Man, was I burned out.
I hadn’t really realized just how much until we got to Greece and I spent a few days doing nothing. Well, not precisely nothing: getting back into shape by walking to the sea every day (40 minutes downhill), swimming (usually about an hour), walking back (50 minutes uphill). Enjoying the sun and the warmth and the food. Reading – I had missed reading so much. I read all four books of The Earthsea Quartet and both parts of The Sarantine Mosaic and it was such a joy to be immersed in words and stories again.
It was beautiful and extremely necessary.
I did do some work: the children’s book went from vague idea to detailed outline and then to quite-a-bit-has-been-written. I am extremely pleased with the results. I must admit I was quite scared of somehow not being able to get back into writing in Greek; my primary creative language has been English for a very long time now. But I managed to find a story and a style that I enjoy and that I would have enjoyed as a child.
Our trip to Athens was intense – we crammed an amazing amount of stuff into those very short three days. Highlights include meeting Mr. and Mrs. Gnome of Gnome’s Lair and a number of other really nice people, and spending nine hours walking around Athens seeing the sights. I never cease to be moved by the elegance and beauty of the remains of the ancient world, and outraged by the braindead fanaticism that destroyed it.
Ideas kept coming to me like mad. Games, stories, projects. I daydreamed of using RPG Maker, of the next book I’m going to write, of potential screenplays. I felt the burning desire to make things. I’d missed that.
Coming back to Germany was, as usual, a bit of a shock. We’ve sworn to keep up the energy, though, getting up early each morning, getting in some walking, and working better rather than more. Those things, I’ve discovered, are particularly important. If you spent all day in front of the computer, you’re going to get depressed and your body is going to start falling apart. You have to get out of the house, move, breathe. And if you’re your own boss, you need to tell yourself to stop working at some point, or the quality of your work is going to go down the drain – and remember that stress and tiredness accumulate.
A variety of smaller, non-game projects will start being released soon, I hope. Some of them are new ideas, others are old ones that were delayed by the silliness of everyday life. My main focus, of course, is going to be Catroidvania. I need to finish that soon, because we need to pay the bills. But other things are in the making, the first of which will be released next week.
I hope you’ve all been well, and that as the miserable winter months descend upon us, you will find things on this website that will lift your spirits.
Oh, and our cat’s coming home today. I can’t wait to see the little monster again.
