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CAN OUR ART DESTROY US?
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Stoic
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CloseI've been thinking about this ever since my left hand started acting up. For those who entered the 2014 IGMC I'm sure you had to make a lot of sacrifices for your entry. Time, attention, energy, perhaps money. I tracked the time I spent on my entry and it equated to almost 2.5 full work weeks! I had to say "No" to my family on a few occasions to make sure it was finished in time. Energy-wise I actually felt better than ever. I could work all day and sleep only a few hours and still rewake rejuvenated. Especially near the end. But that adrenaline rush wore off after the contest and left me in a dazed state for a week or so where I got almost nothing done.
The biggest cost though was physical. Working at my desk for long stretches at a time with my forearms resting on the edge of the desk put a huge strain on my median nerve. By the end of the contest my left hand was numb. A few weeks after even if I work for more than a few hours it becomes tingly and even painful. Yesterday, I was writing a blog post and so much pain was shooting to my left hand I just had to stop and see my chiropractor to help relieve some of the nerve stress.
I'm taking it easier now while it heals up. I actually wrote this post initially by hand to minimize editing.
So can our art destroy us? While it is very fulfilling it also has many tolls and not just the ones I mentioned here. I'd be interested to hear if other RMNers have suffered either physically or otherwise because of their craft.
The biggest cost though was physical. Working at my desk for long stretches at a time with my forearms resting on the edge of the desk put a huge strain on my median nerve. By the end of the contest my left hand was numb. A few weeks after even if I work for more than a few hours it becomes tingly and even painful. Yesterday, I was writing a blog post and so much pain was shooting to my left hand I just had to stop and see my chiropractor to help relieve some of the nerve stress.
I'm taking it easier now while it heals up. I actually wrote this post initially by hand to minimize editing.
So can our art destroy us? While it is very fulfilling it also has many tolls and not just the ones I mentioned here. I'd be interested to hear if other RMNers have suffered either physically or otherwise because of their craft.
Aside from hand-cramps and stomach-aches from deadline-worry, I haven't had anything major. I hope to avoid Carpal Tunnel if at all possible.
Hope you hand heals up and gets back to normal!
Hope you hand heals up and gets back to normal!
Shinan
4314
I guess you can burn out in anything you do.
I do loads of amateur theater. So much in fact that in the last 18 months I think I've had one month of not being in either a rehearsal or performance period. But it clearly takes its toll. Especially when combined with two part-time jobs.
But it's not like it's more physically demanding than any properly physically demanding hobby. Though this summer I have had a couple of mishaps. I hurt my leg and was limping slightly for about a month.
So it hasn't destroyed me yet. Though occasionally I do feel I need a break. But it's currently only three weeks away and then my vacation starts and there's no artistry planned in there. (Unless I decide that this time off will be spent making games. Then there will be more godsdamn artistry)
I do loads of amateur theater. So much in fact that in the last 18 months I think I've had one month of not being in either a rehearsal or performance period. But it clearly takes its toll. Especially when combined with two part-time jobs.
But it's not like it's more physically demanding than any properly physically demanding hobby. Though this summer I have had a couple of mishaps. I hurt my leg and was limping slightly for about a month.
So it hasn't destroyed me yet. Though occasionally I do feel I need a break. But it's currently only three weeks away and then my vacation starts and there's no artistry planned in there. (Unless I decide that this time off will be spent making games. Then there will be more godsdamn artistry)
Yuuuuup!
Physically, working on game stuff too long - art, code, or even writing down ideas - can really work your hands, and I've started getting some mild RSI. Also, it's easy to get enthusiastic, especially during game jams, and that can lead to sleepless nights and bad eating habits, which add up over the long run.
Mentally anything creative is tiring and after a full day of work or school can be exhausting. Keeping motivation and momentum high over a long project is very difficult, and working alone too long can lead to depression...
