so today i was reading a blog post that some person on twitter linked. because that’s what i do instead of blogging much these days — i click on links in tweets. this is what life has become.
anyway, my first reaction was, ‘oh boy, another person who’s made an infographic that claims to be insightful merely by being visual.’ it’s a cute chart, sure, but clever charts are just how designers write essays, because they hate words. i was ready to brush it off.
then i kept reading, and well, it’s not that. it’s actually a pretty thorough, friendly explanation of how one game designer gets more creativity out of his team. nothing groundbreaking here — we all know there’s no secret sauce beyond lots of work, a little fearlessness and a smart editor — but still, the kind of thing it’s good to read once in a while, to remind ourselves that we’re all struggling to be cleverer than we sometimes feel. if a chart or some new terminology helps, have at it. but i’ll admit, by the end i was a little bit inspired.
mostly, this struck a nerve because i’ve been feeling creatively insecure lately, like i’m a B+ guy in a C- world that’ll never catch up to the A team. a fool to be pitied, as it were. maybe i am, but i hope i’m not. or at least that with a little well-directed effort, i don’t have to be.
so as i pack tomorrow for a little short vacation/long weekend (depending on the fullness of your cup), i will be thinking of a few things: 1) how much beer i can consume over four days in atlanta, and 2) how to sharpen up by putting this blog to better use. i mean, the chart says that ideas follow from ideas, and more cycles means more green ribbons. wait, maybe i’m reading it wrong. nonetheless, maybe i can kill two birds with one stone by not wasting this space and trying to inject a little more inspiration into my day and yours.
but first the beer part.
Here here! for beer!