"JUST DUE, DEW, DOO DOO IT!"
Do you like it when your favorite game developers update the game with new features? Do you love knowing they are making clear and consistent progress to building the perfect game? Great! Now stop thinking about those guys... we have game stuff to talk about :P
I just met with the team, and here is your juicy insider "what order are features coming out" in list. Everything in the coming this week list is already in testing and is expected to go live on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the content team is in a neck-and-neck race. It seems both Frostval and the Dragons of Ashfall Saga's first area are going to be ready at the exact same time-- whichever is just a little ahead will go first. My gold is on Frostval because their ice weapon rewards appear to already be done.
I do not normally make my to do list public... but in the spirit of all these to do lists, here is what I will be doing. My schedule is pretty chaotic, so this is what I will be doing today and tomorrow. 90% chance it will change and spiral out of control... because most of what I really do is sudden and horrifying crisis management followed my large doses of caffeine.
Sure, why not? Comment below with what you are up to and your plan for getting it done. (Did this game plan update just turn into a self help motivational goal setting workshop... >_> YES.) Maybe you are reaching a level or getting an item in a game, writing, drawing, making cosplay armor, programming, or just getting those lingering things left on your plate done. If you want a little extra motivation, write it below. But only if you are actually going to do it. This page is only for things that are GOING TO HAPPEN. If you write it down there, I will check on you to make sure it is getting done -_-
"It is vital to focus on how far you have come... over of how far you have left to go."
I know what you are thinking. The remaining features for AdventureQuest 3D are easy compared to what we have already accomplished. Making the core game true-cross platform was by far the hardest part. Now we just add on features and grow it in the same way we did its successful AdventureQuest ancestor games. Which is exactly what we are going to... which is why the bonus story of this design notes is not about us, it is for any of you reading this that needs help following through to the finish line-- no matter what your personal goal.
But... Tanks do not run!
Not too long ago I started running. Which is weird, because I hated running. Always used to say, "I LEARNED TO FIGHT SO I DID NOT HAVE TO RUN!" But the fact that I hated it was exactly why I chose to start running. I wanted to train my body do to something difficult, that I did not want to do, that was ultimately good for me. (This was a real thing, not making this up.)
Running a Marathon for your first run :D
So many of us expect that we can run a Marathon on our first run. Sorta like someone who just learned a little programming who tells their friends that they are going to code a major 3D MMORPG like World of Warcraft for their very first game project. But what happens? The brand new runner starts running... and oh man do they run full speed... and then what happens? They have not even reached a mile and there they are, stopped, huffing and puffing, to exhausted to go on. Do not be embarrassed if you related to this story... it is what I did too. It is exactly what I did when I started running, and similarly 14 years ago when I started making the first AdventureQuest (which was totally going to be a 3D MMORPG by the way.) At this point, some people feel silly or stupid so they quit. But the smart ones.... they do not quit. They find out what they are capable of and start doing it. They start training.
What "Battle On" really means.
My first goal was to run one mile without stopping. It was so freaking hard two weeks had past and I still could not do it. Do not laugh, I am a life long martial artist. My entire life I have exclusively been training my legs to kick things at all heights in font of me... running requires to muscles to do the exact opposite. My legs burned and were wobbly after runs. But every other day I would do it again. Each time getting a little further. One day I stormed into the Gym, eyes locked, and completely focused that TODAY WAS THE DAY I was going to do it. Ran on the treadmill at 6.6MPH... I was off to such a good start. But about 70% of the way there... I felt it. You know, that dreadful, tired, exhausted, give up feeling. Warlic, who is one of the best runners I know calls it, "the suck". That is the moment that separates winners from losers. That is the moment where you have to look deep... deep inside... and-- yeah, I stopped. GOSH DANGIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yup, I quit. Sitting there, huffing and puffing and super mad at myself. Then walked the rest of it. (Uh, Artix, I watch movies and this is not how these stories are supposed to go.) But hey, I am no loser. Neither are you. So you know what I did? That is right... I came back the next day and tried again! I did not care how many times I would have to try because *I KNEW* if I did not give up, I would inevitably succeed. That is what it means to "Battle On!" It is not about just winning the battle... because no matter how good you are, you are going to get knocked down. It is about always getting back up. It is about fighting on until you win.
What happens when you win the mile?
Finally, I ran a mile. I remember it clearly because I hit "the suck" I found a reason deep inside to keep going. They say everyone needs to find their inner "why". I should not be telling you this, but first I thought of my family... but that was not enough. Then I thought of the game studio, our characters, our hopes and dreams... but that was not enough either. Then, haha, oh then... I thought of our hackers, botters and scammers. Oh my blood boiled and I started running faster. I heard their trolling comments in my head and I ran faster and harder. The manta in my mind was that stopping would declare them the winner. So I ran A LOT further than a mile. (ARTIX!? WHAT THE ACTUAL...) Hey, I can sugar coat this as some motivational "you can do it" or I can tell you the truth of what really happened. Because maybe the truth will help you in some way. Because in that moment, I found a very dark "why" and it gave me what I needed to overcome that hurdle. To any of my haters reading this... thank you. But now that I ran a mile... what next? I needed a new goal!
