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Help! Losing the enthusiasm.

Started by mr_lou, 13:59, 15 November 18

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Widukind

Mr_Lou, the fading away of our energy for worldly things isn't CPC specific, I'm afraid. It's just that we're getting older...

Over the years we usually learn more and more. So we've to share our time with an increasing number of things. Also by getting older we tend to see through worldly things more and more. At one point their attraction fades away because we know them just too well.

For example, when we were young and played some nice CPC game, its "Artificial Intelligence" (AI) looked like pure magic to us. Today, some decades later, having done own "AI" in video-games or having read about how it works, we can usually only smile at "AI" because it's always the same patterns, made more complex over the years but still there's absolutely no intelligence in it. And so it can't really surprise us anymore.

It's similar with films and many other things: the more you know about behind-the-scenes stuff (special effects etc), the less a new film manages to capture your imagination. Exceptions confirm the rule.

So far nothing new. That's life.

Since some time I handle retro video games as a piece of art which also fascinates by looking at and thinking about it – and about the artist who created it. This helps to grasp the strength of mind and immortal spirit behind it, like all the love, enthusiasm and handcraft skill which the developer put into his game.

We had the luck to experience the beginning of video gaming, where one man (or two) could form his creation exactly according to his imagination (Chuckie Egg, Elite, Tau Ceti, Head over Heels, Manic Miner, Spindizzy, etc).

By looking at modern video games we see that the area's beginning was absolutely unique and won't ever exist again – except in our memories which continue to live in the emulation of retro things.

To think and read and talk with other retro art lovers about this, and also by teaching the retro treasure to our next generation, can keep this art alive – and inspire our own enthusiasm.

Targhan

One thing that keeps motivating me is the CPC music. I simply love it so much. Listening to Roland Radio while coding certainly helps motivating me.
Targhan/Arkos

Arkos Tracker 2.0.1 now released! - Follow the news on Twitter!
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skylas

I believe that having enthusiasm cannot be an obligation or a must.Cpc is for most of us a hobby (as i suppose that nobody cannot earn money or do it as work). There are many ways for each person to have fun an enjoyment- other watch movies, playing playstation, go for walk, meet friends etc.
These ways  of enjoyment vary from time to time- the same happens for cpc.There is no problem to lose enthusiasm for some period - maybe it will come back later - or, at any case, if you find something else more enjoyable, there is no problem. As for cpc gaming, there are many old and new games to try, but, as for every game, maybe you can get bored, but this happens for all games. But for programming, creativity is something that is getting bored more difficult. Because making a program is, although hard, but can give very high degree of satisfaction and enjoyment. I understand that most people dont pay attention on retro games and creating, but thats why the forum exists, and, beyond all, when creating something and you are satisfied with it, you dont need necessarily <applause> from others- you and yourself have the satisfaction of having created something unique for you- and thats all that counts!
Web: https://amstradsakis.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmstradSakis
My programs (only BASIC):
RETRO-LOADSHEET ON AMSTRAD CPC!
PENALTY KICKS!
CAPITAL QUIZ!
CAPITAL QUIZ 2! (Reverse edition)
HEADS OR TAILS (ΚΟΡΩΝΑ/ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ)
HEART CHASER 1,2,3!
BARBOUTI!
STROOPIE!
BUDRUMI!
ART WAR!
BATTLE OF LENINGRAD!
AMSTABOO!
RODOLFO SKYLARRIENTE!

