How to Start your Game - Simple Beginners Guide

[ShinNessTen 64]

Alright, I'm sorry to tell you, but you got baited hardcore.

This isn't about how you start off your Game, but about what you need to learn in order to make your Game, yourself and your Job/Hobby successful. This actually has nothing to do with how you approach Art, Eventing, Scripting, Composing, etc., but how you approach yourself first.

 

I had a revelation the other day and wanted to brag about it and make myself look smart infront of the Internet today. So let's go.

 

WARNING: Everything I tell you from this point forward is just an Opinion! I like to share my Opinions and views with others around, so don't take them seriously!

 

TL;DR: Mentally strengthen yourself, accept Change and be a Jerk if you want.

 

Strength

Let's begin a little friendly here. 

What's Strength? What defines it? What do I do with it? I could be a total smartass here and just pull out the Wikipedia Article for Strength, but i'm not gonna rely on a Website to tell me what the definition of Strength means. 

Strength means a lot to people, but people also don't know what Strength exactly means to them. It's different for every Human, hell, even for every Being! Strength is substantial, without it we would not have any desires, thus no motivation to do anything. And if we don't do anything, nothing moves forward. It's something that we naturally have, so losing it is extremely fatal for your Psyche. It's like if you are a Worker and you build a House with your own Strength. But for the sake of not talking about Houses and Workers, let's just call Workers "You", "People", etc. and this House "self" for now. People have different tastes, so usually you'll see different people with different "selfs". When you are aware of your surroundings and you are a little Kid, you aim something to be. You aim, but you don't have the right tools yet to build yourself with. As Time flows and your Age increases the World opens up to you in many different ways. But that is also where you get your tools from to build your "self". 

In my Eyes, I view Strength simply as a Progress or Growth of myself. Do you know how people always say that they got "stronger" because they lvl'd up in a Video Game or something like that? Let's just ignore the Level, because that's just a "Stage" of your progress. What's more important here is the Experience you get. Your Experience bar fills up more and more until you get to the next "Stage". In the Real World, "Stages" would actually look different from Games. Every single Experience Point is a "Stage" for us. So meaning that if you get one Exp. Point, you'd already be at Level 2. We get Experience in the Real World through different means, rather than fighting Monsters, obviously. What does Experience do for us Humans? Well, let's just take a look back at the Game and tell me what the Game does if you Level up... That's right! They give us Stat increases, they give us new Skills to work with, but most importantly, they "Change" your Level, or rather your "Stage" meaning you "Changed". 

Which brings me to my next "Stage" that i'm about to explain... (I'm not sorry)

 

Change

This is probably the Stage that is the most horrifying for Humans. 

Change means you, well, you changed... but why do some people seem to be scared of the "Change"?

Let's take Britt Nicoles "Be The Change" Music as an example.

"I've been starin' at the World... waitin'... I've been lookin' for a change... lately... All the trouble... All the Pain... We're facin'... Someone gotta be the Hope... Someone gotta be the Love..."

So, now that we've looked at this rather... exquisite Lyric, tell me what she means by "All the trouble... All the Pain... We're facin'... Someone gotta be the Hope... Someone gotta be the Love..."? You're right, at the current moment, she's troubled with... something, it honestly doesn't matter, the point is she's not in a very good mood. And it seems like she wishes for "Hope" and "Love", or rather someone needs to give her "Hope" and "Love". Let's listen to more of it.

"Too much Light to be livin' in the Dark... Where are we goin' we ain't gettin' very far... Why waste Time we only got one Life"

"Too much Light to be livin' in the Dark"? What could this entail? Well, I think she means that "Hope" is all around us and we shouldn't be gloomy all the time. We should always think positively on things, rather than trying to find negative things to say/have a negative look on the things.

"And don't you know it starts today... And Baby, no it's not too late... It begins with you and I... Together we can be the Change."

So Britt Nicole views this in a rather positive way, right? But that doesn't really explain why Humans are scared of Change.

Let me ask you something... Why did she wrote these Lyrics specifically? Well, according to her, she tells us how important it is to "Change" things. That... also doesn't quite help us figure out why People are scared of Change.

