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landeg · 4 years ago

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31 Days of Apex: A Retrospection

I participated in the incredible #31DaysOfApex challenge hosted on Twitter, where fans created new content for every day of July based on a one-word prompt. I’ve signed up for/started lots of similar challenges in the past but always ended up having to drop out or trail off before the end... but this time, I managed to complete something for every day of the challenge!

My only goal was to make something by each day’s deadline, and it was a really interesting exercise both in technical skill and also in my management of not only my time, but my expectations and energy. Below, I go into more detail behind each piece.

To preface; the beginning of this challenge coincided with the beginning of a new personal time-management exercise where, for 5/7 days a week, I would only go on the computer at night. Combined with the deadline, this had an interesting effect on my time management and the quality of certain pieces.

Day 1 - Memory

From the start, I wanted to use the challenge as an opportunity to do more studies and to push myself wherever possible. This was the first piece I did and I had more time to work on it, so I used it as a digital painting study. I still think it’s a strong piece and it’s probably my favourite of the month. Symbolically, this character’s backstory doesn’t match up with her own memories, so the idea is she’s missing information she can’t quite place or remember, and this both scares and comforts her.

Day 2 - Blood

Another digital painting and lighting study that didn’t work out as well as the first, mostly due to time constraints meaning I couldn’t scrap it and start again. While I don’t like how it turned out, I did learn a lot. The character on the right is a field medic, and my intent was to show the calm after a successful rescue.

Day 3 - Mercy

Some days I relied more on the humour of a piece’s concept than the skill of its execution, though I also liked how this piece turned out artistically. After two days of intense studies, though, this was very quick and easy for me to turn out as it relied on existing skills.

Day 4 - Prize

This one thankfully came together very quickly, which I credit to the two previous painting studies making it much easier to achieve what I wanted. The character is searching for the disembodied head of the man who killed her parents, who is now acting as a robot, hence the vaguely half-machine-half-human silhouette in her hand.

Day 5 - Family

Another quick, simple illustration under a time crunch. The character framed by the nameless foreground figures has no memory of herself or her family.

Day 6 - Noise

For some pieces where I was under a time crunch, I experimented in an opposite direction; instead of studies, I played loosely with different techniques/brushes/etc to see what came out. This was a lineless style I ended up employing a lot when short on time. The piece pictured here was just one of four alternate colourways, presented in a pop-art style. The character is almost always depicted with thick coverings over her ears, so I thought she might be sensitive to auditory overload. This particular piece was retweeted by the character’s voice actress!

Day 7 - Mask

More relying on humour for lack of time/a better idea. A fun experiment in colour, though.

Day 8 - Healing

Another technically “easy” piece but with a stronger concept. It was actually pretty hard to get the reflection & condensation elements balanced right. The character pictured has a narrative thread relating to an old ex he has trouble moving on from.

Day 9 - Weapon

While obviously another joke, and made to be finished quickly, it was surprisingly difficult to get the duct tape and knife to read clearly without over-cluttering the lineless image. This little ‘bot is a drone used by one of the playable characters to hack areas of the map; it’s not NORMALLY an offensive weapon. This image was promo’d in a video stream by the character’s voice actor!

Day 10 - Truth

I only had less than an hour to finish this one by the deadline, but I still tried to experiment with silhouette and colour. It was surprisingly hard to get the interior silhouette to be legible. The outer silhouette is a playable character (not easily readible unless you’re familiar with his design) and the inner silhouette is his sister, whose disappearance he is trying to investigate.

Day 11 - Shield

A fun, self-indulgent one. Had a blast simplifying the game’s characters down into little caricatures. The character in the centre has abilities related to shields and protection, so many other people were drawing him for the prompt; I wanted to try and flip it, so I picked other characters he would be friendly with, and picked a non-lethal, lighthearted setting.

Day 12 - Ruins

Short on time so did a quick lighting study. A recent game plot has changed one of the areas of the map, submerging it in water and leaving it to “ruin”.

Day 13 - Hero

Another painting study. Really didn’t like how this one turned out, but had to turn in something, and I did learn a lot in the process. If I’d had more time I probably would’ve scrapped it and started again. This characters had recently been revealed to have been manipulated by another character who used gas-based offenses, whom she admired.

Day 14 - Rest

I was going to be away from mt computer until after the deadline, so I decided to make a traditional piece. I ended up enjoying it so much I tried to take the time to do a few more traditional pieces later. This piece was sort of a comedy of errors; I had to do it while I was out, and the pen I had brought with me to ink my sketch ran out, so I had to make do with a blue ballpoint pen, and I was missing several colours of coloured pencil. I think the finished piece reflects how rushed it was, and it did’t meet my concept, but I do still like it.

Day 15 - Skull

Another quick one but I wanted to experiment with a different line style. Wanted a sort of “graffiti” effect. One of this character’s skins includes a skull-shaped mask.

Day 16 - Growth

Extremely quick play on words because I didn’t have the time to work on anything meaningful and couldn’t think of anything better!

Day 17 - Home

Another traditional piece, this time by choice and with more time. Markers. It looks extremely like some janky art school homework on 2 point perspective because it extremely is. Perspective and backgrounds are very difficult for me - they just don’t “click” - but I had a lot of fun with this one. I kept my mistakes intact because I didn’t want to edit it too much. A lot about the technical perspective is wrong, but I think I achieved the “mood” I wanted. This location is a bar owned by one of the player characters where many of the other characters are shown to meet.

Day 18 - Sky

Very happy with how this one turned out, even though there are still lots of problems. Markers again. There’s a lot I would fix next time, and I think technically it’s lacking, but there are some specific areas I feel happy to have achieved, such as the almost brushed texture of the curved metal above his shoulder and the values of the shadow/reflections on the underside of the head piece. I’m also happy with how I was able to draw from my shoulder rather than my wrist when inking the curved lines, something I struggle with.

Day 19 - Target

An experiment in pushing the lineless style I’d already been playing with for a stronger likeness. The pose and expression in this could both be pushed more but I like the result. This character had just learned that one of the other players, whom she had trusted, was actually sharing her secrets with her enemy, and she didn’t know which one it was.

Day 20 - Friendship

I had this one concepted from when I first looked over the prompts. It was a fun challenge trying to simplify all the elements into the lineless, blocky style while being legible. This character has a strained relationship with one of his friends, and finally pushed her too far with his selfishness, and she now no longer responds to him.

Day 21 - Scar

Quick joke. This character was introduced briefly as a red herring for another character before being killed off. He was stabbed through the chest by another character’s hand, hence the scar pattern.

Day 22 - Dream

I wasn’t sure about this one while I was making it but I ended up liking how it turned out. I wanted to capture the character’s robotic legs bent at an unnaturally straight 90 degrees, like a Barbie doll. The flat background and lighting make it feel like an indoor stage. The little “electric sheep” are inspired by iDogs.

