Reflecting on Early Refinement

I'll begin today by addressing an issue which may or may not convey well in these heavily-curated blog posts I write: this project I'm working on is quite ambitious, especially considering the circumstances I find myself in.

Right now, I am a solo developer on Synzza Star. At the moment I am only focused on the battle system, and even then from just a pure functionality standpoint (as should be somewhat obvious from the bare-bones programmer-art GIFs I've been making) - but even then, Synzza Star is not my only engagement, and the system I have endeavored to create is unique enough that I can't exactly leverage many existing designs without at some point modifying them to better suit my needs. To be sure, there are may smaller technical problems along the way which do already have answers, and I'm not unwise enough to ignore existing literature that can help me from that angle. Even so, the task of figuring out how to coordinate all of the potential technical aspects, which to include and which to forgo, what lines of inquiry to pursue and when to recognize a fruitless spelunk into a deep rabbit hole for what it is, all lies on me currently.

I don't mean to mislead you; as demanding as this is, I also find it quite rewarding and exciting to be making this game, and working alone means I can afford to take some time out to think carefully about how I want this project to take shape in the future, without needing to worry about negotiating potential changes in direction with other team members. Clearly that isn't to say I won't need a team eventually, but I appreciate the autonomy while it lasts.

This line of thinking serves as the backdrop to my next post about the most recent technical work on Synzza Star. It's less of a push for immediate forward progress and more an attempt to regroup and rethink my current approach.

In the post you're reading now, I'm providing this look into my thought process as a note of both encouragement and of warning, to myself as much as to the reader. I've given myself some time to, as I see it, improve the foundation on which my future progress will be built. That kind of work is definitely important, but I also believe it's critical that I only gave myself some time to do this - not limitless time. Following the road to perfection for too long leads to nothing but malaise, disillusionment, disappointment, and frustration - that is to say, be very careful taking time to refine and rethink when the project is only just starting to make meaningful progress, as is the case right now with Synzza Star. Making healthy strides forward early and often is a necessity for any project which expects to survive well into the future, and the future is when more opportunities for reflective improvement will sprout naturally.

Take a look at my next post for more technical details on how I pursued this goal. I prefer to leave these philosophical monologues to their own posts so as not to pollute the more formal discussions. Otherwise, take care, and stay tuned for future updates.

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