Combating Complacency

I think everyone has the dream of doing what they love for a living. For those that can keep their heads straight and objective in sight a professional passion is an attainable goal if the dreamer has the talent and the drive. However I think most people are afflicted by the same plague that keeps me from seeing most of my grand schemes to fruition, the chronic vidjagametittiosis (legit).

Save the ta-tas

Losing focus on a project is an ailment that has afflicted me since I discovered video games and boobs. So, since second grade every time I set out on a project that takes longer than an afternoon to accomplish (Lego's, trapping lizards, climbing a tree) I tend to get sidetracked by the most basic of distractions, the two most common offenders being already mentioned.

semper gumby

When I start a project it is usually because I've been inspired by something, a movie, a book, a video game, a person, or just seeing something and going, "dammit, I can do better that that asshole." So I plan it out, I talk about it with my friends and maybe get a small support network going, tell people about it and start cranking out the framework and then maybe a week or so later, I just forget all about it. My vidjagametittiosis kicks in and I'll start playing a game or reading a book or pick up a weird hobby like wood burning or didgeridoos and get completely side tracked. All that planning, all that ground work is gone. If you know what I'm talking about by this point then hold on, because I may have some help for you that's better than anything prescribed by a prick in a lab coat.

That cure I was talking about? Oh, I lied I don't actually have one, that's what I'm talking about. But I do have a few ideas in mind which I will discuss... now.

Notice how it is blank.

1. Schedule - A routine is something that is tough to break. If you masturbate every night before you go to sleep for a week, chances are it's gonna be hard to break that routine, you may not even be able to sleep without doing it. I am aware that masturbation may not be the most common example of this but it's a human habit and it seems to work for what I'm getting at. The best time to set up a routing is first thing when you wake up in the morning and your brain has a chance to distract you from your goal or right when you go to sleep so you have a steady time slot available for whatever it is you are working on. This is all based on crap I've read but I know that it works because it's how I programmed myself to exercise 3 days a week. If I don't do it I go crazy, and if it works for flexing the gluts it's gotta work for a writing a novel. For further reading check out https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits.php

SUPPORT, GET IT?!

2. Support Network - A lot of professionals claim they never could have gotten where they are today without having a support network. Stephen King talks about it in his book On Writing and so does Robert Rodriguez in Rebel Without A Crew. Having a group of like minded individuals whom you can count on and share your passion is a huge plus to any project. "But Draco, what about the fine gentlemen of Raptor Inc.? How can you be so lazy when you have such an amazing team of professionals supporting you every step of the way?" you may ask. Well my answer to you is this: We're all lazy fat people on the inside if not on the outside. The fact that we have weekly meetings is a miracle. You should have seen the time we tried to make a video game LOL.

RAPE IS IMMINENT

3. Self Discipline - You can't do shit unless you force yourself to do it. Even if you feel awful and there is nothing you would like more than to NOT work on your project that day you HAVE TO. Why? Because if you don't you will start writing articles about growing complacent because you lost your pace. It's just like running a 10k, you have to find your rhythm and once you get it you have to keep it. You can't charge ahead and burn yourself out but you can't go so slow your 56 year old XO beats you (personal experience).

Working on the movie has taught me a lot about where I want to be in life and how I want to live it. So many people out there have found a way to make a living out of what they love, and a damn good one at that and I'll post some examples after I conclude this article. After 4 years of service in the Navy college is looming right around the corner. Do I focus on my passion and get an art based degree or do I play it safe and go for engineering and keep my loves on the side? Do I take a risk or cheat myself? I don't know. I know that 'starving artist' isn't a euphemism and I know that the economy is rough and if I can't even get off my ass to crank out and finish something that I know I love with all my heart, how am I going to convince others to take a trip through the worlds and with the characters I have created? Thus the dilemma.