Day 23 - Meal

After a few days of not having time to really spend on any piece, it was fun to get to spend time on concepting and composing this. I always admired these kinds of watercolour-like food illustrations and this is the first time I’ve had any success in creating one myself. I concepted and sketched out the individual items traditionally before working out the composition within the box digitally. Each food item/utensil is inspired by the different characters’ design elements. Only two of the now-current characters are excluded due to plot reasons. In particular, I like how one of the character’s dome-shaped shields acts as the base and cover of the box.

Day 24 - Hobby

Wasn’t a fan of how this one turned out. I think the likeness is a bit off, and his facial anatomy is skewed. But I also like how the general composition, tone, and bee turned out. This character’s concept art originally imagined them as a beekeeper who would use smoke to fight.

Day 25 - Fear

An incredibly rushed piece that I intended to go back in and add more detail to, similar to day 4, but I actually took a step back and decided I liked the blocky, flat-colour version. This character is the youngest of four, all of whom are MIA or worse, along with his father, and his mother is losing her memory. He’s talking to her through a handheld holographic device. This piece gained more traction, most likely thanks to the subject matter since this is a popular character.

Day 26 - Holiday

I didn’t want to do a religious holiday like Christmas or Easter. A lot of other people also interpreted the prompt as a vacation, but I had already done a sort of “beach vacation” piece for day 11, so I instead went for a “public holiday” and chose NYE/NYD. This was fairly quick but the lighting was an interesting experiment. I knew this one wouldn’t be as popular because it wasn’t as “flattering” but I personally really like it. The girl on the left is kind of goofy and completely un-self-conscious and I think it’s captured here.

Day 27 - Music

Really didn’t like how this one turned out. I don’t think the likeness is good at all, the lighting is poor, and the gold detailing feels lazy. But I liked other elements, such as the pose and the clothing.

Day 28 - Treasure

This is my least favourite of the entire month, but I also had the least time available to work on it before the deadline so I had no opportunity to scrap it and start over, which I sorely wanted to do. The likeness is terrible, but more than that the base anatomy is off, the pose is stiff, and the lighting/colours are cheap. I wish I could’ve done better by this character; but, I am glad I had something finished at all.

Day 29 - Skin

This was probably my third attempt at this picture and I’m still not happy with it, but again, I had to finish something. I almost considered scrapping the concept entirely and choosing something easier but ended up seeing it through. The concept itself is actually recycled from an older piece of mine for an entirely different fandom, because I didn’t think I did it justice then, either. Would still like to revisit this concept with this character and take more time.

Day 30 - Trust

After a few days of feeling really dissatisfied and uncomfortable with the art I’d been making, I finally more time to dedicate to a piece, and I’m overall happy with how this one turned out. I decided to go for a different medium entirely with pixel art, which also gave me the opportunity to try and animate it. I started off confident and then started to get worried towards the end, but all the elements came together when I added the portal colour effects. This is an alternate reality version of one of the player characters, who appears through a portal and allows that character to escape the facility she’s being kept in, encouraging them to trust the “voices” she hears which are actually versions of herself trying to help her. This piece was retweeted by the official Apex Legends Twitter account!

Day 31 - Freestyle

I had this planned out early in the challenge and I’m really, really happy with how it turned out. It’s probably tied with my favourite along with the very first piece (how fitting). I was worried about how I was going to capture the movement without over-complicating the lineart, having so many people in one image, etc. before I realised the focus was entirely on gesture, and then everything clicked. I went for a thicker brush, which forced me to conserve my lines, and tried to simplify each character down to the bare minimum needed to recognise them. They’re also all wearing new non-canonical outfits so I used their familiar colour schemes for the same purpose. It’s not perfect, but I love it, and it’s everything I’d hoped I’d be able to end the challenge on.

I really, really enjoyed the entire month and the way it tied in with my new time management schedule. It gave me some achievable short-term goals which added up to this long-term achievement I can now look back on; I learned a lot both about balancing my energy and about technical skills, I found ways to stay motivated, and most importantly I learned to not get caught up on the individual slip-ups and pieces I didn’t like as much and to instead focus on the bigger picture. Thank you to everyone involved in organising and supporting this event! I found so many other incredible fanartists, writers, and content creators through this challenge and I can’t wait to see the bonus content released over August!

#31 Days of Apex #31DaysOfApex #highlights

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gamergeeker · 6 years ago

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If the RUIN hadn't happened, what sort of stuff do you see happening to the characters?

That’s a very tough question for me. RUIN’s involvement in their lives really shaped who they turned out to be, more than just a life event. If anything, Valek would have probably ended up as a happy Protectorate Captain with his own crew, just as hundreds if not thousands of Protectorate before him. Straun wouldn’t have met Valek, due to her being a refugee on the Ark, and subsequently wouldn’t have developed such a love of elemental weaponry, and likely just being a peaceful Floran on Earth. Shilka would still be wandering her Ocean home trying to remember things. Ruka would still be a hard-ass with Krask as her softer side, though I think one of them would have eventually broken the ice and actually admitted to feeling something more than just friendship. Shirri, however, would still be on her asteroid, hiding from Miniknog, and raising her beloved pets (even though they’re still 100% wild and she’s just too nice to think much of a Skimbus trying to slap her).Vercel wouldn’t have met Maruma, as the Floran would still be on Ruka’s ship as a fighter, and the bird himself would be only a step behind Valek, though Vercel would have more of a difficult time with the regiment of being an actual captain. Vasiri would absolutely have stayed at that manor until someone else came along, and there’s about a 50/50 chance of her staying or going with this newcomer. Rukim would still be in his little corner of heaven (a rainbow biome, but close to a beach). Abbyrram and Namika would have likely had a more typical coupling ceremony, seeing as the two were already something of a couple, though Abbyrram wouldn’t really know just how deeply Namika was in love with her.As far as the Released Crew (Morrik and the others), they’d still have Ruka and Krask keeping them in line until someone either left or cracked from Ruka’s rigid and heated way of dealing with things. There’s still a bet ongoing in the secret logs on who would leave the crew first. So far it’s Russik who everyone thinks would crack. He’s hard-pressed to disagree. Thankfully Morrik turns out to be completely capable of running a ship himself, though he wouldn’t have gotten that chance if Ocassus hadn’t killed Krask to make Ruka rethink her way of doing things. That being said, Ramarri would still be a happy enforcer alongside Captain Grattice, and would likely end up serving alongside the Captain until his retirement and likely a peaceful Father-Daughter life ahead of them from there. That’s what he wanted, at least. Beyond that, Kiri never was under Ruka’s ire, so she would have had little reason to leave the crew. Stagnation, technically. Though without the RUIN making the crews shuffle, they wouldn’t have gotten Freyah as a medic-in-training.Vei’s crew wouldn’t have really been much different, or would be completely different. That depends on how the influx of refugees would have affected the volume of colonists to be brought in. The lack of refugees would likely have removed as much of a need to have colonies, though Vei would have built a colony nonetheless, and if all facts were accounted for, Vei would never have met Ilvirin due to the chances of getting her in the first place. He’d have likely kept building his colony and never gotten in touch with the sense of self that his girlfriend has brought out in him. Obviously, that also means Marrin would remain a street-fighting drunkard with absolutely no drive in life. He’d have taken another apartment with Ilvirin, and likely caused a great deal of trouble. Raura would almost definitely have held her tongue, so to speak, about coming with Vei. It was seeing an actual crew that changed her mind in the first place, and it was the friendly and accommodating environment on the ship that drove her to ask to come with them. Without Ilvirin and Marrin, Raura would have remained a quiet tenant who painted from imagination, dealing with artistic stagnation.With those four crews neatly organized into happy and sad possibilities, the Ends and Means crew needs addressing. Thankfully short, the fifth crew would likely have gotten slapped with an actual warrant due to their theft and hijacking of ships for profit. If they weren’t in trouble, they’d just have to be a lot more lucrative. Rinka would eventually either gain traction as an underground member to be reckoned with, or in a prison for a long time. Narzi would remain as a Resistance assassin with or without Rinka, though her targets would be greatly reduced. That being said, Narzi would either end up with a serious reputation, or she’d mysteriously vanish. Yama would likely considered a case of “Florans are just Florans” and end up marooned on a planet with other Florans. She’d fit right in. Malkin is the one who’d fare literally the same. He’s the code and brains of the crew, and would have no problems making himself invisible to the Protectorate. Though if he were ever caught, he’d have the worst sentence of them all. Not because he kills, not because he steals, but because he’s the one who cracked codes and stole clearances to sell hundreds of ships, he cracked distress beacons to reset them, he rewired S.A.I.L.s to reset them, etc. That being said, with the Protectorate still in play, the 5th crew would be forcibly disbanded shortly. It’s the absence of Protectorate that allowed them to flourish. Then again, only half the ships they sold were occupied due to Ocassus members and bandits emptying ships of their inhabitants.

