Monday, June 18, 2007

The Rubik's Cube of Life

It feels like that sometimes, doesn't it? You want to fix something, you turn the cube, and something else has suddenly popped out of position. You twist that into place, and again, something totally unrelated is suddenly taunting, demanding your attention. With each extra attempt to fix things, you can barely tell whether they're getting better or worse. Unfortunately, this is also one of those deluxe cubes, not the cheap ones that you can cheat by peeling the stickers off and putting them where you want.

By all accounts, things should be great. I've had a few significant milestones in the recent past. However, it seems like each time the top of the hill is reached, all it does is reveal more hills that it was obscuring from view last time. Throughout all of this is the undercurrent of frustration, that the goal keeps moving, and sometimes it seems difficult to decide what actually matters and what doesn't.

Game design is like that, too. You finish a project, it's amazing, you step back and admire it... and before the dust can settle, someone somewhere is demanding that you notice their amazing idea and make it come to life. I often wish that I was less polite. Almost as if being tolerant is a curse, an invitation for others to take advantage of it.

Much like the cube, though, it is impossible to really tell which path will end up with the best result. Until then, clanking armour plates will be good enough to keep things at bay, with the finger-rending gnash of armadillo teeth for those who fail to get it the first time. Fairly instinctive and uncontrolled in some ways, but then again I've never been very good at solving those cubes. Fortunately, mimicking their secure shape by rolling into a ball is always an option.

2 comments:

Owl's perch said...

A goal without challenges, is one that's accomplished easily and often left behind in the same manner.

It can be frustrating to feel that you're simply treading water instead of getting closer to the shore you've been aiming for. Sometimes, you need to stop and think about what your goal is, and what you are willing to do for it.

What's a shame is that it's more common to hear complaints instead of compliments. I suppose that's not a bad thing, as praise given by habit instead of genuinely earned can make any praise seem worthless.

But it is important to remember when you achieve those minor goals that are on your path to your final one. There may not be as much fanfare as you expect, and the challenges that await may seem all the more daunting... but so did the first challenge that you faced, and the second. Yet you defeated them.

There are many who look forward to your success, and appreciate whatyou have accomplished.

Nymaya Kayen said...

After a brief period of blog neglect and general internet neglect, I find myself reading over the blogs again and am somewhat surprised to find that the frustrations of peoples lives all seem to be settling heavily right now.

The saying 'one step forward, two steps back' comes to mind. Its hard to claw up from the muck that others can and often will throw a person into thoughtlessly. Its important to remember though (and I try and chant this to myself all the time) that things do get better. The rubik's cube, or a side of it, will match up eventually and when it happens the bad might find itself banished for a time.

Its important to remember to believe at these points I think. Believe that though you might not hear it, there are people who (as Owl stated) appreciate what you've done and others who (if they knew or understood) would readily applaud you for just reaching that one goal.