WhyGamesMatter

So two weeks ago, I wrote about my resolutions for 2013.  I had both failures and successes, and I used that information to prepare a list for this year.  The interesting thing about it is that I think both the successes and failures were based on the clarity that I applied to the resolutions.

Here is my 2014 list. Unlike last year, I have included my rationale behind each resolution this year.

1) Develop a basic instrument calibration simulation.

I think my resolution last year of “design a game in Game Maker” was simultaneously too specific and too broad.  “A game” is too vague of a goal to be measurable, and there’s no reason why the game needed to be made in Game Maker.  This constraint pressured me to avoid spending time working on something like a tabletop game, and artificially constrained me to a single platform.  This year, I’ve decided that there are several specific things that I want to learn within the development software, and this specific project will help me to do that.

2) Complete 12 pieces of 3D digital art for the art shows.

This worked well last year, so I will keep it going this year.  Not much more to say.

3) Use up 12 brush pens on brush pen work.

As I mentioned two weeks ago, I had set the resolution last year to do a certain amount of brush pen work.  The purpose of this resolution was to develop the skill set.  The problem, of course, is that the measure that I chose (12 pieces) doesn’t necessarily contribute to that goal.  The purpose of the resolution was to get me to practice more, but the measurement didn’t encourage such practice.  For example, I could belt out 12 pieces in an hour or two, but they won’t necessarily be good or thorough, and certainly would not help with my skill development.

I think wearing out brush pens as the measuring stick will give me better results.

4) Complete my PMP certification.

I strongly considered resolving to completing one year without taking a class. I have an addiction to formalized education, and every time an opportunity comes up to take an organized course (particularly a free one), I pounce on it.  This has helped me to improve my skill sets, but has eaten into my video, audio, and art development time.

That said, continuing education has been a cornerstone of my career, and I don’t suspect this will change anytime soon.  So when trying to figure out the approach that I want to take to controlling my addiction, I’ve decided to give myself a single, achievable objective that would keep me progressing but not force my education time to conform to a rigid schedule.

In my day job of as an instructional designer, the PMP certification is an important milestone.  Everything I do is project-based, so learning more about the processes of running a project is a good fit. Setting this as my benchmark will allow me to pour my study time into the time gaps that I already have, but still gives me a clear, measurable result at the end of the year.

5) **REVISION** Make the blog more topical, and focus on games in the news.

The death of my thumbdrive in a later entry has prompted me to stop writing big blog entries so far in advance, and to focus my attention on staying up to date with gaming news.

So there we go.  We’ll check back in next December and see how we are coming along.

So I made 4 resolutions at the beginning of the year.  Unlike many people, I am a fan of resolutions and, more important, I am a fan of writing them down and putting them out there for the public to see.  This is a place where social pressure can be a healthy thing.  I wanted to take a moment, look over last year’s resolutions, and reflect on my successes and failures.  At the beginning of the new year I’ll post my resolutions for 2014, and those resolutions will be largely influenced by my success or failures in 2013.

Resolution 1: Design one game in GameMaker.

This is one resolution that I would have been able to say I completed on a technicality IF I had written “make” instead of “design,” as I made a few games using the GameMaker and Stencyl tutorials throughout the year.  I can’t claim credit for any kind of design, though.

While I would say this resolution was a failure on the face of it, I do feel that the resolution succeeded in keeping a gentle pressure on me to learn more about the products.  I have a stronger baseline now, and I hope to pursue it further into the coming new year.  Still “Make a game” might be too ambitious of a goal, so for 2014 I will choose something that’s a little easier to break down into workable pieces, and a little more specific in nature.

Resolution 2: Complete 12 pieces of 3D digital art for the art shows.

When I sat down to write out the results of this resolution, I initially thought that I had failed.  I suppose it’s the nature of any kind of year-end review; it’s easy to forget the work that you did at the beginning of the year OR to think that it was actually completed in the previous year.

As it turns out, I completed 15 pieces instead of 12.  It was my intention to complete one per month, but I find that a more effective approach is to schedule them around events.  This year, in addition to meeting my deadlines for commissioned work, I made it my goal to always have a new piece for each convention.  In doing so, I gave myself a hard deadline, but I also had a direct connection between my work and my customers.

This year, I completed 3 character commissions, 4 contract pieces for the Shadowfist card game, 2 commissions for show conventions, and 6 personal projects.  This is apart from the videos and animations I completed for work.  On the whole, I think this resolution was met, and I’ve earned the right to set a more aggressive goal for 2014.

Resolution 3: Complete 12 pieces of brush-pen art for the art shows.

Unfortunately, for the work that I’ve done in 3D artwork, I haven’t done as much brush work as I’ve wanted.

I realized something recently as I went back through my sketchbooks:  I have a lot of sketchbooks, but nearly all of them have only one or two sketches in them.  There’s one image at the front of the book, and no more.  Likewise, I have a lot of art materials, but I haven’t used any of them up.

I think the root cause of this is the fact that, deep down, I lack the confidence to commit to a second piece in a sketchbook.  When I have a sketchbook with a really good sketch in it, I find that I don’t want to add another because it might not be as good as the first one.  As I think about it more and more, I realize it’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what the sketchbook is supposed to be.  Reflecting on this resolution has brought this root cause to the front of my mind, and my hope is that it will help me to overcome it.

So with that in mind, when I make my 2014 resolutions, I am going to change the nature of this goal and see if it improves my results.

Resolution 4: Complete one (and only one) blog entry per week, and place more emphasis on the importance of games in society.

I think the record will show that I completed the first part of this entry, even if I wasn’t always on time.  As to the second part, I think the entries were a little stronger this year.  I still have a long way to go, but I feel like I’m getting into a good rhythm.  I’m also exploring, in my own mind, why games are important to me, and why they are important to society.

So that’s it for this year.  Next week I’m going to give my comments on UFC 168, and then we’ll be into the new year.