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seenashwrite · 6 years ago

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(see HERE for part one of answer)

Ah, mass appeal, that oft elusive lil' stinker. How to get it is one of those age-old questions for us creator-types. We want it, for personal reasons, for perhaps monetary reasons, and determining what constitutes it and how to tap into it and even if we should try to tap into it are all pickles.

No, not that type, those are fabulous. I mean sticky situations. The non-tempuraish bliss with delusion of "Hey, I'm doing great on my diet, 'cause it's a vegetable!" kind.

Spoiler Alert: I'm not going to tell you not to compare yourself to other people, of course you are, and in many ways this is a good thing, it's called having an ideal to which to aspire, except it shouldn't be rooted in popularity, the admiration should be for their work. . . . Thanks for your question!

I'm kidding, Dean, and you damn well know it. Bite me. And fetch me a whiskey. And some Death pickles. I got talkin’ to do.

Part Two: Water Chumming & How That Shark May Bite Your Ass, So Here’s A Bunch Of Other Stuff That Can Be Done From The Safety Of The Shore

C/P for convenience:

Is it worth trying to please the masses when we can't please ourselves? Am I poking the bear?

Let us recap from Part One:

We talked about how to get from a feeling of ineptitude to - at first - just mild trepidation when it comes time to hit "publish", and started delving into "but how to get there?" so that the path can lead on to an actual measure of confidence, which brings us to the second part of your question up there - which is, I find, a completely normal thought, stemming from exasperation, when it feels like you're surrounded by a ton of people who are having ungodly amounts of success, and it seems like the biggest mystery in the world. So it's natural to wonder: should I follow their lead? Try to do what they're doing?

Maybe - let's unpack that, dig into what that would entail, the pros-and-cons, what some alternatives may be.

Near the end of Pt. 1, we talked about not understanding why some stories/writers gain traction, while others don't, specifically regarding the quality of their stories. As facetious and jokey and snotty and funny as I made that "rant", and said how you could always use the SSDTs [Same Shit, Different Title] stories as a "How Not To Do It" guide, I also mentioned how they must be doing something right - and they are, the metrics we've got (hearts, notes, feedback, asks r/t stories, followers, reblogs) bear it out. It's right there. There's nothing to interpret. It's there. It's fact.

Not to mention, as much as I've tried to drill down on objective parameters for my rec list, to try and smoosh down subjectivity, both on my part and on the part of people who rec to me, there's still a pretty substantial margin of subjectivity. There just is - a story could be ridiculous in plot, could be littered with reprehensible grammar, could poorly represent Sam/Dean/etc., could have a shallow Y/N. Yet if something within the story, no matter how oblique, speaks to the heart of a reader? In the immortal words of Private Hudson:

Game. Over. They’re in. Case closed.

I also mentioned that little number in the corner, that overall snapshot of how much action a given story/that writer accumulated and pondered - does it indicate how great the story is? Also known as: Does that mean their story/their writing is better than mine?

Well. No. Not necessarily. I suspect that - and this would take a huge data mining mission on every single one of a given writer's high count stories to know - in part, some of the number represents a manifestation of a cult following. I'll save you the trouble of clicking the link:

"A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a work of culture. A film, book, musical artist, television series or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fanbase. A common component of cult followings is the emotional attachment the fans have to the object of the cult following, often identifying themselves and other fans as members of a community. Cult followings are also commonly associated with niche markets."

I've no idea why "musical artist" was the only human example they threw in there, because in my experience/observation over **cough** decades of life on the planet, I see cult followings for humans more than stuff, and public figures of other areas beyond music (actors, politics, etc.) just as much. There are men-I MEAN-people who will never be socially ostracized no matter how inappropriately they behave, no matter the amount of evidence, doesn't matter - their following will absolutely make preserving the (fake) image that person cultivated their hill to die on.

But we're getting negative, and where I'm going with "cult status" in our context isn't negative. The "cult" mentality aspect to which I refer is about loyalty of followers (specifically reader-followers) in general, and then further, the loyalty of that subset of reader-followers who were early readers. They adored "x" number of that writer's stories in the past, and even if the quality of newer stories has declined, they are still gonna hit that heart and reblog it and say it was great. Do they actually believe it? Some of them, to be sure. Do some of them have on cult following rose-colored glasses? Friggin' of course.

Like I said above the cut - I'm not going to tell you not to compare yourself to other people, of course you are, and in many ways this is a good thing, it's called having an ideal to which to aspire, except it shouldn't be rooted in popularity, the admiration should be for their work. But there's admiration owed to these writers for maintaining their follower base, regardless of whether those follower-readers aren't in the admiring-for-the-work mode. So while you can't admire them for their stories, because you think they blow, there is an ideal, a definite modelling to consider: what are some of these writers who are getting huge numbers doing to maintain what popularity they've accrued?