5K Zombie Run
I needed something to push me to the next level. So I signed up for a 5K Zombie Run. An event where you run 3.1 Miles and are periodically chased by zombies who grab flags off your belt. You only get 3 flags, each one is like a Hitpoint. As an undead slayer, the idea of running from Zombies is absurd... but what better event to be my first ever actual running event! When you set goals, they should be things you look forward to. In DragonBall Z, Goku always looked forward to fighting a bigger, stronger opponent. "Wow, he looks really strong! I cannot wait to fight him." This is how we have to be. My goal for this run was simple... I wanted to complete the whole thing at a good speed without stopping. I trained by running at the gym-- but, LOL, I was not prepared for those Zombie sprints. Each sprint took so much out of me! Those were not Walking Dead Zombies, they were some sprinting 28 days later zombies! At the 80% mark I had to walk a bit... it was only for like 20 seconds, but I was so mad at myself. I had a goal... I was so close to completing it, but I let myself down. So I ran to the finish line through the horde of surprise little kid zombies at the end of the run (there were like 20 of them ambushing runners!) then I stewed and yelled at myself in my head for a while. It is ok to be mad at yourself. But not for too long. Just get it out of your system and then do the thing. You know, the "Battle on!" thing. Which is exactly what I did. I immediately signed up for the next 5K race. Which happened to be just a few days away on Thanksgiving morning.
The Turkey Ending
When remembering this story, please note that distance running is (or was) literally my absolute worst skill. When building my real life RPG character, I put 0 skill points in running. This story is to illustrate what it really takes to achieve a huge goal... and how you can actually do it by starting small and building up to bigger and bigger things. If I was trying to sound cool I would brag about how I punched through concrete for a black belt test. But I never had difficulty punching or kicking... I suck at running. Or at least I did. Because at that Thanksgiving Turkey 5K... I FINISHED WITHOUT STOPPING! I was barely even tired. What made that victory even sweeter... as a completely surprise I ran into Charfade (artist from EpicDuel/BioBeasts) in the middle of the run and we finished it together! What were the odds of that happening?
So what really happened here? Well, it depends on how you look at it. Turns out that Zombie 5K was not a failure at all... it was like super training that made me so much stronger-- it made that Turkey 5K run become easy mode for me. Everything you do is training for the next thing you do. Which is why you should never just "quit". Even if you do "run out of gas" and slow down, or take a break... or whatever the correct metaphor for your goal is... get moving again as soon as you can. Remember when I was running the mile and said I quit? I did not quit and leave.. I just walked the rest. Even if you are not winning, you are training. You are training for a win that you might not even know is coming yet!
Achieving big goals by being proud of your progress
When thinking about the big goal, you must recognize how far you have come even more than how far left you have to go. Most people are their own worst enemies... winning the battle in your head is often harder than just simply doing what needs to be done. Seeing your progress is inspiring... and feeling that progress motivates you to keep going until you reach the finish line. I mean, for example, just look far I have come at running! I hated it and could not even run a mile when I started.... and now I really like it and it is a breeze to run well over 5K at a good speed. That is pretty amazing in such a short time.
RPGs have it backwards. It only gets easier from here.
I think RPG stat curves do it backwards. You know what I mean? In RPGs it starts off easy and gets harder. In real life, it normally starts off hard and gets easier. Sorta of like how the original Mario Brothers game... the better you do, the easier it is to do even better. We humans (if you are human....) are very adaptable. Lift heavy things and your muscles will get bigger. Run and your leg muscles will get stronger. Play lots of Chess and your mind will get better at chess. Draw more... well, you get the idea.
More than one way to run a Marathon
A Marathon is 26.2 miles. The normal idea of a Marathon is to run the whole thing in one go... but maybe your goal can be done incrementally. Do a little each day. I could easily run 1 mile a day and achieve the same outcome in less than a month (26 days). Or run 3 miles a day and do it in only 9 days. Habits are powerful. Imagine what you could accomplish if you just did a little bit per day. If you ever wanted to write a book for example... if you just wrote one page per day, you would have one and a half books done by the end of the year. Laken creates one character concept drawing a day for the past... oh my gosh it has been a while. He now has a huge library of fascinating original characters for a game. Creating a little habit of doing something for just a little bit each day can create a really powerful result. Or... for a weird example, remember Poppy's channel? She has been regularly posting videos-- and because she is so consistent in being "unusual", she has gotten attention and was just recently covered by Pewdiepie O_O which very likely boosted her subs through the roof.
In conclusion....
You (not the other person reading this, just you) can succeed at any massive goal project. The only hard part of doing anything you want... is actually starting. And when you start, you need to fight through "the suck". When you have your breakthrough and level up, you need to find a more challenging opponent (like Goku would). You really need to appreciate each success. By focusing on how far you have come, you will be more inspired to do the next step. (Unlike people who just sit there and psych themselves out about how much there is left to do... which only depresses themselves into not doing anything at all.) Because we know in real life, the more we do, the easier it starts getting. And we do not have to do it all at once... we can do something every day which overtime will add up to a huge result. Finally, and most importantly... everyone messes up, makes mistakes, and gets knocked down. You are always either winning... or training. So remember, when the going gets tough-- BATTLE ON!
P.S. I forgot I was logged into the game while I was writing this... sorry for being AFK to everyone who came to see me!
P.P.S. Is it just me... or have the design notes transcended to an entirely new level?
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