Making things is hard work, and anyone here trying to do so is made of tough stuff :)
Physically, working on game stuff too long - art, code, or even writing down ideas - can really work your hands, and I've started getting some mild RSI. Also, it's easy to get enthusiastic, especially during game jams, and that can lead to sleepless nights and bad eating habits, which add up over the long run.
Mentally anything creative is tiring and after a full day of work or school can be exhausting. Keeping motivation and momentum high over a long project is very difficult, and working alone too long can lead to depression...
Making things is hard work, and anyone here trying to do so is made of tough stuff :)
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Guess I'm a bit weird then.
I always feel like I'm half-asleep when I do any non-creative activity. When I'm at school, work, even out with friends, it all goes by in a haze. Sometimes I can barely even remember events that occur during a day. But when I sit down to work on games, whether it's writing, art, etc, I feel awake and alert. If I go a whole day without working on a game in some way, I get antsy and unable to sleep. So I kinda HAVE to work on games, otherwise I can barely function as a human being.
But the original questions is can our art destroy us? Of course it can. So can alcohol and cigarettes, but does that stop people from doing it? Nope.*
You have to manage it, just like any other hobby. Too much of anything can kill you. Whenever I get a headache, I step away from the computer and just close my eyes for about 10 minutes. Whenever my wrist hurts from drawing, I just move on to something else and do that. When I'm feeling total burnout, that's when I know I'm done for the day, and I can go to sleep without any problems.
*I don't drink or smoke. This is purely secondhand information.
I always feel like I'm half-asleep when I do any non-creative activity. When I'm at school, work, even out with friends, it all goes by in a haze. Sometimes I can barely even remember events that occur during a day. But when I sit down to work on games, whether it's writing, art, etc, I feel awake and alert. If I go a whole day without working on a game in some way, I get antsy and unable to sleep. So I kinda HAVE to work on games, otherwise I can barely function as a human being.
But the original questions is can our art destroy us? Of course it can. So can alcohol and cigarettes, but does that stop people from doing it? Nope.*
You have to manage it, just like any other hobby. Too much of anything can kill you. Whenever I get a headache, I step away from the computer and just close my eyes for about 10 minutes. Whenever my wrist hurts from drawing, I just move on to something else and do that. When I'm feeling total burnout, that's when I know I'm done for the day, and I can go to sleep without any problems.
*I don't drink or smoke. This is purely secondhand information.
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
author=kentona
I was thinking more along the lines of being crushed by a giant ball of twine...
It's funny, I was thinking practically the same thing only with a giant painting made with lead paint. If the impact doesn't kill you, the poisoning will.
I've never experienced the whole carpal tunnel thing despite using the computer for more hours a day than is reasonably healthy. Go me I guess?
Personally, the whole gam mak thing is, like, the #1 distraction from standard life problems, so even if I do get fed up of it after a while, it's better than the alternatives, like depression or whatever.
Not to mention there's a certain amount of pride in being a creator of content rather than simply a consumer.
I'm not going to lie: It probably helps that there's very little going on in my life right now (my fault completely), so I don't feel like I'm sacrificing time or money or anything.
Personally, the whole gam mak thing is, like, the #1 distraction from standard life problems, so even if I do get fed up of it after a while, it's better than the alternatives, like depression or whatever.
Not to mention there's a certain amount of pride in being a creator of content rather than simply a consumer.
I'm not going to lie: It probably helps that there's very little going on in my life right now (my fault completely), so I don't feel like I'm sacrificing time or money or anything.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
If you asked me, "What is worth being destroyed for?", my answer would be, "Art."
author=LockeZ
If you asked me, "What is worth being destroyed for?", my answer would be, "Art."
This!
Despite sometimes being frustrating, tiring, expensive, and time-consuming... making games (among other creative endeavors) are one of the few things I get really, unabashedly passionate about. As lame as it sounds, working on a project you're really into feels a lot like falling in love.
...luckily it's pretty unlikely we'll get crushed by a giant video game...
Don't be a bane of art.
Yeah, it was only a matter of time... I'm sorry, guys.
More seriously, that sounds like a pretty unpleasant experience, ArtBane. I hope you'll feel better soon.