Let's pause here for a recap of what we know for sure:

1. You won't know if telling stories is legit in your wheelhouse or not until you start getting some feedback from readers, which is going to help get you out of Ineptitudeville;

2. Ideally, this would begin with an honest, straightforward editor who knows how to give constructive critique --> in the meantime, use The Nail's guiding standards to serve as an at-home editor til you feel ready to find such an editor;

3. You can't get feedback for your supplemental self-editing documents of "nailed it" and "Achilles' heels" unless you put yourself out there (which, hopefully chipping away at #1 will get you over the ineptitude hump and into a healthy trepidation territory so you can do);

4. There's potential modelling to be done by observing what the "popular" writers are doing outside of their stories to accrue/maintain followers, and trying to see what their loyal reader-followers see in stories you don't find very good.

Again - assuming you've gotten comfy enough to just feel a normal nervousness vs. ineptitude, it's on to getting an audience. So, what could it be? That these mega-number generators are doing? I think it's two things:

(A) They have broad exposure that brings others into the fold (B) There's more at work than just stories

But Nash, are you not paying attention? I don't have exposure, they've got a bazillionty followers - you may say.

Then let's get you some exposure that has nothing to do with follower counts, nothing *inherently* due to the potentially not-so-robust nature of your stories at present, things that just might get you more followers, hopefully turning a chunk of them into reader-followers somewhere along the way.

(A) Exposure that doesn't require "popularity":

1. SPN Fanfic Pond ---> 24/7/365 - join it and submit your stories - never know who'll see it - guaranteed reblog

2. SPN Hiatus Creations ---> specific dates - I don't think many people know that they include fics, since they mostly get submissions of art - weekly topics to choose from - join in, submit your stories - the folks behind it most always put a little comment in their tags, so be on lookout for your feedback doc - guaranteed reblog

3. SPN Family Birthdays ---> 24/7/365 - their kindness gets your name "out there" to more people, both the mods behind-the-scenes, as well as that blog's followers - guaranteed exposure - *mandatory* to reblog this with a thank you and at least one point of feedback about it to whomever created that birthday wish for you

4. Bingos: SPN Genre Bingo - SPN Fluff Bingo - SPN Kink Bingo - SPN Angst Bingo ---> specific dates - variety of topics - guaranteed reblog - good/decent potential reblog from others via their followers and those who follow the tags

5. Challenges from individuals ---> sporadic dates - variety of topics - follow people who you see hosting them, if they've hosted one they'll likely host more - hosts will typically reblog each fic (good chance with a touch of feedback), and/or put your "@" and link to your fic onto a master post - more popular the blog/higher follower count, the more exposure, so high reblog/new reader potential

6. Seasonal Celebrations ---> specific dates - Secret Valentines, secret Santas, etc. - do it and you're also probably making a friend, maybe gaining a new follower, maybe their followers will come visit your place because your assigned person reblogs what you did for them - moderate-to-high potential for reblog *

(*Should be a guarantee but some people are dicks; my Valentine didn't ever send me shit this year, not even an apology through the organizer, but you know what? I don't care. Legit. I made a friend through it, and really enjoyed making what I did for them.)

7. “Bangs” ---> sporadic dates - a.k.a. Mini-bangs / Big-bangs - focused on a topic/character - guaranteed reblog

8. Appreciation Days ---> specific dates - Angst, Smut, Fluff appreciation days - you can even submit already written fics/don't necessarily have to whip out something new - specific tags can draw readers - good/decent potential for reblogs

9. Prompts ---> 24/7/365 - imagines, those generic prompt blogs - follow some, keep an eye out for the interesting ones - challenge yourself to crank out one a week, short little 500-ish word blurbs - reblogs, maybe, who cares, this is serving to get you out of the funk and get used to posting your work; it's practice, and if it gets love, then great, if not, you still got stuff to put on a master post - and make a master post and get it in your profile so it's easily find-a-ble

10. Outside of Tumblr * ---> 24/7/365 - Fanfic.net and AO3 - join and put fic there and put your links somewhere on your blog - both have stats - both give opportunity for people to comment and to share direct links to their blogs, which is how this connects to the goal of visibility in the SPN fandom here - also a way to self-reblog your story in a “fresh” way/cuts down on repetition popping up on your followers’ dashes (i.e. - helps cushion the ol’ “Oh they’re posting this again?!” feeling)

[* Note: many of us have great distaste for Wattpad because it is a breeding ground for thieves - people will c/p stories from here and present them as their own, some trying to excuse it by “giving credit” in a blanket manner a la “found at Tumblr” or listing the “@” of the writer. The problem is, Wattpad’s method of reporting leaves much to be desired - like Instagram, they only seem to be interested if a published author takes issue. The only real way to call out these thieves is via an immense amount of pressure from the SPN Family commenting directly at their Wattpad page. My point? Your choice, but if you do join up and post there, proceed with caution.]

(B) The stuff that's more than just writing:

1. Reblog interesting things that show who you are - fan art is a great start - shows your tastes and what you like - when feeling confident, host a challenge, as what you choose for the framework (one of mine, for instance, was using lines of dialogue from Archer) will also reflect what you like, what you're into - tag people you're friendly with and say something like "Even if you're not interesting in joining, signal boost, please??? [cute emoticon]"

2. Narrow down focus - if you're multi-fandom, drill down on your favorite - start by building up a solid following in that one fandom - keep a ratio of about 80% primary fandom, 20% to cover the others/personal/non-fandom stuff - use a "Not [fandom]" tag for that 20% so your followers can choose to opt-out - or if you can't manage this, do a side blog or two

3. Set your queue to pop stuff out (at minimum) 2 or 3 times/day - stuff it - start with CanonSPNgifs - keep your blog active - unless something you want to reblog is time-sensitive, chuck it to the queue - a wall of posts from the same person on the dash is off-putting - same for constant reblogs of your own stuff*

(* Which you should do, yes, but have an understanding of time zones, will ya? I swear some people are re-blogging for myriad time zones in Oz and Narnia, as well, I've no idea... I've digressed)

4. Send Asks to people like the "spread the love" stuff - if they post "Ask Me" things, send them one - reblog the answered ask and say what you think about their answer/at minimum say "thanks, this was great" - reblog those ask games posts for your followers so they ask you questions - get engaged

5. Respond to a good portion of the comments people leave for you, whether feedback or just funny things they said - specifically, feedback with reblog deserves reply of thank you, whether in the notes or a fresh post; see my blog for copious examples - make a post that says your tags are open/offer to tag folks - anytime your follower count jumps by, say, 5, reblog it - make an OMG!-type post every time your follower count increases by, say, 10 - you’re telling them you actually give a shit that they follow

6. Keep an eye out for folks (especially those who make rec lists, so always check out rec lists for who did it when you spot them) who have said it's okay to tag them - always tag them, even if they seldom reply/reblog/feature you on their list, as you never know

7. When you read stories by other writers that you love, reblog them *with some feedback* - do unto others, etc., etc. This is in huge headline size for a reason. Take the hint.

ETA - I chimed in and gave some tips since I composed this post, and it may be helpful for you/for people who are shy or intimidated or just not particularly comfortable verbalizing feelings.

