Mod authoring motivation - encouragement needed

[ericp07]

Hello,

 

My joinable NPC mod currently hangs in limbo, as I've temporarily lost my motivation and inspiration for writing, and this has me greatly concerned. I've hit a wall with dialogue (wrote a couple preliminary exchanges between Meleryn and a couple BioWare NPCs, and several small bits with the PC), and haven't touched any part of the mod for a couple weeks or so. Every day that passes without my doing any work on the mod causes me more concern, so I appeal to the modding community here for any insights and advice you may have through your own experiences on regaining motivation and inspiration. Were I to wrap up the mod right now, it would be functional, but both the dialogue and ToB content would be sorely lacking, and I don't want to submit it for consideration till the loose ends have been tied up nicely.

 

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to reading some response to this sometime soon.

 

Happy modding,

Eric

[DavidW]

What I do in such situations is put it completely aside for a while (weeks or more) and do something completely different. After a while, the bits that are boring or frustrating you will become less boring, and you'll feel like picking it up again. (And if not, don't.) This is a hobby, ultimately: there's no point doing it unless you're enjoying it.

[the bigg]

I'll echo DW on the fact that you have no obligations whatsoever modding and don't gain any RL benefit out of modding (unlike modding Source/Quake/Unreal, which looks nice on your CV), so you shouldn't really force yourself to mod if you don't feel like to.

 

Of course, creating any mod can take months or years, and you're bound to lose motivation at some point. My way to get back on track is to stay a bit without dealing with the games, and then play through the games.

[theacefes]

I'll echo DW on the fact that you have no obligations whatsoever modding and don't gain any RL benefit out of modding (unlike modding Source/Quake/Unreal, which looks nice on your CV), so you shouldn't really force yourself to mod if you don't feel like to.

 

Actually the modding stuff I showed the guys at my studio benefited me quite a bit when I got my job.

[Sister Vigilante]

This is a very personal thing, but I always find that when I'm losing motivation, it means I need to shake things up a bit; consider a new angle, add something, even take away something that's obstructing progress. I totally agree though that it's no good forcing it.

[jastey]

My motivation goes in waves, if it's there I write half the mod in one week, when it's gone I need months for the next dialogue. It gives me a bad conscience, but there is just no use in forcing oneself: It's not a job where I am bound to a fixed release date and have to hand in whatever unsatisfying result I made, but a time-unrestricted hobby that should be fun. In a way I enjoy being able to spend a month for one dialogue until I am really content with it. It's a nice change in comparison to job life.

What I did twice the last months is that I took out content if I realized it's blocking me. Once I did not implement a quest idea for Ajantis BG1 after sitting in front of it for approx. 3 months, not being able to bring it on the screen. I cut it out so then I was able to finish the mod. If motivation hits me I could still add the quest in a later version.

[ericp07]

Thank you, everyone The main issue with me is the same as it's been since I turned my attention to dialogue: my mind just goes blank. I started at empty sheets of paper, and nothing would come to me to write. I prepared text files by category, thinking this would help me focus, but aside from copying in some descriptive text and formatting it to dialogue, I again found myself at a loss for content to add. I currently have an idea of how Meleryn and charname should strike up the conversation that reveals charname's unusual heritage, but I'm letting that stew in my mind for a while, instead of forcing it. I'll remain open to inspiration here, and write what I come up with as it comes to me. I know that a mute NPC would never go over well I do remain committed to completing this mod!

 

Happy modding,

Eric

[berelinde]

If I'm having trouble making written conversation flow, I step away from the computer. Literally. I get out the digital voice recorder and start off with a first line - any first line, related or not - and just talk into the recorder. I'll treat the talk like a banter, and just let the NPC and the PC ramble on for a while, not worrying about whether it's good, bad, or indifferent. Usually, it's pretty bad. After that, I'll play back the recording and write down what I said. Then, I'll change the parts that suck and add more PC responses for different kinds of PCs. Often, the finished product doesn't look even remotely like that original recording.

 

The hardest part is getting started. After that, it's only editing.

 

Example:

 

NPC: So, you're the child of Bhaal.

PC: Did you figure that out all by yourself?

NPC: Don't be like that. Rumors do get around.

PC: So, they're talking about me at the pub, are they?

NPC: Well, mostly, they say you're hot.

PC: And what do you think?

NPC: I think I'd rather talk about Bhaal again.

PC: I'd rather not. It's all anyone ever wants to know about.

NPC: It isn't your fault. You didn't ask for it. And you aren't a raving madman, are you?

PC: Only on Thursdays.

NPC: Ha! What a sense of humor you have!

PC: That wasn't humor.

NPC: Now you're winding me up. I know you don't run mad on Thursdays.

PC: Then why did you ask?

NPC: Why indeed?

 

After editing, this will be a lot shorter and have a lot more PC options. I would probably drop everything before "I'd rather talk about Bhaal again" and substitute something that eliminates the windup like "I don't make it my business to pry, but I heard a rumor and I want to learn if it's true. They say you're the child of Bhaal. Can we talk about it?"

 

If you want to write but don't know how to get started, that will get you past the hurdle. If your issue is that you truly don't have motivation to work on anything modding related, you're better off just playing the game until you get frustrated enough with your character not being in it to want to do something about that.

[Lava]

Well, you know Eric... when I was writing my first mod I lost my motivation. I didn't mod for something like... almost a year, and then I returned! A year (well, maybe a year and a half) I joined SHS modders Remember that modding should give you fun, it shouldn't be like "gosh, I have to wirte something... I'd rather go hiking or something". If you will see writing as a burden, then it will be visible in your dialogues Take it easy, do something that can give you inspiration, watch some movies and some kind of though will appear in your mind. Then you will start writing again

[Aion]

It's frustrating. Having all these good ideas, and nary the time or motivation to work them all out. What I do, is I work on a mod when I feel like it. None of my work is forced. If later I think my work sucks, I come back to it eventually and improve it if needed. Yes, that means sometimes I haven't worked on a mod in months, and sometimes even over a year, during a complete absence from the modding scene and/or playing the games. At other times, I'm so inspired that I write/code a mod in a week, like Coondred. He was made from scratch, just from the top of my head.

 

I have my boyfriend, I'm in a band, I have music, gigs, games, and more to spend my time on. I'm sure you do too. Go do that and come back to your mod when you feel it's time. Trust me, you'll know when it's time.

[ericp07]

Thanks so much again, gang It's so easy to get stuck on something (obsession?), blast out all sorts of ideas, then come to a screeching halt and not know how to proceed. I'll get this sorted out, one way or another, and at some point I'll at least address everything that's currently in my notes. Then, I'll be able to tell where more needs to be added, and if anything needs to be changed. Looks like a head-clearing break is just what I need. So shall it be.

 

Peace and happy autumn,

Eric