Here are those links (keep in mind there are tons of crap like this, these are just the few that seam to have the biggest impact on me):
http://www.penny-arcade.com/
http://cinemassacre.com/
http://boburnham.com/
http://www.alagaesia.com/

Future Projects : Movie Script

At the last meeting we discussed writing a movie script to film at the end of next year after we have finished making the Shoe Dude game. I asked everyone to write a synopsis of their ideas so we can at least have a foundation for what kind of story we are trying to tell in our movie.

Now I know everyone loves MoO0OoN but there comes a time when we have to look beyond that and make something that actually makes fucking sense. Thus the writing team from Raptor Inc. is on the case!

Here are my ideas:

Everyone's Seen A Ghost
A young boy enters the woods to go fishing at a creek. He encounters the devil looking to harvest a soul, and willing to make a deal.

Survival
Four witless lads get lost in the forest after a night of rampant booze and Pokemonand become lost on their way home. Now the four must try to pull together and form some sort of intelligence to find their way out and survive the forest and all of it's inhabitants.

I Got This
A boy who recently moves into town uncovers the dark and seedy history behind his new home.

Awkward Date
The most awkward date ever.

I Guess We Could Make A Movie
A group of friends attempt to create a film, hiring actors and hunting for props and finding a story in the most unlikely of places. Tey sit down to watch the film at the end which repeats itself into the beggining of the movie.

That's what I got and I could elaborate further on all of these ideas but I'm interested in seeing what the rest of the team comes up with. Later, gents.

Column - Darris Talks About Games : Thinking of the Past

So, it was Mario's 25th a week ago, and since that time, I've been thinking back on my gaming memories. My first game system, my first game completed, and my first Mario game. Looking back, there's a lot of thing's I have seen and played, and I would share some of those memories with you.

Even though I might not be the oldest gamer (I was born in 1989) I still consider my upbringing with video games to be one that some younger gamers today might not fully grasp. There's always been console wars, title characters, and overused game types (yes, even zombies). But there is a few things that getting into video games early help gamers adapt to, and that's the constant of gaming.

It's easier than ever for anyone to get into gaming, and thank God for that. Back in the early 90's you were hard pressed to find someone who would have been just as into gaming as you. But I think that the ease of gaming today will make gaming slightly weaker moving forward. Back then you had to convert people, show them why gaming was great. Give them a controller and let them interact with something they never knew could be.

I remember my first gaming moments very clearly. I was three years old, and my older sister Heather had an NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I would spend time constantly playing Track and Field, Bart vs. the Space Mutants, and Super Mario Bros.. I wouldn't really know what I was doing, but I did know that I was in control. I had direct involvement with my character, and I could make them jump, run, and attack.

When I turned four I received my first Game Boy. That's when I started gaming. I would play just about anything, and I can clearly remember putting so much time into Ghouls 'n Ghosts that I knew just about everything about it. Then I received my SNES, and another evolution occurred. My gaming interest grew to a point that I would go out and find as much news and information about gaming that I could. My Super Nintendo collection was solid, and filled with amazing titles that I loved to play. The Super Nintendo also allowed for an even more engrossing collection of games that focused on something more than gameplay, and that's the narrative.

The Nintendo 64 would be that last system that I would receive as a gift, as every system after that I would buy myself. From my youth to now, I have always been involved in gaming in some way. Thanks to gaming I am now a fan of anime and manga. Because of video games, I now constantly think of stories and poems, and I push myself to think outside the box. Because of video games, I have a greater appreciation for what can be considered art.

Video - New Video Projects For December

In case you didn't know it the whole crew is getting together in December between the 27th and the 15th for a New Years bash and also to create some cool new stuff. Among these ventures are new videos for the Raptor Inc. YouTube channel (which you can see random clips from among the other videos playing on this blog).

In order to prepare for production we will need skit and script suggestions at least if we can't come up with some actual material to go on, if we have time we can even even storyboard them and grab some props before we have to do a mad dash into Wal Mart as usual for everything we could possibly need. Last time we got off with a giant paper bag of ketchup packets and a german shepherd. Don't worry about that if you don't understand it. Anyway, email your suggestions or post them as comments on this article and let's get ready for hilarity.