...and here’s what I suggested:

If you want to get specific, say what your favorite thing/things is/are; in my mind that could go something like this:

I felt like I was right there with them in the ____ [setting]

I felt like I was right there during ____ [part of the plot]

I felt like I was watching an episode of the show

I could relate so much to ____ [character]

My favorite line(s) was/were ____

___ [character(s)] sounded just like they do on the show

___ [character(s)] acted just like they do on the show

And there’s also more generic things, such as:

This story really touched me, I needed something heartwarming!

This story cracked me up, I needed a good laugh!

This story made me smile, I needed some cheering up!

This story got me crying, I needed a good cry!

This story was really creative, I needed a change of pace!

And if you want to keep it really simple? This can apply to any story:

I enjoyed this more than I can say, thank you so much for writing it

Is full-on blind cult following an "ehhhh" thing? Yeah. But the basis of it, the true, legit loyalty part of it, is wonderful. You want that. The more readers know you, the more they'll feel comfortable interacting with you, and the greater their comfort, the more likely they'll give you feedback and, eventually, some constructive critique*

(*You gotta make it clear you're fine with critique, though, and don't dare say it if you're just gonna pitch a fit when you get some, however poorly phrased the critique may be; but that's another topic, for another day).

Great, Nash, you still haven't answered my question about pleasing the masses - you may say.

The answer is: that's a call you gotta make for yourself. To hopefully help, I'll tell you two stories about chumming the waters with (what seems to be) the standard wares that get a ton of followers/reader-followers.

Interestingly, I *just* this past week or so had a great discussion with someone (who I won't reveal, of course, because it was PM) on this very topic. You'd recognize their name, if not follow them/have read their stuff, they've got a healthy fanbase, etc., etc., etc. all that jazz. It would surprise you, is my point, to know that they've been pondering on their writing - specifically, the genre in which they feel entrenched. They accrued their popularity (I hate that word, but can't think of a better one) in a certain, ah, niche. You know the holy trifecta: angst, fluff, smut. One of those.

(I am not going to go down the road of how much I loathe the limitations of those, I know myself, this will turn trash fire and neglect you. But they are the cards we've been dealt, there's nothing to be done to change it, we must play our hands. #flames on the side of my face #haaaate #I'm done)

Anyway, they've sat here "x" year/years later and looked back at their pre-SPN fanfic foray (read: how they used to write/what they used to write), and are like - Where'd my voice go? Where'd my style go? Can I get it back? Sure I can get it back, but if I start being "me", what will my reader base do with that? Will they stick around and support me? Will they bail? etc., etc., etc. You get the idea. Reasonable thoughts, all.

I tell you this next bit because while what is going on with above writer is on the side of Got A Wide Reach, like I said in Pt. 1, I am presently on the other side, the Modest-in-Number, Large-in-Loyalty reader collective. And I *have* chummed the waters, though not entirely purposefully. And it didn't work... well, hasn't, I can't predict the future, could blow up tomorrow, but not likely. I suspect I know why. We'll get to that.

I say not entirely purposefully because I stumbled into Fluff and Smut, one of each. (There is a second fluff, but that doesn't count because it was tailored to a very specific person who gave very specific things to include for a Valentine swap thing.) The fluff was via a thing I did, and my dear friend nailed it, gave me three cringy words that were meant to hit the fluff bullseye, and I doubled down. You can see that here, should you care.

People fucking lost their shit. I repackaged it into its own post in case folks didn't like the snark in the one linked above/would rather reblog sans snark. People lost their shit, part deux. Flattering as hell. I appreciated it immensely, truly.

On the smut*, I lost a bet (I can't even recall what it was, maybe I mentioned it somewhere) with the friend that drew me into SPN because they were (are? yeah, still are) frustrated with the show and I needed a writing exercise and I had (at the start time) eleven years of source material, so hells yeah I said yes. The bet was for smut, and I said - Fine, but I can't not plot. Great, was the answer, but I had to typical it up, this was a punishment, after all. And typical, for me, means so much detail that it made brain cry. Copious detail works my nerves. Copious pondering works my nerves. Any one thing that’s too much will Work. My. Nerves. And I wrote it (it's five parts now, but part one and two was the orig piece and ended open), and said to friend "This won't get shit response" - "You wanna bet?" - me, the idiot: "Yup" - "If it does, you have to finish it out".

(*no link because I don’t know your age, and it’s set to sensitive)

People fucking lost their shit. On FF.net and AO3, that is. Not the numbers some people get, but holy hell. Hence, parts 3 through 5. Far as here, not so much the hit. But the people here who've liked it have REALLY liked it, so there's that, and it's flattering as hell, and I appreciate it immensely, truly.

And yet at the end of the day, hey guess what, say it with me now:

Now, for all my pseudo-fussing, I was cool with doing it, because at heart I'm wired to think about marketing, and I thought - Oooooh. This will bring people to the goods, the stuff I'm *really* proud of, and then and then and then....

Nope. Some yes, mostly nope. Most of my loyal roundtable were brought into the Nashooligan fold by other stories.

Here's why I think writer above got on the other side of the coin and I'm riding the edge - they went down the rabbit hole on a few, got mega results, and it fills the confidence tank, and why not wash-rinse-repeat? Humans are wired that way, we don't do things that we don't get something out of, it's normal. Thing is, they - as they see it - got lost a bit along the way. It worked, though, that squashing of their voice - "worked" in the sense that it drew the masses. Some people would be completely okay with this, would find it a reasonable trade-off; this writer isn't presently thinking so.

And back to me - I think the reason my smut and fluff didn't hit the stratosphere and draw in the masses (ergo, little motivation to do more) is because my style is still in there. The snark, the focus on accurate characterization, and like I say, I can't not plot. I didn't pullout the recipe, same ol' ingredients, mix up some standard shmoop/standard porn, flop it in the cupcake paper, bake it, then smear a thin layer of canned frosting - flavor: "Meh Plot" - around it. I made that junk from scratch, like I do all my other stories, and while I did use some of the same ingredients, I didn't go all-in. Notably, my evergreen stance that Y/N can die in a fire, ceiling optional, I ain't doing it.

I am not going to insist you read either of them, I'm just gonna ask you to trust me on this: I read quite a bit, and I've yet to see the ingredients of Reader Mommy Married To Dean Have A Baby Sam Has Dogs scenario mixed together like mine, and I've yet to see a Reader Insert Smut With Dean Smut With Sam Inferred Happy Ever After With Dean mixed together like mine.

Which, like I say, is what I suspect is probs the issue. I didn't get as far down the proverbial hole as my writer friend in terms of Typical'ing Up my stories. Could I un-ring that bell? Better put: could I start ringing bells? And I mean weekly, if not twice a week, quickie ones, throw in a lengthy once a month? Crank out the recipes? Plenty of templates to work from, after all. It would be hard for me in the sense of voice-squashing, but could be done.

So if I had to give you a vote on whether chumming the waters is a strategy to take, given those potential pros-and-cons, here's why I vote "no", both for myself, and for you, and others contemplating such.