AMSDOS

I get away with it because I'm single with no family. I work out in the Environment 5 days a week and the past 15 years I'd commit Volunteer time in the Environment, though I've cut some of that out because working for 5 Days in tough terrain takes a toll on the body and with age it's not going to get any easier. Just to add to all that, I've packed up one of the groups I was running for reasons people were too busy with their families, so I've Drafted a Letter which addresses the broader community.
But I've only written simple stuff since I impose the use of CPC Languages and Firmware in my programmes (so I haven't done anything like Fitzroy and the Infestation). The BASIC 10-Liners Compo was a good motivation for me to come up with some stuff and since it set a deadline, it was a way of saying that I'd have to get something done, though I could see where that too would be a problem for busy people. In my case the most enjoyable game I've written is a game which hardly took much time to write and was enjoyable to code it, so sometimes even the Technically challenging game won't necessarily be the most enjoyable.
* Using the old Amstrad Languages :D   * with the Firmware :P
* I also like to problem solve code in BASIC :)   * And type-in Type-Ins! :D

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CraigsBar

Quote from: Bryce on 14:58, 15 November 18
Or try have some kids. Your Retro time will become so rare that you will cherish every moment of it.

Bryce.


until they get hooked on "The Teddy Bear game" (Fun School) or "The Ostrich one" (Chucky Egg) and then you need 2 CPC's just to have one for yourself!


My Nathan is a good fella really!


Craig
IRC:  #Retro4All on Freenode

BSC

#30
Quote from: mr_lou on 13:59, 15 November 18
I tend to blame general lack of time. Because I still get a lot of ideas for CPC projects. I just don't have the enthusiasm to do anything about them, and I think it's because I know I don't have the available time such projects require. And I guess that's how you slowly lose touch.

[...]

Is anyone else experiencing anything like this? Is it just me? What's going on? Am I finally just growing up? Argh! I hope not!

Yeah, I can relate to that. Lacking time is a huge factor for me as well. When I started CPCing, I was merely a kid and had - compared to today - zero responsibilities, apart from school. Someone here wrote that you learn and learn more things as you grow older and that's true for me, as well. Apart from the biggest factor, which is family (I want to spend as much spare time as possible with my wife and son), I am interested in much more things than I was in the 80s. And here you start setting priorities. Working on the CPC has lost urgency over the years, but I only sometimes regret that I probably will never realize all the cool ideas I have in my head. You can't do all the things you can think of, anyway. So my way of dealing with it is: let it go. And don't judge. It's not a bad thing, it's life.
** My SID player/tracker AYAY Kaeppttn! on github **  Some CPC music and experiments ** Other music ** More music on scenestream (former nectarine) ** Some shaders ** Some Soundtrakker tunes ** Some tunes in Javascript

My hardware: ** Schneider CPC 464 with colour screen, 64k extension, 3" and 5,25 drives and more ** Amstrad CPC 6128 with M4 board, GreaseWeazle.

zack4mac

I know where your coming from but dont give up, mix it up because variety is the spice of life.  There are always new things in life I'm learning to cook healthy foods after realising how comfortable elasticated trouser braces are!  ;D  and there is loads of stuff on you tube to see, I watch the 8 bit guy, The Spectrum show and techmoan! all groovy stuff :P


Dagger

I'm also in the same boat. I have found I have not touched my collection in months as been playing around with other stuff. I check the forum each day for latest news etc but that's it. I have a very large collection in the spare room, over 1850 pieces of software, 6 boxed Amstrads, hardware mags etc and I keep thinking of how I could make use of that room that it is taking up :). Really don't know what to do as it would take me ages to sell this off so that defeats the object of freeing up room anytime soon for other projects. Also the worrying factor is the life span of all them game cassettes.
Life's a bitch. You marry one or two then you die !

WiltshireWizard

#33
[quo

mr_lou

#34
So I took a break from the forum too. Only back now because of a PM I had to reply.
Still no real interest in the CPC...  :-X   (only tried RetroPie for the first time on my old Rasberry Pi v1 - but Amstrad emulation was way too slow).

But I do have another interest: Blu-Play development.
Currently making a game inspired by an old Philips Videopac G7000 game. And previously ported another old game of ours to Blu-Play.
For some reason this platform is extremely intriguing to me: Code in (old) Java => run on PS3 + PS4 + XB1 + the new PS5 + the new Xbox Scarlett. What's not to like?
It comes with lots of limitations too, which only adds more fun to the challenge.
We all have our puzzles to pass time with. This is mine apparently. (for the moment anyway)
(anyone got suggestions for other weird retro'ish extremely niche platforms?)

