Why do you do this?

    It sounds corny as hell, but I like to think one of the main reasons I enjoy it so much is because of the idea that someone somewhere may one day play my stuff and be "entertained" by it.

    Of course that first someone is me, and I just enjoy building stuff and mechanics, like others said, but the idea that someone else may enjoy it too is just as strong.

    That's coming from someone once in marketing, who didn't want to work in it anymore, seen as marketing is anything but making something someone may enjoy.

    Today I spent 4 hours taking things that don't work and putting them together to make them work. Well, actually they still don't work, but they're halfway there. I crashed the editor a dozen times, including a hard reboot of my entire system. While doing this, two coworkers were doing the same thing and coming to the same crashes. It was a hell of a lot of fun, and I stayed late just to try to get the samn thing working before the weekend.

    Like some people say, it's the journey, not the destination.

    Looking at it with the widest angle, from the highest level... I like this job because it affords me a lot of creativity and offers me a variety of tasks day to day. Deep down I like it because I care about it.

    I hate it because of emotional investment.

    Quote from generalvivi

    Ever since i was a little kid playing supermario i have wanted to be a game maker. The passion grew stronger when i got my hands on maya and i thought i could create my first counterstike 1.5 map in it boy was i wrong

    lol i totally remember that... and I remember helping you too.

    I do it because it's a form of creative expression for me. Kinda like music is starting to become for me. I like the idea of creating a world out of your mind and carrying that idea from paper to server. I guess its the journey, but also a bit of satisfaction of creating something that I like (hopefully others will like it )

    bout sums it up for me.

    -The satisfaction of finishing AND releasing something (if someone actually plays it is less of my concern)

    -Building something and making my own thing. Ive always had a problem with following other peoples story. For example there are people who completely love star wars and completely immerse themselves in its story, why would you want to do that when you got the ability to design your own star wars?

    -Its new, unlike lots of other creative works such as paintings this form of design and art is brand new and thus very unexplored. Lots of things to explore and lots of possibilities.

    -Problemsolving is fun.

    -Escape from the real world by making my own world

    -I like to see things grow. Half the time I play RTS games just so I can spend a few hours building a huge base.

    I like telling stories. I'm not a very good mapper, and I could never finish a multiplayer map, which is pretty much everything I ever attempted.. I'm just starting into doing a single player project, and man I'm enjoying it so much more... All that really matters in a multi map is a layout, and some purty scenery(and even that is negligable.. look at iceworld! <3 johnny). But with single player, its more like writing a book or a movie. I'm suprised it took me this long to get into single player because I have always been an avid writer. I love how subtle you can be with a map, you don't have to say anything, just let the scenery and gameplay tell the whole story.

    The most frustrating thing about mapping is trying to get my quality standards and abilities to jive with each other. If I can't get something to look just right, I lose my drive to continue and the map usually(always actually) ends up unfinished.

    And its a cheap hobby.. I mean, I paid $40 for Starcraft, HL1, and $50 for HL2... That is $90 I've invested over nearly a decade of level editing and modeling(ms3d ftw), and I run a $500 computer. Can't beat that.

    Me and my brother mike used to think up video game ideas when we were in first, second, and third grade... We used to come up with these elaborate drawings of levels, items, and in more than occasion - space ships. It's always something I've liked to do, or on a minimal level - think about. It's fun. It's hard work. It's rewarding. When you finish a level, you finish it, and you feel good about it. Even if it was inspired by a previously created level, you made it your own. I'm not sure if my childhood obsession with legos had anything to do with it, but if it did... I'm sure it shows.

    Lately I haven't had time for any level design. To date, I've only completed 3 maps. I have worked on at least 6 seriously... It's tough, but every so often I come back to it and fly around in hammer's 3d view. I find myself looking at maps in DoD, and CS thinking about how the brushes look... so I think a break, for me, is needed. Plus, in my junior year of High School, I have a lot to focus on this year. Algebra II along with Acedemic Chemistry should be enough to keep me busy... I'm not the strongest math student, bu I sure do try.

    EDIT: Mapping is a skill that will be with you forever, it's like riding a bike.

    Quote from Furyo

    It sounds corny as hell, but I like to think one of the main reasons I enjoy it so much is because of the idea that someone somewhere may one day play my stuff and be "entertained" by it.

    Exactly how I feel about it. I like to "entertain" people.

    Also recieving positive feedback about your work is nice ,

    that's the stuff that really what keeps me going.

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