It's partly that cautionary tale of my writer friend (and there's gotta be more feeling like her, there's just got to be), and mostly it's because of three writers I can think of off the top of my head. They're all quite talented, they consistently turn out solid, creative pieces that can be differentiated from the rest of the fodder floating around, and all three have substantial reader and/or follower bases. One has less than the other two, but nothing to sneeze at. The second - another person I've had great PMs with on the topic of wide appeal - attributes part of their success numbers-wise to specializing not in a niche genre, but due to specialty in a subset of the fandom (a specific, very popular 'ship).

The third, who has a *massive* reader and follower base, I can't get my head wrapped around, and I don't mean that in the sense of not understanding why people adore them, they deserve every bit of it. We'd have to dig deep into years of works and chart out the numbers (likes and reblogs and comments and followers - again, the only metrics we got) to see if there's a tipping point, but there's no magic bullet, so likely there'd be nothing in that data - or data from any highly successful writer around here - that's gonna reveal some secret. And this is the only writer I can think of that I'd really love to know a tipping point on, because: reason I can't get my head around it is because they don't do typical, ain't even in the ballpark of typical. Now, they do inject smut into much of their work, but plenty of other times it's just inferred. Consistently cheeky, if not snarky, if not balls-out-gut-bust funny. Consistently original, creative plots, even when it starts out purposefully trope-y, there's gonna be a slant on their take. I may not personally like everything they put out, I'm not saying they're perfect, but if we're trying to keep it objective vs. subjective, applied to The Nail framework? They're nailing it easily 80-90% of the time. I've actually got a soft moratorium on them, between stuff I find and noms I get on their stuff, I only include them sporadically on the list or else they'd be everywhere.

That gives me hope. Not-a-one of those three are cranking out stuff religiously on some frequent schedule, they write when the muse hits. Not-a-one of those three are following recipes. Not-a-one of those three are blanketing their voice.

And this goes back to the very first thing you said, about pleasing others when we can't please ourselves. Part of the reason you're not pleased is because on whatever level, your stuff isn't grabbing an audience, however big or small. I know it, because I've been there, as I've told you. The biggest part, though? It's because you know you can do better. Maybe you're cranking it out too fast. Maybe you're not fleshing out a character enough. Maybe you wished you'd taken another run at the plot before you published. I don't know, truly. But you're not digging the end result somehow. When you get there? To legit confidence? You're not going to care as much about pleasing others, you just won't. And that confidence is going to show in how you interact with others, little notes you make on gif sets when you reblog, things you say when you feedback others, all that stuff I said above.

People are attracted to confidence. It may intimidate them at first, they may linger on the periphery, but then once they see it's not arrogance or something, they'll be bees circling closer to the honey, because it... it... how to put... it rubs off. A kind've What Would "x" Do kind've thing. And most people will always welcome having more confidence, I mean, the real genuine confidence. We choose who are friends are - to be cheesy - not just because of who they are, but because of who we are when we’re with them. I think the younger we are, we get the wires crossed of "nastiness" and "straightforward". It's the difference between those folks, for instance, who snap and go all "You cum dumpster!" on Anons who word things poorly (I don't mean the ones who are vitriolic, I mean the ones who use less-than-elegant phrasing), vs. the folks who plainly reply something to the effect of "That's certainly something to consider. Thank you for your input". That they can’t discern the difference between a person dishing out hate - actual hate - and a misstep in phrasing speaks a lot to their confidence, that they’re taking a complete stranger’s words as such a personal affront.

I say all that to say: it's not about just the stories; the stories are a piece of a bigger puzzle. Personally, when I see folks being nasty in that manner? My knee-jerk thought is - They are so quick to lash out and write that stuff, and are so careless with their words, I bet their story-writing follows suit. And guess what? I have been 99.9% correct thus far. There's no OOMPHs in their stories: there's no brain-chewy, no heart-grabbing, no snort-giggles, no soul-touching. It's as typical as that comeback. It's lazy. It's easy. It's eye-rolling. It's expected.

Put another way: their lack of confidence in general is what is infesting other areas, in this instance, their stories. I wonder if - since you said “anything I’ve ever created” - that even if it was a slip-of-the-tongue, it may’ve been a meaningful one. If it’s the case, that there are other areas of life where you feel less-than-ideally-confident (a.k.a. - inept), I think you’re smart to start in this area, with fanfic, because as illustrated there’s lots you can do that’s in your control, that’s not dependent completely on others, and probably have some fun along the way, getting to know folks, getting encouragement, seeing your stuff get circulated, etc.

Do you keep a tiny notepad on you? Do that. Grab one from a dollar bin at Target or get you a Moleskine if you're feeling fancy, doesn't matter, but keep it on you, purse, backpack, jacket, wherever. I don't want you doing what I'm about to say on the notes in your phone, not yet. I want you to physically jot down by hand a word or two or five or whatever, about things you see/encounter, turns-of-phrase you hear, mannerisms you note in others - all that stuff - things that do please you. Those OOMPHs. And now you have some inspirational story points ready to go. Even if you aren’t able/feeling up to doing that other stuff above? This is an easy, small place to start.

Bottom line: this isn't happenstance.

It's not happenstance for the subpar writers, and it's not happenstance for the exceptional ones. This is work. Getting confidence is work. Style is a great deal inherent, true, but it can - and should be - honed, and will likely evolve in subtle ways as time goes on. Confidence and proficiency in a skill (like writing) are not automatic "things" that come with age, not even necessarily with experience. Dig in. Take some of the actions listed above. Start with the least stressful to you, then pick away at 'em as you get comfortable. If you're already doing some of those? Then, start again fresh mentally, as if you just today started doing them. Bump up your effort. Push yourself. See what happens. Get confident in the little things, and it will start to add up, overflow into the empty places.

Look at the pickle you’re in presently as an opportunity to alter your current methodology - I mean, we know whatever you’ve been doing isn’t working for you, right? So it can’t hurt. Batter it and deep fry it, tweaking the recipe as needed; it’s still you, but you’ve applied a well-thought-out, well-crafted extra tastiness to it. There’s people out there who will love it, and they’ll turn up.

See? 😉

#Dear Nash #NONNERS #Not Tyler Durden #I swear #Writing Tips #Writing Advice #Queueby Dooby Doo #Dad's on a blog post and #he hasn't been queued in a few days

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baileysparkes-blog1 · 7 years ago

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How has the Digital Revolution affected the production, consumption and evolution of popular music?

Technology and music are two paths irrevocably entwined. Our sonic capabilities have only ever been as extensive as our ware has facilitated- from the first drum to the first sampler, intelligence and innovation has lead the human race on its quest to improve. 8-track recording became 16-track recording; studios became bedrooms (to some extent!). Access to music has exploded across the planet, now connecting, listening and sharing in the palms of our hands with ease and speed. The artist’s pursuit of fresh sounds and originality has spurred the evolution of music genres- with first hardware and then software completely revolutionising the sound of pop again and again. Some inventions such as the classic electric stay true and relevant through the decades, whilst some toys like the Mini- Discs disappear into the past. Many, like vinyl recordings, then see a new breath with a cultural revival. Such is the cyclical and somewhat spectacular nature of music in our society.