Quote from: WiltshireWizard on 23:14, 21 May 19Maybe writing that book was your catharsis. Maybe all those emotions that were invested in those memories, which you had clearly deliberately and lovingly preserved, finally had a release in a more physical and tangible form, i.e the writing of the book and the laying down, in physical form, of those memories and feelings. They finally had somewhere to go and then were let loose upon the world. And now, afterwards, they no longer have that hold and power over you as they once did...

That does sound about right. I thought about this too.
I've also considered, maybe the lack of interest in the CPC is because I miss(ed) someone to work with. I.e. do projects with.
But that can't be it, because I'm pretty much alone with my Blu-Play interest too, and that doesn't change the interest. But maybe I'll lose interest for this platform again as soon as I've achieved my goals with it.  :)  I suspect that'll be a while though.

260Z

Quote from: ervin on 01:33, 16 November 18
I also go through ups and downs regarding this sort of thing.
I usually do a few months of coding, and I think about the project all the time.
(Probably a bit too much, if you were to ask my wife!)  :laugh:
......


Mmmmm..... I just showed this statement to my better half, and got that look from her... Lol


Put it this way, my house is currently littered with random amstrad firmware printings, twelve months ago it was carburetor rebuilding and tuning  :)


Like others have stated, I think you need to embrace the idea of walking away for indefinite periods of time.


I use to let it bother me once, that I'd spend all this money and time doing something, only to walk away for months or years at a time. I could list off half a dozen different interests I have, and how I haven't attended to some for years. But I now embrace this as a positive thing.


I didn't even think about the cpc for 4 years, then recently returned to find all these awesome new developments. I find it mentally stimulating and refreshing to return to something after a long break.


Cheers,
Rob

AMSDOS

Quote from: mr_lou on 08:08, 30 June 19
So I took a break from the forum too. Only back now because of a PM I had to reply.
Still no real interest in the CPC...  :-X   (only tried RetroPie for the first time on my old Rasberry Pi v1 - but Amstrad emulation was way too slow).

That's our loss and I hope it's not a permanent thing, though for the Community we may just have to accept it unfortunately  :(


Going back and reading what you wrote earlier, I could understand the frustration of having ideas for games and then having other ideas flood in, for myself it's having an idea for a game as well as having a couple of other ideas, the trouble is the one I find promising I'm unsure if I can code it in 10-Lines of BASIC (which is next year now), though it may seem to simple for the other Amstrad Compo later this year and in the meantime I'm playing around with BBC BASIC for the CPC and playing around with some other Type-Ins and I still haven't got around to improving the Kinky Kong game from Sensational Games For the Amstrad which was just doing some stuff I thought could be improved on and I was working on that back in April!  ???
* Using the old Amstrad Languages :D   * with the Firmware :P
* I also like to problem solve code in BASIC :)   * And type-in Type-Ins! :D

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Targhan

QuoteStill no real interest in the CPC...

In case you're interested, there are many people who're looking for musicians. I get many proposals, from various platforms. Can't accept them all. Maybe it would be a way back?
Targhan/Arkos

Arkos Tracker 2.0.1 now released! - Follow the news on Twitter!
Disark - A cross-platform Z80 disassembler/source converter
FDC Tool 1.1 - Read Amsdos files without the system

Imperial Mahjong
Orion Prime

mr_lou

Quote from: Targhan on 23:00, 01 July 19
In case you're interested, there are many people who're looking for musicians. I get many proposals, from various platforms. Can't accept them all. Maybe it would be a way back?

Thanks for the offer.
I had to think long and hard about why doing CPC music doesn't spark the interest, and found a mix of various reasons.

I created IndieGameMusic.com partly because I got tired of doing project work for projects that got cancelled, or the author didn't like the track I made.
With IGM I can create any style I want, when I'm in the mood and have time, in my own pace, and the track can then be offered as it is - take it or leave it.

