Life in Comparison

I am an artist.

No, not a sculptor. Not a painter, architect, or composer.

I am an artist, and my compositions are games. That is, I am a game designer, programmer, and animator.

Though it requires skills on opposite sides of the universe, they really aren't that far apart, an artist and a "game maker".

With drawing, for example, you start with a big blank page. Then you begin adding larger details, very lightly at first, then darker. People can't really tell what it is at this point. But then you start on the smaller details that make your picture unique. Your artwork begins to take shapes, scarred by erase marks and redos. Once you have the skeleton, you start adding color, and making the artwork come alive. It starts to become appealing as you add in the clouds, the atmosphere, maybe a stream with a waterfall, some trees, and possibly even a quiet log cabin.

In comparison, with programming, you start with a big blank empty space. You then begin with the basic outline, the biggest parts of the game, shaping your enviroment, your cube. At first, the big empty cube just looks like a box to onlookers. But then, you begin adding minor details, making tweaks here and there. You fill your box with life, just waiting to jump out and show the world what it feels like. Then you add all the details, the immersion, the beautiful interaction, the realistic graphics, the world that people can relate to, and then you add that last detail, the thing that makes your game unique and perfect.

Both aren't so different, in more ways then one.

Both require an extreme amount of patience, because all the small details are messy, and need to be refined.

Both creators see what they want as an end product before they even begin. Everyone else sees a blank paper as a blank paper. But artists see it as potential, and a willingness to create and expand on what the world sees in that paper.

Both have an audience to view and admire their work, in different ways, but also in similar. A cartoonist might attract a younger artist, and a manga artist might attract young adults. The same is true with game designers, as they look for those who will enjoy the game, and go after them.

Although the two may seem worlds apart, they really aren't so far away after all.