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Someone once told me, “When your hobby becomes your work, it’s time to find a new hobby.”\u00a0 This couldn’t be more right.\u00a0 And I couldn’t have been more wrong to ignore it.<\/p>\n
I encounter many people who want to develop games but have not yet made the plunge for a variety of reasons.\u00a0 Sometimes they ask, \u201cWhat is it like?\u201d\u00a0 Usually, they ask for advice on how they can get started.\u00a0 Out of everything I could say, the concept of how\u00a0making games fundamentally change someone\u2019s enjoyment of them<\/em>is the most difficult to express. It\u2019s also the most difficult for them to hear \u2013\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0the most important.\u00a0 The reason I am writing about this now is because I just had a fresh reminder playing\u00a0Destiny<\/em>, which launched worldwide this week.<\/p>\n This issue is not limited just to game developers.\u00a0 Game journalists, critics, and others face it as well.\u00a0 Here is the core question:<\/p>\n “Do you love games so much you are willing to sacrifice your enjoyment of them on the altar of Career?”<\/p>\n However, before I continue, I first need to define what a hobby actually is and why hobbies are so incredibly important to everyday life.<\/p>\n Hobbies<\/strong><\/p>\n A hobby is something enjoyable we do to rest and recharge our soul.\u00a0 I write “soul” because it goes beyond just resting physically, mentally, or emotionally. It\u2019s about reconnecting to some ethereal essence of who we are.\u00a0 At the end of a day of stressful toil (be it school, childcare, work, or something else), I feel spent.\u00a0 Not just tired (food and sleep will address that), but\u00a0like<\/em>\u00a0I have given something of myself and now I am somehow emptier<\/em>.\u00a0 Perhaps figuratively, I only have ten units of “me” (total) and I’m now down to eight.\u00a0 A hobby is how we recharge those “me units.\u201d<\/p>\n When we feel pressured, we turn to a hobby to feel\u00a0relief.<\/em> People enjoy a whole variety of hobbies.\u00a0 This is what makes the world such a varied and wonderful place to live.\u00a0 Maybe you like gardening. (I like reading fiction.) Maybe she likes boxing, and he likes Sudoku.\u00a0 But if you are reading this we share one hobby in common: games.<\/p>\n This is perhaps a first-world problem, but it\u2019s hard to deny that we lead stressful lives in North America.\u00a0 This means our hobbies should be protected and cherished.<\/p>\n When your hobby is your work<\/strong><\/p>\n I am not unfamiliar with stress.\u00a0 Right now, I am writing this under a tight deadline. \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 My career as an entrepreneur has had many stresses: when to expand the business and when to contract?\u00a0 Is this candidate the right employee in the long term?\u00a0 Will these customers close this month\u2014and if not, what can I do to convince them now instead of later?\u00a0 Will we have enough for payroll next week?\u00a0 Will they get over their issues, or will they quit?\u00a0 Are we even going to be in business next quarter?<\/p>\n Many times these problems span not moments but days or\u00a0weeks<\/em>.\u00a0 During these times, my hobbies\u2014specifically playing games\u2014help me pull through in a very healthy way.\u00a0 I’ll give you two specific examples:<\/p>\n First, I enjoy painting 25mm miniatures like\u00a0Warhammer<\/em>,\u00a0Reaper<\/em>, and\u00a0Battletech.<\/em>\u00a0(I will never be mistaken for an artist, though!) My best miniatures are just \u201cokay.\u201d\u00a0 But something about the very quiet act of laying color down on an impossibly small robe or missile launcher is oddly restorative.\u00a0 It nourishes my soul.<\/p>\n Secondly, I enjoy writing D&D campaigns.\u00a0 I get more enjoyment out of creating the world and adventure than running it at the table.\u00a0 With this background, perhaps now you will see where the problem begins in my next life choice.<\/p>\n I opened my tabletop gaming store in 2006, thinking \u2018this will be the greatest thing EVER!\u2019 \u00a0\u00a0I longed for looking at, working with, and talking about games all day long.\u00a0 And yes, it is true that it IS more enjoyable to look at, talk about, and stock a\u00a0Fantasy Flight<\/em>\u00a0board game instead of a case of Tide.<\/p>\n So, exhausted and spent after a day of hard work, I would turn to my brushes and miniatures after dinner for some peace and restoration.\u00a0 But the moment I picked up that miniature, whatever levees of work\/play separation I had constructed in my mind were suddenly busted wide open . . . and the thoughts and stresses of Work came flooding in. When is the ship date for that new release?