wake up fam, new people make games video.
i find it really interesting that he uses a deck to decide what he should work on next in the map. for some reason, i find that idea pretty compelling. maybe something like that could be done for game development… not sure how exactly though!
I saw this video today too! It really is a beautiful process and end result. I found it really endearing that they all seemed to appreciate what it was, even knowing that things could change over time they could both appreciate the current state but look forward to the future.
All the language used around it like void, dimensions, layers, etc. all felt like super compelling world-building to me. I was ready to read a whole SCP-style wiki about all the events that occurred in this world.
As for the decision making, it was very cute that he wanted it to be guided by randomness but couldn’t help adding a little personal touch to make it more compelling, thereby kinda undoing a bit of the randomness haha
Decks of cards fascinate me. I’ve been curious about this idea and looking for examples since at least 2018. Somehow, I’ve never done it myself.
Originally I considered tarot cards as a potential tool to help me as an artist. The idea was to interrupt negative creative patterns/perfectionist hyper-fixations, to help with decision making, and/or to prompt new starting places. I never gave it a solid try though, mainly because tarot was hard to connect to. I lacked knowledge of the symbolism of the cards. I may revisit it–picking a deck with art that speaks to me and giving myself permission to “destroy” the cards with my own markings and additions–inspired by Jerry’s approach.
I also discovered a very charming deck called Oblique Strategies. This is a deck made by Brian Eno, a tool he used for his own creative work and to help in the studio while producing for other bands. The deck is filled with prompts, some obtuse (#27. “Cascades”), some extremely straightforward (#56. “Do something boring”). You can draw a random one here: Oblique Strategies
What’s interesting about Jerry’s system is that I could see it as an effective tool to help with executive function issues. A deck filled with things like “drink water now”, “share an image/screenshot you made online even if it’s bad”, “touch an object on your desk that you haven’t touched in more than 4 weeks”, and “make a 10 second drawing in your sketchbook.” could aid with remembering many repeated actions or help with task initiation. And the deck can have anything in it, as long as you’re mostly willing to take the suggestion when it comes.
If you look at it from a game design perspective, the size of your deck, the type of prompts on the cards, how many cards you pull, and how often you pull them are levers you could adjust to affect the outcome of using your deck. You could even have decks for different contexts. The sitting down to be creative/productive deck vs the self care deck etc. You could even find ways to combine these all together. Honestly, I’m super inspired!
How would you use cards in your life, work, or creative projects?
Ooooh, this is cool. I drew “Don’t be frightened of cliches” when opening the page for the first time… time to run with this somehow.
The whole sentiment of just embracing some chaotic input and running with it feels super compelling, like entering a game jam and finding out what the theme is gonna be! It just leads to doing and thinking about things you normally wouldn’t, at least in my experience.