I can feel that time is also a big factor. Me and my better half are currently trying to start up our own business. This requires a lot of time, and it's clear that this is a big part of the reason why I give up on sparetime projects right away. Knowing it's impossible upfront simply prevents the interest.

One still has to have some enjoyment of course, so small slow-paced projects shouldn't be killed. My current Blu-ray game project is a very small and slow-paced one. Just enough to keep the mood up.  :)
Though I admit, when I'm stuck with a code issue, I feel it's taking too long.

What I could do for CPC stuff though, is to add one or two CPC music filetypes on IndieGameMusic.com, and put some of my tracks there. Or... Arkos Tracker files are supported on several platforms, right? So.... maybe it just belongs among the tracker files, rather than be a CPC specific format.

This might also be interesting for other CPC musicians, in that there might be some pocket money to be earned. Tracks on IGM are typically free for freeware games, and cheap for commercial games - and the CPC does have commercial games, so...
And if you render mp3/ogg versions of the track, then gamedevs on other platform could also use them. (And chip music is popular).

(Many gamedevs have shown interest for the MIDI files I made for the JavaME platform, for example. Because I rendered them to mp3).

But doing this still wouldn't change my own CPC productivity drastically. I do think though, that it might result in more CPC music from me. But all is relative of course, and I would need to not be the only one adding these CPC tracks to IGM then.

These days though, Amiga MOD files have had a bigger interest. Just today I've had yet another payed request for several of my older Amiga MOD files. For some reason gamedevs on various platforms like these files. So obviously I've uploaded all of my MOD files now.   :)  Turns out that was a good idea.

I actually have been thinking about a CPC music project lately - but a BASIC one. Mainly an idea for an effect that can only be done programmatically (which in my book means BASIC, because ASM/C is too tricky for me). But again, lack of time + knowing the amount of interest in the community won't be high = no go.

Thoughts about adding Arkos Tracker files to IndieGameMusic.com?

Targhan

QuoteThoughts about adding Arkos Tracker files to IndieGameMusic.com?

The idea is good, but this is not for me, sorry! I only compose when asked to, or when I have projects on my own. I guess people know me as a musician, and as the Arkos Tracker author, so I got offers quite often, I personally don't need (and don't have time) to post music for not-yet-existing projects.
Targhan/Arkos

Arkos Tracker 2.0.1 now released! - Follow the news on Twitter!
Disark - A cross-platform Z80 disassembler/source converter
FDC Tool 1.1 - Read Amsdos files without the system

Imperial Mahjong
Orion Prime

BSC

#40
Quote from: mr_lou on 05:43, 02 July 19
I actually have been thinking about a CPC music project lately - but a BASIC one. Mainly an idea for an effect that can only be done programmatically (which in my book means BASIC, because ASM/C is too tricky for me). But again, lack of time + knowing the amount of interest in the community won't be high = no go.

That sounds interesting - at least to me! And if it's interesting enough, I could even help with doing it in Z80.
So, if you don't mind, I would like to hear more about it.
** My SID player/tracker AYAY Kaeppttn! on github **  Some CPC music and experiments ** Other music ** More music on scenestream (former nectarine) ** Some shaders ** Some Soundtrakker tunes ** Some tunes in Javascript

My hardware: ** Schneider CPC 464 with colour screen, 64k extension, 3" and 5,25 drives and more ** Amstrad CPC 6128 with M4 board, GreaseWeazle.

BSC


Quote from: mr_lou on 08:08, 30 June 19
But that can't be it, because I'm pretty much alone with my Blu-Play interest too, and that doesn't change the interest. But maybe I'll lose interest for this platform again as soon as I've achieved my goals with it.   I suspect that'll be a while though.