Ok, i'm gonna tell you the answer, or at least what I think about it: There is no answer.

I'm just gonna assume that Britt Nicole wrote the Lyrics, because she... just felt like it. Not saying she did it for Money or whatever other Reason, because i have no clue about her, i just dug this Song up randomly to talk about it. 

Why? Well, you see, it seems like "Change" is something that almost every single Person wants, but from other People.

"Change" occurs during a Stage Switch, or more in Game-ly terms: Level up. 

I'm gonna make a somewhat weird metaphor to explain exactly why Change can be scary. 

"But you said, there's no answer!" That's where i got you by your skin, you fool! There's no answer for Britt Nicoles desire why she wrote this song this way, but there is one for why people fear "Change"!

Often times Humans are unpredictable. You will never truly know why People did stuff like this and like that. You don't even know why you wanted to eat an Apple today, even though you were full from that one Fruitsalad. 

This is something I probably should have mentioned in the Strength section, but the more you strengthen yourself, the more desire/motivation you get to do certain things. In this case, eating an Apple after eating a whole Fruitsalad. Desire can be very unpredictable at times, you just get a feeling that it is the right thing to do, so you do it. That's what I think is a true Change.

Anyway, let's get back to the metaphor. So most of you probably know the Final Fantasy Series, right? In the Final Fantasy Series you have certain Abilities that can do certain things on the Target, if the Target has a specific Level. The most wildly known Level-Skill is probably Level-5 Death, which if casted, kills the Target that has a Level multiplied by 5, like Level 10 or 25. Now let's go a little bit further. If you know Final Fantasy, you also know about the Blue Mage. For those who don't, a Blue Mage can learn Enemy Skills if the Enemy Skill is used directly on the Blue Mage.

Imagine this: Your Party is currently a whole bunch of Blue Mages and everyone is at Level 14. They arrive in some sort of Library and one of the Enemies knows how to kill your Party if your Party has Levels multiplied by 5.(aka. knows Level-5 Death)

The Blue Mages, knowing they can learn this Skill have all very different opinions on the current situation they find themselves in.

 

Blue Mage 1: "Hey! That's an Enemy that knows how to kill us if we have a certain Level! Let's get that Skill!"

Blue Mage 2: "I don't know about this... this sounds scary, what if we get killed from this Skill?"

Blue Mage 3: "Who knows how useful that skill is gonna be anyway?"

Blue Mage 4: "You never know, this might actually come in handy some day!"

 

Alright, there are 4 types of Blue Mages with very distinct opinions on the matter.

B-Mage 1 seems excited about it, doesn't fear the outcome and is relatively positive about his chances to get that Skill. Though it seems like he doesn't actually care about using it, he's more excited about "acquiring" it.

B-Mage 2 seems to be wary of the ways of "acquiring" it. She fears that it might end up being a very bad idea in the end.

B-Mage 3 isn't exactly scared of it, he rather questions the usefullness of that Skill and thinks it's not even worth his Time, because he's already wise enough. 

B-Mage 4 thinks it could prove use in the Future and doesn't shy away from this Skill.

 

Alright, now i'm gonna use a Magic Trick... are you ready? 

Replace "Skill" with "Experience". The World looks a whole lot different now, ey? ... no? ... alright...

Here we have a 1/4 ratio on the amount of People that are scared to gain this Experience, to gain this "Change".

Some People are willing to Change even if it kills them, some aren't bothered by it and already have enough experience in their Lifes to completely ignore other Experiences, some are willing to give all Experiences a chance and some are simply afraid that they can be wounded if they Change.

B-Mage 2, or let's just call her Lenna from now on, is afraid of "Change" and this is the only opinion I don't really see as an opinion at all, it's just fear. Of course it is important to be wary and sometimes have your guard up, but only if the Situation presents itself as dangerous. 

Were Lenna and her friends in danger? Well, obviously. Someone wanted to go to Level 15 to learn that Skill and get killed by it, I would also react to it a bit eye-bally. But the fact that 2 of them wanted to learn it and 1 simply didn't care, means that 3 of them were confident that this Experience won't really hurt them in the Process if they just try.

