Operation: OHR

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Words of Encouragement

By: Matt Schneider (no_shot)

  If someone came up to you and asked you if you were an artist, you'd probably say, "No way man! Picasso, Van-Gogh, Metallica, THOSE guys are artists. Me, not even close!" Ok, sure, they had some famous paintings, and Kirk Hammett sets his guitar on fire every time he solos, but I think that deep down inside, everyone here is an artist. What exactly is art? When you think of the word "art", you think of gigantic paintings, bizarre sculptures, or "Ode to Joy"...but what about RPGs? An RPG iscomposed of pictures, music, and a story...and it's interactive to boot! I'm assuming that everyonecomes to this page because they have made or are interested in making an RPG, therefore you are anartist. "What?!" you say, "But...but MY rpg (looks/will look) like crap compared to some of the game-gods I've seen!" Come gather round, o ye of little faith, for I have some words of encouragement...

  A good buddy of mine (who's had his paintings sold all over the world) and I were having a few beers and we got talking about art. He told me that it all starts with a single line. You make that line, then you make another one. If you can step back and say, "That looks good, I'm impressed!" then you've created a work of art. A painting does not have to cover the domed roof of a church to be a good painting, nor does an RPG have to have state-of-the art graphics and sound, or a story the size of a novel to be a good game. Ask yourself what you are trying to accomplish. Don't strive to impress everybody, because then you have no respect for what YOU can do. Impress yourself instead.

  I am a musician. I used to get very frustrated, because whenever I tried to write a song, the lyrics sounded campy and immature, and I could never seem to express what I was truly feeling. Suddenly, one day, it occurred to me that I was trying too hard. I was confining myself to the strict formats that I had learned in school, and it wasn't allowing me to get my point across. I forgot about english class, picked up a piece of paper and a pencil, and wrote a bunch of words. To any other person, the fury I had just unleashed upon my poor defenceless piece of paper might have looked like something a crazy person would write. To me, it was a masterpiece. Right away, I burned all the plans for the game I was making, and started over. This time, I had no idea where I was going with it, and didn't care, I just drew a bunch of tiles. When I didn't feel like drawing tiles anymore, I made a bunch of maps, and then I drew a few guys and made them say stuff. Eventually, a story started to take form. The more I played with it, the better it got. It's amazing how much better things turn out when you stop trying to control everything you do and just let things take their course.

  Like any form of art, making games takes skill, but anyone can create something that will captivate an audience. The amount of skill you posess does not determine your status as an artist. Being a good painter or drafter does not make you a good artist, nor does being able to play every Led Zeppelin or Metallica riff make you a good musician. Good artists are able to be themselves and create works that reflect their personality. Don't try to be something you're not just to live up to someone else's expectations. If you truly have the desire to make an RPG, then go ahead and make something that YOU can be happy with. Some may like it, some may not, but I guarantee you will earn people's respect.