I want to talk about game design and process a bit.
I have been working on FAL: Adventures in the Materiosphere (AitM) for a couple years now, on and off, and thought that it would be a fast sort of book. I know the system, the setting, etc. That has not proved to be true however. I wanted to do something unique with AitM, to bring a new idea to space travel and create what I feel is a unique take on space travel. I also wanted this to really fit and feel like something that would make sense in Far Away Land. Without giving too much away, I didn’t just want FTL or hyperspace or lazer guns. There is nothing wrong with any of that, but I wanted something that really felt like FAL.
I’m at that point now (purposely vague here).
It’s all written out and elegant and something unique and fitting for FAL. It borrows from other things of course, but I feel like it is a new take on some old ideas. However, the process to get where I am required multiple revisions of text, time spent testing and considering all of the pieces of not only the system, but how it fits into the setting of FAL. One example of this process was the artwork that will never even be seen in the book. I’ve drawn a total of (because I counted them this morning) 72 ships that I thought would be used in AitM. (These were multiple styles and variations – not 72 unique ships.) Turns out, I’m going to use none of them. The aesthetic and feel of all of that artwork no longer fits the vision. Do I feel like its wasted time? Maybe not wasted, I mean, I enjoyed drawing all of those ships and coming up with those ideas. Would it be nice to have just done them and know they will work? Of course. But my process doesn’t work that way. So I don’t feel like I’ve wasted time. I feel like I’ve had to go through all of this to get where I am in the creative, art, writing process. Its troubleshooting, man. Figuring out what works and what doesn’t. It’s a journey of discovery. You start with an idea and sometimes it changes and grows and requires revision (lots and lots of revision).
I’m in a good place with the project though. I really like the setting of AitM. It adds a huge chunk to the lore of the FAL Universe. It is a foundational piece of this massive project that is FAL. It really lays out the entirety of the FAL Universe and sets the stage for additional materials (like the Guide to the Spheres).
So, the point of all this is this. If you are working on a creative project, you can’t rush it. You can’t force it. You can’t be rigid and unchanging. Flexibility in thought and scope and understanding is key. You build and discover the gaps, you fill the gaps, you see the pieces that fit and the pieces that don’t and you attempt to realign and rethink and rework. You stick with it. You don’t give up. You push through. Eventually you get to a place. It might not be the place you thought at first. I usually find it’s a better place because it wasn’t just me but a vast amount of experience and thought and writing and art and voices that came together to make something new.
Stick with what you love. Do it. Keep at it. Accept failure. Move past. Recognize your victories but don’t get too comfortable. The world can be shitty. Make cool stuff.