But this metaphor is presented in an active manner, where things actually do matter and being scared can be a valuable opinion. I only didn't think being scared is a opinion in a mental kind of way. Physically, yes, you can hurt yourself alot if your Change was really dumb, like trying to pick up a 300 pound heavy thing with your skinny arms and breaking your Back. Breaking your Back being the dumb Change. Mentally, however in my opinion, you've got nothing to lose. So being scared isn't really a valid opinion in this situation. 

Being versatile and keep pushing towards higher Goals is what gives you even more Strength. These two things compliment each other very well and it makes you a better Human overall.

 

Nature

What doesn't make you a better Human, however, is the fact that you are being a Jerk! ...but... is that really true?

So, while the first 2 Stages seem useful to know about, is it really enough to make a good impact upon yourself?

This depends on your "Nature" or your "Personality".

I could talk... SO. MUCH. ABOUT. PERSONALITIES! and want to share SO. MUCH. OPINION! but i need to stay neutral and present this Topic in a non-controversial way.

Let me just get my Opinion out the window before we begin with this Topic: I REALLY THINK THAT HUMANS AREN'T BAD OR GOOD, I JUST DON'T TRY TO BOTHER THEM SO THAT THEY CAN'T BOTHER ME. I PERSONALLY ACCEPT EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T AFFECT ME!

 

Alright, so where to begin...

...

...

...

eh... I guess I pretty much said everything there's to say in my opinion, didn't I? Lmao

But that's just my opinion and you really don't need to be this way, if you don't want to be.

The only thing I can add to this, is that tastes vary and you sometimes need to adjust a little to your surrounded Folks. If the majority agrees that you are being a Jerk, then stop. If the majority agrees you are not being a bother, then continue being you...

HOWEVER, we can play a little advanced! At this Stage in the Game you already can tell who's at what Stage and depending on their Stage, you can either continue being a Jerk, even though they told you not to be a Jerk anymore, or just do something else. Is that ok, though? Well, this has something to do with Respect. If you are a Jerk and respect their Nature and Progress, then go ahead and continue being a Jerk, even though they told you not to do it. They should learn to respect you as well and if they don't respect you, then I guess just stop being Friends with them, because they are still stuck at their second Stage called "Change", or, even better, try to Change them yourself. If you are a Jerk and DON'T respect their Nature and Progress... then there's two more ways: First one being if your Friends are still stuck at "Changing" themselves up(hence, why you don't respect them that much), then you can still continue being a Jerk. Why? You probably think at this Point:"That's bullying!" No, it's not at all. I mean... sarcastically making fun of someone nowadays is a common thing and if they don't see your, at this point, MASSIVE change in Character and Strength, just means they never Experienced anything, making them look like a Stage 0 Hero at this point. The other being-... OK GRANDPA, SHUT IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR CRAP! 

You probably get my view at this point.

 

Most people think that everybody should Respect everyone, no matter what they do, who they are and etc. as long as they follow the rules.

Alright... you wanna know my Point of view for this, for the last time?

This is a controversial opinion, so hear me out on this one, before you crucify me... Yes, I said I don't want to be controversial, but this point is something that I think will open your minds a bit about why I decided to go controversial for this.

I do not think you should respect everyone, or follow rules... like at all. Rules are, in my opinion, the MOST devastating thing that can happen to your Character/Psyche. Rules weren't made by some otherworldly Being that you need to obey to, or you die because of it, no questions asked. No, Rules are made by us Humans and Humans CAN be wrong, therefore some Rules can be seen wrong as well and we can question about it. If you blindly follow them, without questioning them, then, in my opinion, you deserve no more respect than a kid being thaught how to draw a perfect circle. However, the Kid sees that it can draw a Circle. You know what happens after the Kid tried to draw a circle? He tried different shapes. Next he went for a Square, and even if it doesn't look quite right, he tried anyway. And nobody told him to do that, he just simply went ahead and drew a really crappy square. And this crappy Square deserves more praise and respect than a taught circle. The same logic applies to breaking the rules. Yes, I said that. Breaking the rules that you do not agree with, can actually give you more respect than anything else, because you are proud of your opinion and everybody applauds you for that. 

