parser ... =]
Joy!
Clothing is fairly simple in TADS as long as you don't care too much about
common sense and logical code.
>I make no such claims about body parts (although one of these days I'm
>going to rewrite the *&^&*(^( libraries to handle composite objects nicely
>(IE: not using add_to_scope) ... see (11) =) At that point, body parts
>will be relatively trivial. [Well .. provided that the lib can handle
>possessives nicely .. LOOK AT MARION'S EYES without having to give the
>eyes a name of "marion's", so that they're automatically created ...]
Oi.
>Hurry! Only 335 days to entries close for the next IF competition!!!
Oh dear.... I'll be aiming for 700.