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  • Showing only topics with the tag "hobbies". Back to normal view
    1. On creation for creation's sake

      I want to make a game. ... is what I've been telling myself for the past few weeks. Honestly, I might have subconsciously had this thought for the past few months, if not years. Strange as it...

      I want to make a game.

      ... is what I've been telling myself for the past few weeks. Honestly, I might have subconsciously had this thought for the past few months, if not years.

      Strange as it sounds, I've gone on a weird mental journey in getting to the point where I'm able to acknowledge this desire. I've always had a vague, constant urge to be creative, but for the past few years, this urge has been tied to an outcome: "I want to write a JS library because it'll make for a cool product later"; something like that. Inevitably, having that outcome in mind makes me set a standard of perfection for what the thing is supposed to be, which makes me start planning every piece of the thing, which... tires me out, and then I just don't do it.

      I'd say I've been better about this recently, in that I'll sometimes do one-off things because it seems like fun at the time. Small coding projects that serve no purpose at all. I randomly got into drawing for a week, so the day's drawing for that week. Rediscovering this process has been fun, and it's definitely been fulfilling to just marvel at my work without having to check off boxes for what the thing is supposed to do.

      But now, I've got the idea that I want to make a game. A game isn't a small project, or at least not as small as what I've been working on recently. I'm pretty sure my motivation for wanting to do this is entirely intrinsic: I just want to do it, I don't want to sell it, I don't care if nobody plays it. And yet, I'm still finding it pretty hard to do anything.

      Firstly, I don't have much time during the week to work on this game; I also work full-time. Second, when I do have time, I find it pretty hard to make any progress. A game isn't small, so I feel the need to plan stuff out, even just roughly. Which is what I do at work. So then it just feels like work. I tire of planning pretty quickly, and I think I've come to conflate this tired feeling with burnout at work, so I just stop and scroll on the internet.

      Sometimes I'm able to focus and just write something without planning. It's nice when I'm able to do this, but inevitably I start thinking about the bigger picture... "Okay, the protagonist feels X because the theme I'm going for is Y, which..." and then the planning starts again.

      Anyway, this is all a very long way to say that I struggle with creating for creation's sake, partly because budgeting my time as a full-time laborer is hard, and partly because I have trouble seeing the trees for the forest, so to speak. Have you all ever had to deal with this? I'm curious to know what's helped you, or just your thoughts on the topic/my situation.

      Cheers!

      24 votes
    2. People who turn off their electronics hours before bed... What do you do at night?

      There's a good thread going around on Tildes right now about sleep hygiene tips. One of those is making sure you stop using your electronics before bed, to help with circadian rhythms and whatnot....

      There's a good thread going around on Tildes right now about sleep hygiene tips. One of those is making sure you stop using your electronics before bed, to help with circadian rhythms and whatnot.

      Determined to make a fool of myself in spite of the above thread, last night I stayed up until 4am in bed reading various junk sites on my phone. As a consequence, I slept in until noon 😭. I don't want to do this anymore! I want a regular sleep schedule... 11-7 or 12-8 would be my dream.

      I've tried blocking the problematic sites in the past, and it largely works for me for several months... Until I hit a bad mood patch and get antsy and bored, craving the dopamine hits, wanting to turn my brain off and just scroll mindlessly. (It's very much a self-soothe behavior...)

      I think it would be easier to solve this problem if I had an arsenal of things to do that are nice and engaging, but don't involve using a phone or computer. Yet, I'm at a bit of a loss... Seemingly everything involves a computer or screen one way or another these days. I'd love an e-ink device that let's me listen to Spotify or something, but alas, I think I might need to look into low-tech solutions.

      What do you do at night that doesn't involve screen time?

      64 votes
    3. What are you working on right now?

      A project? A personal goal? A big assignment? A new hobby? Your mental health? A 1000 piece puzzle? A relationship? Whatever it is you’re working on, tell us about it. How’s it going so far?

      7 votes
    4. What's something you've made or done recently that you'd like to show off?

      I've posted this before, but it's been a couple years. It can be a hobby, a good deed, something simple, something complex, or anything in between - mainly, whatever doesn't fit into the more...

      I've posted this before, but it's been a couple years. It can be a hobby, a good deed, something simple, something complex, or anything in between - mainly, whatever doesn't fit into the more niche topics that are posted about this here (such as the weekly technical projects thread in ~comp).

      11 votes
    5. Gear and process

      I'd been accumulating modular gear over the course of the pandemic, but over the last month or so I sold the majority of my modular, including swapping my 6U 89HP case for a much smaller model,...

      I'd been accumulating modular gear over the course of the pandemic, but over the last month or so I sold the majority of my modular, including swapping my 6U 89HP case for a much smaller model, without anything in it as of yet. Instead, I'm using a lot more standalone gear.

      Gear talk:

      I'm using (shock, horror!) a laptop, as well as the Elektron Digitakt drum computer and Digitone polyphonic FM synthesizer. I also went from one Monome Norns Shield DIY with no input devices to two Norns Shields with a Grid and a 16n. Observe, if you want! (As an aside, I absolutely love the Monome aesthetic of raw aluminum and I've also gotten a set of faceplates and acrylic windows made for my Norns'. I kept the first two of the run, when I hadn't quite perfected the technique, so there are some blemishes; the rest went to friends.)

      Interestingly, where my process tended to run up against the limitations of my gear in the past, it now seems much more constrained just by the time I am able to spend playing music each day, as I work a full time job and do most of the chores in my household.

      I'd love to know how gear and process interacts for you folks, and what you do to make sure you're having fun and making music, despite the many demands on all our time.

      5 votes
    6. What novel things can people do from home?

      With the need for social distancing and self-isolation and #Stay(ing)TheFuckHome becoming near global realities, it is looking like many of us, and nearly everyone we know, will be spending large...

      With the need for social distancing and self-isolation and #Stay(ing)TheFuckHome becoming near global realities, it is looking like many of us, and nearly everyone we know, will be spending large amounts of time staying in. I like this guide (thanks again, @aphoenix!), which ends with "Treat quarantine as an opportunity to do some of those things you never usually have time for."

      Certainly we all have things in our life like that, but I also think it would be neat to try to brainstorm a list of things people can do for new experiences -- things they might not think to do or know are available to them. Everybody knows we can catch up on Netflix and our unread pile of books, but what else is out there? What can I do when I need a change of pace? What novel things can people do from home/online that don't require them to go out for resources/supplies?

      18 votes
    7. What are you working on?

      Whether it's for for school, work, or a hobby, share a project or goal that you are working on and how it's going. If you're trying to accomplish it, it fits here. Writing a book, making a...

      Whether it's for for school, work, or a hobby, share a project or goal that you are working on and how it's going. If you're trying to accomplish it, it fits here. Writing a book, making a program, perfecting a recipe, beating a challenge in a video game, fitness PRs, etc. - all is welcome.

      EDIT: I just realized there's a monthly thread similar to this in ~creative, so I probably won't post like this again. But feel free to keep sharing here! This one I suppose is a bit more open ended.

      22 votes
    8. You no longer have to work and are extremely wealthy, what hobbies would you like to pursue?

      Assume you have all the wealth necessary to do whatever. Money can buy all the things and grant you access to do your favourite things, but time is something is valuable and priceless. What would...

      Assume you have all the wealth necessary to do whatever. Money can buy all the things and grant you access to do your favourite things, but time is something is valuable and priceless. What would be worth your value to you because you simply enjoy it?

      30 votes