pouët.net

Maybe 3 is exagerated. I have coded nice things in 1-2 hours. But usually I am overwhelmed when I don't have the feeling that I have like 8 hours in front. I don't know. I don't have that big time window to assure myself..

@okkie: I am always joking concerning such stupid go suicide and leave us at peace jokes (but I did laughed when I first read it :)

omfg someone laughed at an unssi joke

skrebbel: well, yes, maybe party coding and kindof "just for fun" fast demomaking is a different deal. but hey, it takes a certain amount of obsession as well to code during a party rather than booze.. :) personally i think of those hard days before the party as an investment to give some time off during it.

i always experience an odd mixture of triumph and self-loathing when that happens.

slightly off topic; has anyone ever worked extremely late on a problem and not got it fixed, gone to bed, and then woken up chanting the solution to themselves? That happened to me before, it was perturbing.

hehe, "perturbing"

Well I'm not chanting to myself but I have a background debugging and code analysis running constantly in my brain. I can do anything, not even something related to coding like hanging with my friends or boozing and then it comes suddenly out of nowhere: "Hey! In somefile.cpp at line X in method Y there is a bug! I should fix it ASAP." I don't control it and it's completely unconscious but it's quite useful. :)

yup. i reckon reading a book about cats (uhuh, yup) when i had 2 weeks off and then *pling* there was some wii disc error handling code culprit i suddenly realized so i had to call the office :)

That guy found his way to express his creativity at last it seems : http://www.break.com/index/office-worker-goes-absolutely-insane.html

or from another point of view http://www.break.com/index/office-worker-meltdown-second-angle.html

Optimus,

I get where u come from. You really want to demo in your head but your guts say "oh shit I never will have the time".

Maybe try this: next time you have a complete day free, make something in 6 hours. Anything but complete. You'll be forced to cheat like hell (photograph drawings instead of hand pixelling, use a lib you swore never to use again, re-use some old effects, bugger design but do it all in black and white with some noise, a chiptune that been lying around for tren years but nobody used it etc etc). Maybe you'll find some freedom and produce something creative.

I've got an idea for you Optimus, watch this :

Nathan can help you...

After the (honestly quite funny) parts about pinguins and whale sex, there's an interesting conclusion.

God I wish I had 3-4 straight hours, even only once every two days for demos and nothing else...

I have overdone it in the past, but probably nothing beats the first demo I ever wrote for a compo (back in spring of 95). I was in highschool, it was the eastern holidays and my folks had left me home alone for 5 days (well, they left the grandparents behind but they are easy to handle :-)).

I remember almost 3 days non stop coding (without sleeping) fuelled by huge amounts of coffee (I usually go through 2-3 cups of coffee/tea every YEAR, so, yes it was quite traumatic). I also had a cassette player playing the same 60 min tape on repeat, after the second day I was sort of hallucinating. I could do that when I was 16 without any worry in the world, it is a different story now.

But these days I'll try 10 things and 8 will work. Back then I would try 100 and none would (and then randomly just mash together the failures to make something for the party....).

navis: what was the tape, you were listening?

btw, i had such feeling like optimus before and i quit my full time job at one moment, because had no time to code and it was too depressing. now, i think, i eventually just don't want to do another demo, so i kind of saved from this code obsession. and it is not bad, at least for some time.

it was a medley from this composer (who happens to be my favourite Greek composer):

http://www.ahistoryofgreece.com/biography/savvopoulos.htm

The medley was from his 66-75 era and the music is a fusion of what one could call progressive rock (Jethro Tull, King crimson), folk (similar to Bob Dylan, he actually did 2 covers of his) and jazz (soft machine), using traditional instruments (mainly acoustic guitar and percussion), hammond and "balkan" brass-band horns. Some of the songs are 15 mins long with interludes of music. His poetry (he writes music lyrics, sings and plays guitar) is second to none imho.

http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2007/07/dionysis-savvopoulos-balloslp1971greece.html

this is the album cover that still gives me the creeps !

Hey, that reminds myself with the Poor Freak demo. I would loose my sleep at least at days my parents were at the village. Now I am thinking I was more into it in the past. I think I have lost the will to sacrifice my sleep for coding demos.



Ok, these days I have succumbed to doing anything else (like playing Eye of the Beholder :P) or meditating on what is written in here and what I think about. It's better this way for a while. Thank you all, it was interesting.

This is true too. In the past I had the strong will but not the experience. Now I can do things well enough in fewer time but I lack the will..

The 2nd paragrpaph/line should be after the 3rd :P

You can't force creativity... take your mind elsewhere. Play some games, watch a movie, watch TV, go to the nudy bar, go for a walk... maybe to the nudy bar? If you really wanna get those ideas flowing smoke just a little bit of some good herb... oh how that get's the ideas flowing!

I find that as a coder, it helps to have a good artist person to talk to as well as artists think different than coders. Get those creative vibes going an exchange ideas.... then have him/her give you some art. I liek art... it makes me code.

Nudy BAR!!

I want some art from her!

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