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Slartibartfast

Now there is no promises that 2018 will globally be any better than 2017 and I am not holding my breath for any kind of change from the douchebags that run this country to change.  So why the hell do I feel so good about starting a new year?  It really comes down a quote from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "I'd far rather be happy than right any day."  I love that line.

What that line means to me is not the idea of giving up on fact since it is a fact that facts are facts.  Instead, as it relates to my hobbies and professional work.  Now I have been in the game industry professionally since 2000 so I have about 18 years as a professional artist and even more as a hobbyist game developer.  

During that time I have thrown myself into learning everything I can about game development, programming, design, art and audio... not nearly enough audio though.  I have been a quite lurker on development forums and consumer of youtube videos showing the "right" way to develop games or create art.  I learned a ton and have started a mess of awesome projects, seriously there is some crazy dope shit on my computer.  But I have always struggled to get them off of my hard drive and into the hands of others.

One issue I have had is reading an article or forum post that talked about some approach being better than the others.  The articles or posts all made some very compelling points and surely I'm not some dummy that is going to do it the wrong way!  So I would adopt the new technique but in doing so I would stop where I was on a project and start a new one...a new one that was going to be done the right way..from the start!  It is an exhausting and endless cycle and one that I hate.  It is far more fun to focus on the point and purpose of the project than spending any time second guessing yourself about how you are building it or always looking for a better way.  Don't get me wrong I love to learn and read about new ways of doing things but you need to be aware enough to notice when you are getting your self sideways and off track.  I mean I'd far rather be happy than right any day.

Another huge blocker I have had over the years is this idea that every project should be a product that I will put out there when it is finished.  The root of this problem I think comes from the fact that I am an 80's kid and we grew up in a very product/material world while our soft little minds were forming.  Regardless of the root I hate this kind of thinking and honestly I'm one guy making things that find interesting or cool and will be of no commercial use for anyone so who cares just get it out there so those few other people can use it.  I mean I'd far rather be happy than right any day.

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