Something that many readers and gamers might not realise is that when a creator spends all their time and energy on making something, they grow to despise it.
Art is a very complex subject that often involves imparting a little piece of your soul into everything you do, and in that moment when you finally release it into the world you feel an immense high, but also a great exhaustion. Even if you love what you’ve made, the kind of constant close contact you have when a project in development means you’re all too aware of every tiny little flaw or thing that you think you could’ve done better, had you just had the time or energy to try.
The first notification of a comment on The Brides of Anemone Beach made me feel sick. I couldn’t open it for hours. When I looked at the game I’d spent a month agonising over, all I could see was my own anxiety and disgust. I hadn’t really set out to win, so it wasn’t the fear of not winning. But I was terrified that anyone who played it would see it the same way I was; looking at just all the flaws and none of the amazing parts.
Then I finally opened the notification.
And they loved it. I was ecstatic. Never in my wildest dreams had I expected such a lovely review. It turned off those demons in my head and made me remember all the wonderful things about this game that I was so proud of making. I loved this project, I just had gotten so sick of it that I wasn’t able to remember that anymore without a bit of help.
But that’s why you need to tell creators when you love something; a lot of them are like me, only able to see everything that went wrong in the moment.
So if you have a moment, please leave a nice comment for a creator you love.