In the early 1960s, a lot of recording was still simply undergone with the intention of re-creating or accurately capturing a live take. Of course, as methods and equipment developed, musicians were able to think out of the box using more and more interesting techniques. The Beatles were certainly pivotal in bringing this to the mainstream; they showed the pop music world exciting new sounds that they could not have achieved without the aid of technology of the later 60s, when they retired touring and became a studio group. This decision occurred because they could no longer perform to large crowds and be heard over the screams- the speaker power simply was not there. Hypothetically, if they performed today they would have no trouble catering for an audience twice the size. Recently a sound engineer patented a sound system design that affects the listener’s perception, creating a louder experience at the same sound pressure. New concepts like could see further boosts to plausible audience sizes. The creative use of tape machines in the subsequent releases from the famous group inspired many bread and butter instrumental bands to use their initiatives and studios as instruments. Tomorrow Never Knows is a track on the album Revolver by The Beatles that deliciously demonstrates a unique sound loop crafted from voices, but resembling the sound of seagulls. This foreshadows the ideas of synthesis such as modelling. Sculpture, a virtual instrument and modelling synthesizer in Logic Pro X, attempts to emulate the sound of other instruments- essentially bearing that same concept of trying to recreate sounds and ideas. The Beatles were some of the first to use tape effects in popular music such as flanging, which involves playing two copies of the same recording slightly out of synchronization and then altering the speed of one- this in particular became popular in the psychedelic scene when affordable digital units were produced to emulate this and other effects, such as echo, in the late 80s. It was this experimentation with physical tape manipulation that laid the roots for the audio manipulation of today. 49 years after the release of Revolver, all this can be done on a computer screen, or even a phone. The power and memory of our devices allow us to route effects, compress, equalise, and synthesise etc. on many channels simultaneously. Some more expensive set ups could host all this processing more than a few times over.

The journey of scientific progress has been the driving force behind the industry to reach this point, and it is clear how the equipment available defines the sound of era after era- not just in the 60s. The digital age brought with it efficiency and availability to recording- but not at first. In the early 1980s analogue recording was, in retrospect, at its peak. Early digital versions of studio necessities were excessively expensive and not as reliable in these prototype stages, but as companies updated and improved their products, traction was made. For example, the Atari 520ST was a home computer that created a shift in the market with its popularity. It wasn’t extortionately priced in comparison to other such platforms, and with its MIDI capability and 512k of RAM it is recognised name due to its contribution to the evolution of music technology. Affordable laptops in this decade have terabyte hard drive and upwards of 4gb RAM. MIDI itself however was just as influential, and more so than any individual computer model could be- the musical language that conveyed pitch and velocity information became a universal way of communicating to these new machines. To this day, with old machines and new, it is still the most established and widely used code for this use.

MIDI synthesis and sampling can be conducted through a huge variety of plugins in DAWs in today’s climate. Affordable hardware MIDI synthesizers and MIDI samplers facilitated the birth of electronic music. Brands like Korg, Roland and Yamaha released units that are now considered vintage- digital versions of these have been brought out in recent years to capitalise on this popularity (at a lower price for those that want to recreate that original analogue sound), and furthermore virtual instruments that mimic these are available. For example, a plugin by Arturia can be used to emulate the sounds produced by the very popular Minimoog series of analogue synthesizers, that ‘looks like the original’ and ‘sounds like it’ . Moog also boast the Minimoog Voyager series, based on the original synths; full analogue sound combined with new functions borrowed from years of new tech. Creative sampling in the 1990s excelled music into new territories- hip hop was always heavily invested in sampling culture due to its roots in jazz breaks. Speeding up these breaks inspired jungle and subsequently drum and bass as samplers became more proficient, with higher sample rates and memory capacity. Akai’s first professional sampler the S900 is a renowned piece of kit that arrived the decade before - in 1986 it was pro-quality and could store up to 32 edited samples on its drive. Its successor could hold up to 99, and was used by the likes of Fatboy Slim and Dr. Dre- although this is still a measly quantity in comparison to the almost endless banks for storage that a software sampler provides when used in conjunction with the average new-age computer hard drive.

The unfortunate truth of today’s market is that, although a wealth of music is available to more people than ever before, most of it is received at a fraction of the original quality. The slow decline of the quality at which the average member of the public consumes music started with digital technology, the aim of which at first was to increase efficiency of delivery to maximise profits, rather than to preserve audio quality. The chain that this created moved from CDs, to cassettes, to MP3s at as little as 128kbps. This progress was parallel to that of CD players, to cassette players, to mp3 players, as users strived to carry as much music in their pockets as they could. People didn’t just want it for themselves- the greed was shared through the ability to burn CDs, to record tapes, and file share. The last in particular crippled the music industry, as low quality songs were spread to thousands illegally and consistently. The repercussions of this have completely reshaped the way musicians earn money, with focus deferring slightly from record sales to tours and merchandise etc.

Such progress for digital memory and storage at the cost of a file’s original sound seems a stark contrast to the quality of recording technology as detailed in this article… However whilst recordings produced since the 90s have certainly been clearer, better mixed, better mastered, and played through increasingly capable sound systems, the dynamic range has been sacrificed as well. This is down to excessive dynamic compressing and limiting that became habitual and competitive for many producers, leaving a stain on the new century that was dubbed ‘the loudness wars’. It is called so in reference to the desirable benefit of this sonic-squashing, the ability to up the gain without clipping. This is possible because the lack of dynamic range means the signal can be boosted to the furthest point without having to account for as much volume fluctuation. Examples of this over the top mixing style can be heard in the Death Magnetic album by Metallica. Streaming is the newest form of consumption, made possible by Internet speed and accessibility improvements, where one can listen to music hosted on the web. It is commonplace to own something more powerful than the Atari 520ST that fits in the palm of the hand, providing telecommunications and Internet practically anywhere (amongst hundreds of evolving functions). In some countries, DJs can even play entire sets hosted on the ‘cloud’, a type of internet storage that users of different supplying companies are given access to.

It will undeniably reach a point where people have access to any music at anytime. Along with this, the ear buds that come bundled with every phone will become better as the better headphone technology becomes cheaper. This is cause for hope. The bass-boosted and frequency response restricted kit is exactly what keeps the average consumer in the dark about this audio quality crisis. If the technological improvements of the future open people’s eyes, it won’t even be such a struggle to reverse the damage- the storage capabilities aforementioned will already easily account for higher quality files. These file types already exist, such as WAV and AIFF- this future is already at our fingertips. In conclusion, the digital revolution has had both drastic negative and positive effects on the industry; because of the prospects digital technologies hold for the next few decades, the accessibility of music/options for musical creation these technologies have already bestowed, and the plausible reversibility of the audio quality situation, the positives outweigh these negatives.

