"Can" VS "Should" - Weekly Devlog #9

Current game word count: 28,625 (+ 1852 since last devlog)

Super productive week - and I'm now a Steam Partner! More about that coming soon...!

So, the headline. Now there's an age-old debate when it comes to creative pursuits (and, I guess, lots of other things as well). 

"Can" VS "Should" - just because I "can" doesn't necessarily mean that I "should". Right?

It's extremely exciting to learn new things and start new projects. Especially when there's so much new to take in. People who know me also know that I have a tendency to jump to new things, not because I don't finish, but because I often feel compelled to take on new challenges. I'm hopelessly addicted, I guess, to the feeling of learning new things! 

And the "Can?" is a huge part of that.

"Can?"

I'm still extremely new to the world of game development, and almost every day I find myself overwhelmed by the fact that I, in theory, could create pretty much anything I want. The sky is the limit, as long as I find the way there. But this is where newbies like me are at a disadvantage as compared to seasoned game developers; I'm still learning to fend off the constant threat of feature creep. And oh boy, I've learned a lot about that after only three months in this world. 

"Meanwhile in Riva" is an ambitious game, but if I didn't continually reassess what I'm doing, it would probably go from "ambitious" to "will-never-get-finished".

"Should?"

So managing features is important, but it's also hard. Some things that take a lot of time, like a huge new thing I worked on today that I'll reveal in the next devlog, are worth it. Others go more into the territory of "have it just to have it". I see awesome games all the time with cool features that I'd like to include, but... is it right for my game? Is it worth the extra development time? These are things I'm still learning.

Let me hit you with an example that isn't 100% game development related, but sort of in a way still is...

Duh, of course you should make the music!

So a few days ago I saw this:

Context: I'm a recording artist, and my music recently hit 500k - half a million - streams. I'm not gonna lie, I'm ridiculously proud about that and really wanted an excuse to share it with you. But I'm about to hit you with a twist. Up until a few days ago, I wasn't sure whether or not I was actually going to compose the music for my game. This is doubly weird since one of the reasons why I chose to make a game (and not like, write a book or something) was so that I could combine my different talents and feature music alongside the story.

But the whole "can" VS "should" thing happened. Yes, I "can" make the music. But "should" I do it, when I already have programming and writing to do? And work a full-time job? And have a family? I mean seriously, where does it end? So for a long time, I was actually leaning more toward commissioning the music, maybe from the same guys who did the placeholder tracks for my demo (well-received and catchy tunes, but not mine). 

That's probably the smarter thing to do...

But what do I *want*?!

Ultimately, that's what it comes down to. It's my game and my vision, so I want my music to be there. Even if the game won't come out until the next ice age or something (eek).

So in this case, I really "should"... but not because I "can". 

Because I "want"... to do it.

Alright, I think you get my point...!

Have a great week everyone! And a Riva-tastic day!

(AND PLAY MY DEMO IF YOU HAVEN'T... heh) :)

/Tymedust