I do think that if you are passionate about something, especially a creative endeavour, you will have to - and will hopefully actually want to - make sacrifices in order to successfully do it. But if it becomes something that hurts you more than you feel you and others get out of it, chances are you've gone a bit too far. Incidents like this can really take the fun out of creative work, so it's better to take it slow and not to overburden yourself.
Even if you are among the "human instrumentality guys" who believe art is more important than humans themselves (which I am not), it makes sense not to exaggerate, even when making art. After all, we want people to stay able to make amazing things for a longer period of time.
Yeah, it was only a matter of time... I'm sorry, guys.
More seriously, that sounds like a pretty unpleasant experience, ArtBane. I hope you'll feel better soon.
I do think that if you are passionate about something, especially a creative endeavour, you will have to - and will hopefully actually want to - make sacrifices in order to successfully do it. But if it becomes something that hurts you more than you feel you and others get out of it, chances are you've gone a bit too far. Incidents like this can really take the fun out of creative work, so it's better to take it slow and not to overburden yourself.
Even if you are among the "human instrumentality guys" who believe art is more important than humans themselves (which I am not), it makes sense not to exaggerate, even when making art. After all, we want people to stay able to make amazing things for a longer period of time.
Davenport
5200
I strongly believe that artists valued life and their professions
were hereditary. If an artist produced a masterpeice, it did not
matter whether he worked on it for one year or a decade.
The same is probably true for making RPGS. An artist should
never be forced to work quickly.
were hereditary. If an artist produced a masterpeice, it did not
matter whether he worked on it for one year or a decade.
The same is probably true for making RPGS. An artist should
never be forced to work quickly.
"I'm going to make a cool game!" you think, and then spend the next six years in RPG Maker XP coding and drawing everything from scratch. By this time, you have spent way too much time on the game, avoiding several lucrative job opportunities, because you're an artist, and the game must be made. But you decide to sell it. However, you have no advertising skills... but then, PewDiePie Jr. reviews your game and instantly makes it popular among the 15-20 year-old demographic... who then proceed to pirate the hell out of it, because they're used to that. Then you can't make rent because you got fired from your job for falling asleep due to long game-making nights... then you get some horrible genetic disease... which can be treated, but you don't have healthcare, because you live in the United States. So begins a sharp decline which ends in disability, welfare payments, apportioned housing, and death. Your "cool game" just excised you from the gene pool! But, 20 years later, a 36-year-old in Cincinnati fondly remembers a home-made music track from your game for 2 minutes before her children proceed to knock over her Ming vase and turn her into a fuming banshee.
Avee
5794
Yeah, try to be conscious of your body at all times. When you focus on a task it's easy to forget about discomfort or pain. Make sure to relax your muscles whenever you notice that they're tense. Find a more comfortable position to work in. Take short breaks every hour or so to stretch, walk around, breathe...
I've been drawing several hours a day for the past 2 months and my back tends to become really tense. Take it easy.
I've been drawing several hours a day for the past 2 months and my back tends to become really tense. Take it easy.
I'm a bit like Red Nova. I NEED to work on something creative to keep my mind stimulated. Otherwise, I get really bored. And I am really, really passionate about gam-mak as well and I'm a leftie, need to keep that right-brain in high gear. XD
Skie Fortress
2394
author=Avee
I've been drawing several hours a day for the past 2 months and my back tends to become really tense. Take it easy.
I've actually been having the back problem for a long while now. I get so in the zone drawing/working, that by the time I return to reality, my back is KILLING me because of whatever weird posture I wind up taking. I never can catch before it gets to that point, so it's pretty frustrating after the fact!
I've been drawing several hours a day for the past 2 months and my back tends to become really tense. Take it easy.
I've had the same problem before... I had knots in my back, and a PT said it might be related to the height of my monitors making me look down, which strains my neck and shoulder and ultimately my back as well.
Housekeeping
3571
The secret is to socially isolate yourself long before you start game development.