<\/em><\/p>\n Are we out of stock on those space marines?\u00a0 I’ll need to check that.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Oh, I forgot to call so and so about his special order!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n My hobby now reminded me about work. I killed my hobby and didn’t even realize it!\u00a0And all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not bring it back again<\/em>.<\/p>\n I have had to sacrifice my love of tabletop gaming in order to own a tabletop gaming store.\u00a0 So I did what I could: retreated into my other passion\u2014video games.<\/p>\n And now, Video Games<\/strong><\/p>\n I have always enjoyed PC and console games.\u00a0 The tabletop games were always a unique outlet of creativity.\u00a0 So as my tabletop time went down, my video gaming went up.<\/p>\n Two years ago I decided to make video games full-time.\u00a0 Now I am no longer playing games purely for enjoyment.\u00a0 Always, in the back of my mind, the eye of the critic is scanning, dissecting, and logging:<\/p>\n Oh that’s a good mechanic. So at the end of a day of programming and fighting with a particular game mechanic, do you think I can fire up the PS4 and kick back for some soul nourishing enjoyment?<\/p>\n Let me tell you what happened this Tuesday. Like most human beings with a love for games, I was pretty excited about\u00a0Destiny<\/em>.\u00a0 I have only the highest respect for Bungie.\u00a0 Even attended a midnight launch to pick up my copy.<\/p>\n Destiny<\/em>\u00a0is pure awesomeness; I was having the time of my life.\u00a0 Then, about 10 minutes into the campaign, I walked up a ridge and saw this:<\/p>\n My brain immediately started thinking in a way I did\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>approve. At all.<\/p>\n “Hey, this is just like that\u00a0Gamasutra<\/em>\u00a0article you read on\u00a0level composition and player feelings<\/a>.” “Hey, that focal point of the tower is exactly what the author was talking about for center of interest.” “Oh yeah, and how the raised elevation is making me feel\u00a0small<\/em>\u00a0and the focal point towers over me.” This is the hidden personal cost of working in games: It killed my hobby.\u00a0 If you had told me three years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it.\u00a0 It wouldn’t have dissuaded me\u2014not in the least.\u00a0 I write what I write for those who are wiser and better listeners than me.<\/p>\n Beware of making games for a living if all you care about in life is\u00a0playing<\/em>\u00a0games. Once the genie is out of the bottle, there is no stuffing it back in!<\/p>\n SDG<\/p>\n You can follow the game\u00a0I’m working on,\u00a0Archmage Rises<\/a>, by joining the\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0facebook page<\/a>. Someone once told me, “When your hobby becomes your work, it’s time to find a new hobby.”\u00a0 This couldn’t be more right.\u00a0 And I couldn’t have been more wrong to ignore it. I encounter many people who want to develop games but have not yet made the plunge for a variety of reasons.\u00a0 Sometimes they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14,19,22,57,37,60,58,59,35],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-archmage","tag-archmage-rises","tag-game-dev","tag-hobby","tag-indie","tag-joy","tag-rest","tag-sabbath","tag-video-game"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/defiancegamestudio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.abetterinterview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/hobbies.jpg\")
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\nWhen we feel harried, we turn to a hobby for\u00a0peace<\/em>.
\nWhen we feel discouraged, we turn to a hobby to\u00a0succeed.<\/em>
\nWhen we feel empty, we turn to a hobby to reach\u00a0fulfillment.<\/em>
\nWhen we can’t stop thinking about it, we turn to a hobby to\u00a0forget.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-F2lZc5hLgKM\/UDjyrKMrKkI\/AAAAAAABT70\/4kj99KMZ-Mk\/s1600\/Storm+Wardens+helmet+step+by+step.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nDid I contact that supplier?<\/em><\/p>\n
\nGood set piece there; this game has good level design.
\nI wonder how they did THAT?
\nThis combo system is broken. I would have so and so instead….<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nNo! No! No!\u00a0 Shut up!<\/em><\/p>\n
\nShut up! I don’t care! I just want to enjoy the moment!<\/em><\/p>\n
\nPlease? Can you just leave me alone!?<\/em><\/p>\n
\nOr if you really want to call me out on something, you can tweet me\u00a0@LordYabo<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"