No, you are not :) This Blu-Play thing sounds very interesting, I think I'll have a closer look in autumn (when I am naturally more inclined to spend my evenings at home).
** My SID player/tracker AYAY Kaeppttn! on github **  Some CPC music and experiments ** Other music ** More music on scenestream (former nectarine) ** Some shaders ** Some Soundtrakker tunes ** Some tunes in Javascript

My hardware: ** Schneider CPC 464 with colour screen, 64k extension, 3" and 5,25 drives and more ** Amstrad CPC 6128 with M4 board, GreaseWeazle.

mr_lou

#42
Quote from: Targhan on 10:09, 02 July 19
The idea is good, but this is not for me, sorry! I only compose when asked to, or when I have projects on my own. I guess people know me as a musician, and as the Arkos Tracker author, so I got offers quite often, I personally don't need (and don't have time) to post music for not-yet-existing projects.

mkay, I think I'm gonna go ahead and do this though.
And then I'm gonna load all of my StarKos files into Arkos Tracker 2 and export as AKG to get things started.

As far as I understand AKG is "the" format that can be used on all supported platforms, right?
I need one format to offer for all, before it's interesting.
Isn't that the way to go about it?

EDIT: After chatting here and there on IRC, I've learned that the assembler source that Arkos Tracker 2 exports doesn't work on all platforms.
So I'm just gonna use the AKS format instead, and let gamedevs do their own conversions / exports.

arkive

#43
It's quite normal to have a burnout phase, especially when you have been involved in something for very long. It probably varies from person to person but for me these are cyclical - I got periods of being totally into this or that while ignoring something else, then going back to it and so on and on.

My pure-retro phase has been on for nearly 2 years now, but before that I spent over a year tweaking a modern PC rig and catching up with the latest games. It probably also helps that despite my strong ZX/Amiga background I also enjoy exploring all the other micros. Who'd've thunk all these years ago there would be couple of Ataris on my shelf and that I will enjoy them greatly? ;)

So, don't worry about it too much and come back when you feel like it.

Targhan

QuoteEDIT: After chatting here and there on IRC, I've learned that the assembler source that Arkos Tracker 2 exports doesn't work on all platforms
@mr_lou  Sorry, I missed that post. It is wiser to spread the AKS file, but exported AKG file should sound the same. However, even an AKS may sound different when you change the target platform. As the PSG frequency change, pitch effects aren't exactly the same, and the hardware envelope too. So a bit of tweaking may be necessary.

Plus, it is indeed wiser to spread the AKS and not an AKG because users may want to use another format (AKY, LW, AKM).
Targhan/Arkos

Arkos Tracker 2.0.1 now released! - Follow the news on Twitter!
Disark - A cross-platform Z80 disassembler/source converter
FDC Tool 1.1 - Read Amsdos files without the system

Imperial Mahjong
Orion Prime

mr_lou

Quote from: Targhan on 22:06, 30 September 19
@mr_lou  Sorry, I missed that post. It is wiser to spread the AKS file, but exported AKG file should sound the same. However, even an AKS may sound different when you change the target platform. As the PSG frequency change, pitch effects aren't exactly the same, and the hardware envelope too. So a bit of tweaking may be necessary.

Plus, it is indeed wiser to spread the AKS and not an AKG because users may want to use another format (AKY, LW, AKM).

I don't know exactly what the problem was, according to this dude. I just know he wrote his own converter, and then it was a simple matter of just releasing the AKS instead of the AKG. Not a problem for me.
He said he'd been in contact with you though. Sorry I can't remember who it was, but the platform was Atari ST. I've been chatting with a million people about various audio stuff on many different platforms these past few days.

WiltshireWizard

#46
end it

MacDeath

#47
I was also losing interest in this  hobby...
wife, job, Archery, passing time...

then a freaking huge RetroParty such as Alchimie13 happened and here it goes again.

It is important to actually meet in real life other peopels with same hobby, but who are also genuinely interesting on many other topics.
Having at least a Pair of big reunions per year is helping to motivate creation and involvement.

Gryzor

@mr_lou , I recently read your book (on my Kindle, worked perfect). It got really interesting for me because I could see the processes that went into writing it and I could really relate with lots of stuff in there.

What I wanted to say, however, is this: that was an exhaustive dump of memories and thoughts, and -I guess- quite cathartic. So it's not unusual to feel the way you did/do; I'd say it's to be expected, rather.

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