And I'm obviously not talking about Rules like no murdering or no robbing or even bother others. Dude... at this point, you probably would've figured it out at this point, without me having to actually write that sentence down.

So why did I do it?

 

Because it seems like most Humans forgot what exactly they are doing, what they were fighting for and where to go.

I just wanted to recall all of this for you, because I'm legit worried about our Future.  

 

All of this makes us Humans.  

 

Like I said... this up here is all just an opinion based on the Experiences of a 22 year old Idiot, whose english is Bad. 

Whether you choose to value my Experiences is up to you.

[Kayzee 4,032]

*scratches her head* Er... Reminds me of this guide to Ruby. (It has Cartoon Foxes!) Except in in all that guide's weird surreal meandering, it always comes back to building some kind of context to getting across hard to understand concepts (fully explaining even something as relatively simple as classes to people can even be tricky), where as you kind of seem to over complicate easy to understand concepts and anthropomorphize things to a degree that I am frankly not sure if you are talking about game design or mindset (or both, or neither). Though I guess you are doing the reverse?
 
Anyway my observations:
 
On Strength:

There is a speech I am fond of from a webcomic. Spoilers and such. I never really read the whole comic, but that speech has one of the most amazing observations on 'power' I have ever seen. It's true! Power equals power. Strength is not any one thing, but anything and everything you can use. Any skill you can call on, any knowledge you have learned, any connections you make with others, anything you can use to get something done. And relatedly, when people talk of 'energy' they usually think of some ball of electricity or glowing light or something. But that's not what energy is. Energy is anything and everything that can be used to accomplish work. Matter is energy, electricity is energy, the chemicals in our blood is energy, our feelings give us a form of energy even. A restless mind that hungers for something has it's own energy, the passion and the need to get from where you are now to some other state. You need to find your own strength and the energy to use it.

On Change:

Really change is not really terribly interesting. It's simply as a function of time. And what is time? Perhaps it's just things marching inevitably to a state of total entropy, perhaps not. But it's a leading way of thinking about it. The interesting thing isn't change, but 'will'. It has been said that 'life' can be defined as 'something that creates negative (local) entropy'. Despite the chaotic mess of existence, some patterns have overcome a fall into entropy and have grown to reverse it's pull, at least for a little while. Patterns which grow more complex and after a while learn to think and feel. Learn to direct their changes. Thus we have 'will'. This will may always be limited in many ways, but the more we choose our own direction and path the more we can learn to harness it. The more we can see the many paths we can go in the more freedom we have. So while change is automatic and random, our will is ours to direct how we wish.
 
On Nature:

The truth of nature is like those of physics. A object at rest needs effort to move. A ball rolling down a hill needs effort to stop. A heavy object needs effort to lift. A thing's nature is like that. It will behave according to whatever inner variables it has unless effort is applied to change. Change is possible, just as it's possible to move, or stop, or lift a physical thing. Energy will be lost to do so, or at least changed into an unusable form. Not everything is going to ask you to lift a mountain, and if someone does ask you to you should be allowed to tell them no. But not all effort is worthless. Sometimes it's worth spending the effort, sometimes it's not. It's up to your will.
 
Final Statement:

So what does all this mean? Maybe nothing. Maybe it means all these things aren't so disconnected as we may think. In the end, my best advice? Figure out what you want and what you can do, and if you can't do what you want see if you can figure out a way to get to a point where you can. It won't be easy, and sometimes you have to fight yourself, but what else can you really do? Well maybe one thing. If it's too much, just put it aside for now and try something else for a while. Enough time may present you with a better opportunity later.

Edited July 15, 2017 by KilloZapit

[ShinNessTen 64]

It also could be a big troll, to waste your Time ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[Kayzee 4,032]

HA! Shows what you know! I would just waste it in other ways anyway!