Biliography

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/psychoacoustic-sound-finally-you-can-play-music-top-volume-neighbours-wont-complain-1496577

2 http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan01/articles/vintage.asp

3 http://www.musictech.net/2014/05/atari-520st/

4 http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/miniv.php

5 http://www.vintagesynth.com/akai/s900.php

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exodussoftware · 7 years ago

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Reflection on Indie Dev

Game development is a very hard thing to pin down. About a year and a half ago I started my first attempt to get into the industry as an indie dev. A year and a half later I finished my first game, Guardian. I started a company, comprised of only myself which makes me wonder if I should even call it that. I put the game on Steam and so far at least, nothing much has happened.

I decided a few days after release that I needed to make a much larger effort, or more accurately any effort, to interact with the community and get my ideas seen by people. That idea is how I came to this blog. It's an idea that you read about in plenty of places, but I was never sure I'd have much of anything to say. I decided that I have to try something however and so here we are. The hope is that I will post here regularly about the development of my current projects or if I have some odd revelation relating to the industry. I don't plan to elaborate or go into my personal life or have commentary on the sales of my games etc. I'd like to keep this strictly about the games I am in the progress of making to hopefully generate some amount of interest in them, as well as maybe give people a, however brief, look into the world of indie game dev. The plan is in the future to also sprinkle in some pictures or gifs because who doesn't like pictures, also game dev progress is far easier to show via photos, and let’s face it code is boring to look at.

All that said this first post will actually be dedicated not to a current project, but to the one I just finished. It's far too late for any sort of marketing angle, but I feel that this project was a learning experience. There are plenty of posts around the internet that warn of the dangers of being an indie dev and the pitfalls you can hit but I'd like to throw my two cents in the hopes that maybe it will save someone else a bit of trouble. If you are an indie dev and you are making your first game or just getting your feet wet I suggest you keep reading. I blatantly ignored articles like this and I feel I'm far worse off for it.

The most important thing to remember is time, it’s at the core of everything you will do as a dev. That’s a broad idea but to put it simply game dev takes a lot of time. If you are just getting started get ready because it’s a long arduous task from idea to completed product. If you are in the middle of development stick with it, you’ll be happy you did when it all comes together.

As any game takes a sizable amount of time you are likely going to hit problems. I had multiple instances while working on my game where I was just sick of it and wanted to be done. The best advice I can give is to work consistently, but not to the point of exhaustion. Take breaks but keep them short, a day, maybe two to decompress. If you work endless on your project you will burn out, which will lead to a long break where you tell yourself things like “I got so much done earlier, I can afford this”. It’s far better to work at a moderate pace, if a bit slower, pace. Maybe more importantly, if you work yourself to the bone you are far more likely to make mistakes and not fully comprehend the systems you are putting in place, which leads to my next, and probably most painstaking, point.

When I look back at the creation process behind Guardian there are many things I can point to as problems, but the biggest was sweeping changes to the game’s systems. When I started making it the game was set to be something akin to Metroid or Castlevania. A few months in I decided this would be hard to do, maybe too hard for one person, so I changed gears and decided to simplify the game down to something like Megaman X. The games are somewhat similar in concept, but the more linear level design of a Megaman game seemed easier to create. Several more months went by and my game took another turn as I realized a Megaman clone wasn’t really what I wanted, instead I wanted to make a modern take on the Metroidvania genre, making the combat quicker and adding dodge rolls and dashes.

All of these were terrible ideas and I should have stuck with the original. I would get excited to add new systems and start down this new path without thinking about what the long-term effects were. As I said before it’s good to give yourself time to breathe, and really think about what you are doing. To make an analogy game programming is like constructing a building, the foundation is the most important part. Without it everything will topple over. I’ve seen many devs, myself included, get very focused on an idea and it leads them to create entire systems before they even have the basics squared away. In short, look at the big picture and have a solid plan before you get into the details, it’s probably the most important programming tip you could take from this post.

The next thing to say is something that many probably won’t consider because it’s taken more as a given. I was the only one doing the programming behind Guardian, but I needed two others to help me, one to make art assets, and another to make music and SFX. To do this I hired two freelancers to fill the roles. My musician was fine, but before I found the artist who is credited in the game I hired a different person. At the time, I’d never hired anyone so I didn’t think too much about what I was signing on for. As an indie dev, and really any dev, you have to remember that money is probably your most valuable and scarce resource.

The first artist I hired abruptly quit after a little less than a month, claiming he didn’t have the time to continue the project. This caused me to have to hire someone else and start entirely over since the art I already had wouldn’t match the style the new artist. In short it was a waste because I was eager to get started and I didn’t fully look into and vet my first artist. If I had I would have realized there was very little chance he would finish the project. I wasted time and money doing this. The thing to take away here is before you hire anyone, be it into your company or just a freelancer, make sure they are as dedicated to the project as you are. In the grand scheme of things, I got off easy, a months’ worth of time and money, but imagine if he had worked with me for half a year before quitting. The cost would have been astronomical.

I could go on but this post is already long so I’ll close with one last thing relating to time. It’s very common for any indie dev to program first and advertise later. After all I imagine you got into game dev to make a game not advertise it. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is the worst possible way to think. In a sense, a game is only as good as its marketing. It is an unfortunate truth but in the world today there are countless things trying to grab your attention. Even over the course of reading this you have probably been interrupted at least once by an ad, text, snap, tweet, email, or who knows what. In a world filled to the brim with content that is readily available you have to make an impression.

Personally, I made a twitter account and tweeted four times about my game over the course of development. Aside from that I made the typical Steam trailer and screenshots, and my game was on the Steam store for two weeks before release, as it has to be. I sent out a tweet on release day as well as some free keys to streamers and figured it would gain traction somewhere, probably. This might have been my biggest blunder. The fact is no one knows you or your game exists unless you tell them, or happen to already be well known on the internet. Even if you made a masterpiece no one will care unless you tell them about it. Like I said you didn’t get into game dev to advertise, but you have to otherwise your game, bar a miracle, will just be lost amongst everything else.

Do anything, tweet (more often than 4 times), make a blog (but not after the fact), post on reddit, post on indie forums, whatever. Talk about your game to the point of being obnoxious. I think many people myself included think most people don’t care what they have to say, or they are embarrassed to show what they have been working on and afraid of criticism, my fear was the latter. In many ways putting your creation out there is like asking out a girl (or guy) you have to put yourself out there if you want to ever have a shot.

Alright I’ve made way too long a post, if you made it this far, kudos. Assuming you have enjoyed this at all I plan to start rambling on here about the next game I am making soon. I’d consider doing more posts like this in the future if people wanted more insight into this sort of thing but the plan is for this blog to be more dedicated to talking about the dev process and what I am doing.

The link below goes to the Store page of Guardian in case any are interested. #ShamelessSelfPlug

http://store.steampowered.com/app/676850/Guardian/

#gamedev #indiedev #game development #development blog #guardian

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