Alright, so I’ve knocked out a fairly workmanlike TTRPG Tuesday but I think I should follow up on last Wednesday’s post about my three-tiered plan for accomplishing game design quarantine goals, with the trickier half of the planning process; actual action I can take to accomplish those objectives.
I think that my approach needs to be two-pronged: I need to motivate myself, and dedicate time to game writing and prototype-building; I also need to get together with some collaborators, and try to get some group project momentum bouncing back and forth. Let’s start with the first prong, my own actions.
To begin with, I think that my habits as they stand now will meet the demands of my Bare Minimum plan, so I should focus right now on the Realistic plan. From there I should prioritize my objectives based, frankly, on what I most want to do; I’m not on deadline and as my own task manager I need to take motivation where I can get it. I should also prioritize ease of completion as a factor, as I think that hitting milestones early will allow me to stay focused and build up speed and better habits.
What habits? Well, I’ve gotten in the groove of doing games writing, click-clacking away during office hours in-between tasks. That should be expanded, however - I need to make time for writing during my evenings and lunch breaks as well. That time also needs to be smarter - at least portions of it need to be timed and disconnected from distractions. Putting my head down for twenty minutes without touching my phone or going into any other tabs is something I haven’t done in a while and I gotta remedy that atrophy or I will fail.
I also need to designate time for making stuff with my hands. The digital aspect of game design is not only “all well and good”, it is essential, but of equal import and arguably more impact for time spent is the building of the actual playable parts of a game. Even in tHeSe TrYiNg TiMeS where a playtest may be more difficult or even impossible, it’s inescapable that my progress is most tangibly measured in, well, the tangibles. Like the Daniel Solis t-shirt says, ideas are like stars. I should try and target weekends and Tuesdays for this crafting time, with
On to the next prong. Collaboration. I think I need to put out feelers and find folks to do some accountability with (I already have an accountability club that I check in with), and I should check in with the IronRise folks, to see if they’re game to touch base on FGM-Squared. I think that in order for this to work, it has to be more than just asking; I should also be offering to provide feedback on the materials others are working on, since a lot of people are in the same boat, and because it’s healthy to balance your planned output with your input.
So, I’ve set myself the playwriting goal of 10 pages by the end of the weekend. I think as a game design goal, I’ll aim for: Reaching out to at least one other person, and set aside one twenty-minute writing session and one twenty-minute building session.
We’ll see how it goes! Til next week.
I think that my approach needs to be two-pronged: I need to motivate myself, and dedicate time to game writing and prototype-building; I also need to get together with some collaborators, and try to get some group project momentum bouncing back and forth. Let’s start with the first prong, my own actions.
To begin with, I think that my habits as they stand now will meet the demands of my Bare Minimum plan, so I should focus right now on the Realistic plan. From there I should prioritize my objectives based, frankly, on what I most want to do; I’m not on deadline and as my own task manager I need to take motivation where I can get it. I should also prioritize ease of completion as a factor, as I think that hitting milestones early will allow me to stay focused and build up speed and better habits.
What habits? Well, I’ve gotten in the groove of doing games writing, click-clacking away during office hours in-between tasks. That should be expanded, however - I need to make time for writing during my evenings and lunch breaks as well. That time also needs to be smarter - at least portions of it need to be timed and disconnected from distractions. Putting my head down for twenty minutes without touching my phone or going into any other tabs is something I haven’t done in a while and I gotta remedy that atrophy or I will fail.
I also need to designate time for making stuff with my hands. The digital aspect of game design is not only “all well and good”, it is essential, but of equal import and arguably more impact for time spent is the building of the actual playable parts of a game. Even in tHeSe TrYiNg TiMeS where a playtest may be more difficult or even impossible, it’s inescapable that my progress is most tangibly measured in, well, the tangibles. Like the Daniel Solis t-shirt says, ideas are like stars. I should try and target weekends and Tuesdays for this crafting time, with
On to the next prong. Collaboration. I think I need to put out feelers and find folks to do some accountability with (I already have an accountability club that I check in with), and I should check in with the IronRise folks, to see if they’re game to touch base on FGM-Squared. I think that in order for this to work, it has to be more than just asking; I should also be offering to provide feedback on the materials others are working on, since a lot of people are in the same boat, and because it’s healthy to balance your planned output with your input.
So, I’ve set myself the playwriting goal of 10 pages by the end of the weekend. I think as a game design goal, I’ll aim for: Reaching out to at least one other person, and set aside one twenty-minute writing session and one twenty-minute building session.
We’ll see how it goes! Til next week.
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