Who says I can't do it?

Posted by Astryl on Jan. 4, 2012, 1:35 a.m.

So, I got into an argument (Yes, and argument) again about C++ yesterday on the YoYoGames IRC.

Turns out that a bunch of misinformed muppets think that my studies in C++ and other high-level languages are a waste of time (I assume they're young enough still to think that they can make a career out of Game Maker).

But an interesting point came up in the conversation: The time it takes for a C++ developer to create a game, as opposed to the time it takes for a GM user to make the same game. The asshats I was dealing with proposed that a C++ developer on his own is only able to release a game every 2-3 years….

So last night, at approximately 20:00 hours, I started a blank Hydra project. 30 minutes later, I had what I usually have after 30 minutes of game development in GM: A platformer. Or at least, the decent beginnings of one:

Collison, animation, input, level loading. I'm much pleased.

I decided to drop my level editor idea, and instead stuck to a useful bit of advice I picked up from another local developer: "Don't make a new tool if a free tool that does the job equally well exists."

So I'm using TileStudio.

Oh yeah, I started navigating my Dev folder yesterday as well, and found this:

That's my old roguelike… except I modded it at somepoint (A different branch).

The codebase for that still frightens me. Must re-design.

Art

I sprited something late last night, in record time:

I'm sure it's full of technical inaccuracies, that Cesque, Rez and Cyrus will point out, but that got me thinking: "What is art?" (Before I saw Stevenup's blog).

And I found the answer:

"Art is a series of unplanned mistakes made in a linear fashion in order to produce a facsimile of a visual perception, real or imagined".

Oh yeah, I found another word for technically perfect art: A photograph.

>:3

Comments

MMOnologueguy 12 years, 10 months ago

Quote: o rly?
"Art is a series of unplanned mistakes made in a linear fashion in order to produce a facsimile of a visual perception, real or imagined".

Oh yeah, I found another word for technically perfect art: A photograph.
I guess music isn't art then :/

edit: also holy shit nice job with that c++ game thing

Quietus 12 years, 10 months ago

there are different ways of writing MMORPGguy, earlier composers are always more conscious than ones who have been writing for years. i used to plan everything out but you just end up getting exactly what you would expect. musicians who become more "developed" simply means they are more in touch with the unknown factor of creating.

that's the best i can put it into words at least :P

Astryl 12 years, 10 months ago

Quote:
I guess music isn't art then :/

Music is a series of planned mistakes, that sound good to our ears and hopefully sound good to other people too. [/psychological bullshit]

And thanks.

@hel, that's an interesting way to put it. I think the way it works is more of a subconscious system of iteration, where we try to correct our mistakes until they are as near to the desired result as we want it.

Cesque 12 years, 10 months ago

Right arm not very visible. Left arm too short. I'm done.

I'm glad something could come out of YYG's stupidity…

Polystyrene Man 12 years, 10 months ago

Quote:
Oh yeah, I found another word for technically perfect art: A photograph.
So… this is art?

Also, what do you mean by linear?

And why does it have to be visual? Can poetry, music, performance, film, etc. not be art?

And if art must be "facsimile," what does that make van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Dali, Pollock, etc.?

Font 12 years, 10 months ago

Cool! Go for it!

Astryl 12 years, 10 months ago

Quote:
And if art must be "facsimile," what does that make van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Dali, Pollock, etc.?
Actually, more a perception. A piece of artwork is unique to the artists viewpoint of the subject.

Picasso's work is far from 'correct', but his 'incorrectness' makes his art unique to the point of leaving a unique fingerprint on his work that allows one to identify it as his.

And run.

Oh yeah. Made a multiple room system, whereby I now have a 10x10 grid for each level, each grid position being a single 'screen'. Moving off the edge of the screen moves you into the next grid cell. Oh, and the grid wraps around. This is a piece of cake.

Polystyrene Man 12 years, 10 months ago

I promise I'm not trying to be stubborn, just trying to understand your viewpoint:

Quote:
Picasso's work is far from 'correct', but his 'incorrectness' makes his art unique to the point of leaving a unique fingerprint on his work that allows one to identify it as his.
I wasn't questioning whether Picasso is unique- my point was that his art is far from facsimile (so by that definition, it's not art). But I guess you're saying art is about perception instead?

Astryl 12 years, 10 months ago

Quote:

I wasn't questioning whether Picasso is unique- my point was that his art is far from facsimile (so by that definition, it's not art). But I guess you're saying art is about perception instead?
I'd tell you, but my mind isn't responding too well right now. Feel like I have flu. v_v

*thinks*

If I was to put this into terms I'm more familiar with (OpenGL), I'd say that the source/subject is our scene, and the artist translates it onto a two-dimensional plane (Rendering it, essentially), and simulates lighting, weight, perspective, etc.

I think, the most correct and simple statement is that Art (The visual kind) is a translation from our dimension of perception (We percieve four dimensions, but can only work with three) into a lower dimension that we are able to work with (Sculpture is 3D, Painting is 2D. I can draw a line and say it's a 1D mountain, but let's leave that alone…)

Praying Mantis 12 years, 10 months ago

I'm not understanding wholly what you mean by art being a "series of planned mistakes", but If I'm perceiving you correctly, then we have similar views.

[dribble]

I've got this inkling that what we create is not a build up of technique and procedure, but is us striving for our envisioned final product. That final product is essentially predetermined, and is how the project should turn out. Due to problems such as lack of skill, laziness, etc; we fall short of that goal. So basically; when we start something, the final product – the perfect piece – is already there, and as we progress and create that product, our mistakes in its development are instances of falling short.

Actually, a good way of looking at it would be to have a slab of stone, and to chisel away at it with the intent of creating an artwork, which is essentially pre-formulated in our minds. Any mistakes we make in our masonry (such as chipping away too much), are detrimental to the final product.

[/dribble]

Also, nice pregnant spy that you sprited.