Joined: 3/2/2014
Posts: 71
Location: Colorado, USA
I love TASing, but I have many projects which I've started but never finished. Most of the time I just get bored. I'd love to see certain games done, so I'm wondering if anyone can tell how they keep up their motivation to keep going. Do you do it in chunks? Or does it really have to be a game that you've loved for years?
No game is perfect, Everything can be broken. - Whoever was on the couch with dwangoAC and Weatherton at AGDQ 2014.
Varies by person, really. I'd probably finish my entire backlog if I had a couple of people who could actually check the work out, or offer suggestions or ideas for strategies on irc and bug me about it every now and then. Given that requires knowledge of the game(s) in question though, it's quite unlikely.
Joined: 4/8/2005
Posts: 1573
Location: Gone for a year, just for varietyyyyyyyyy!!
Hi, yep2yel!
I don't TAS much these days, but for me it just happens naturally without too much effort. Often it doesn't happen at all, but I don't feel like I need to have motivation for some particular activity anyway. All is well as long as you have motivation for something. Is there some reason you want to have motivation specifically for TASing? Do you have motivation for other things?
Changing the game seems to be the easiest thing to do and often worked for me, but you may need to browse and test many games until one of them fits you. Then the TAS just happens almost by itself. I've had times when it felt impossible to TAS for some reason. Sometimes just recording the first few frames felt like hard work. Then other times it just happens.
Most of the time I just get bored.
If this happens, then it is totally okay to just let it be. Try another game or do something else entirely.
Really depends on what type of game you're doing and the length and complexity of them. I wanted to do one TAS, but could never get it off the ground due to the amount of planning and research required. Generally, I will choose to get to a specific point by the end of a session. Whether it be a level or trying to pull off some kind of glitch/trick/difficult maneuver.
Any game you TAS you absolutely have to enjoy doing. Unless it's some kind of short simple NES game, then your motivation to finish will get killed before you can finish, or if will just take months and some cases years on end. However, really loving the game is no guarantee you'll get it done, which I learned to my detriment with OoT. Given that every time a new discovery or optimization was found. We would go back and implement it. Then start throwing in having to stall for months on end for varying reasons, and it just ended up killing my motivation for TASing in general.
Lately, staying motivated has been tough for me too. It definitely helps to have other TAS projects to work on, especially of different game genres since they require a different main focus (movement optimization, luck manipulation, entertainment, etc.). If you're not motivated to do your current project, even TASing a little bit of another potential project is better than not starting that one at all. Small accomplishments can make you feel like you're being productive, and encourage motivation.
If nothing else works, I also tend to play console games in a different room until I get motivated again. It's a bonus if the game I play is an N64 or Wii game I might want to TAS someday, then I'll type up notes on speedy strats or potential glitches, and happily imagine what the finished product could look like.
There is also the option to do a TAS with someone you like. Or someone you'll have a great chance to end up liking if you didn't know him/her before.
TASing in a team can boost the motivation. You'll have someone to maybe "push" you a little and give you feedback. And you know it will be accurate feedback because that person will know how it is to TAS the game ;)
And it works both ways, you'll be a motivating teammate, too.
Working in a team is a special experience. Depending on the game, you'll maybe give each one a "role" (route planning, glitch hunting, testing, optimizing...), or TAS the same segments then compare (mini frame war), maybe TAS completely different parts then hex edit the whole thing (if the game permits it), etc...
Joined: 11/13/2006
Posts: 2822
Location: Northern California
Grincevent wrote:
There is also the option to do a TAS with someone you like. Or someone you'll have a great chance to end up liking if you didn't know him/her before.
TASing in a team can boost the motivation. You'll have someone to maybe "push" you a little and give you feedback. And you know it will be accurate feedback because that person will know how it is to TAS the game ;)
And it works both ways, you'll be a motivating teammate, too.
Working in a team is a special experience. Depending on the game, you'll maybe give each one a "role" (route planning, glitch hunting, testing, optimizing...), or TAS the same segments then compare (mini frame war), maybe TAS completely different parts then hex edit the whole thing (if the game permits it), etc...
This, absolutely. Having other people around is a major boon to motivation. Since I joined the IRC channel, I've submitted/been a part of as many runs last month than I have in my entire TASing career before that. All three of the runs I submitted on my own were runs I'd started in previous years: Splatterhouse was started in late 2012, Riddle of the Sphinx was started last year, Run Saber was actually started in mid-2011 and completely redone on BizHawk... I'm planning on at least one more in that vein, too. Talking to other people about your projects and listening to them talk about theirs is a huge game-changer.
Also, try to focus on one project at a time. If you feel you have to jump from project to project in order to "stay interested", you're just going to find twenty 1-level WIPs in your movies folders instead of 2-3 solid finished runs. Try not to announce new projects on the forums or anything. Just keep them locked away somewhere as mere ideas, maybe ask around and see if anyone's interested in helping you work on one, otherwise you'll feel obligated to finish each one. That can be its own form of motivation, yes, but it's best to keep it to one at a time.
TASvideos Admin and acting Senior Judge 💙 Currently unable to dedicate a lot of time to the site, taking care of family.
Now infrequently posting on BlueskywarmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
I have a problem with motivation myself. I just do whatever I feel like doing. But with that said, TASing and speedrunning should be an enjoyment, not a chore.
I have unfinished WIPs all over the place.
Kirby squeak squad 100% TAS? No work on that done since 2013?
Trip World TAS? Left that 2 months ago because Idk.
My Might & Magic 8 speedrun attempts? I suddenly lost the fun doing that so I'm not doing it.
People are waiting for me to work on the next Mario & Luigi TAS but I can see all the route planning, leveling and glitch execution testing involved with it that I don't want to think about it..
Viagra.
Seriously - forget motivation, I wouldn't even have the time for TASing. The internet really has deteriorated my ability to focus on one thing for days and weeks.
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11475
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
It's not about motivation, it's about having nothing else to do. Don't pay for internet for the next month and you will easily find time and interest in tasing.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
It's not about motivation, it's about having nothing else to do. Don't pay for internet for the next month and you will easily find time and interest in tasing.
Where's the upvote button? I demand an upvote button!
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Since I'm not in college yet and I have nothing else to do with my life aside from making YT videos for next month, TASing and checking in here is what I do all day... and night.
Joined: 12/8/2012
Posts: 706
Location: Missouri, USA
Sometimes, I find it effective to go to a project and resume work on it in chunks, or sections. Bursts of creativity, if you will. Then once I have, say, 700 frames worth of new content, I'll play it all back from the beginning and observe the current finished project. If I'm really enjoying what I'm seeing, I might then get another burst of inspiration and do a little bit more.
Rinse and repeat. I've actually been doing that today and so far have completed 1800+ frames worth of new input (and counting).
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9
Joined: 4/15/2013
Posts: 331
Location: In the attic
moozooh wrote:
feos wrote:
It's not about motivation, it's about having nothing else to do. Don't pay for internet for the next month and you will easily find time and interest in tasing.
Where's the upvote button? I demand an upvote button!
Makes me wish we had Smashboards' forum style, then we'd be able to 'like' posts.
Besides that, feos, how are you going to be able to upload WIPs without the internet? Hmmm?
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11475
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
EgxHB wrote:
Besides that, feos, how are you going to be able to upload WIPs without the internet? Hmmm?
This thread isn't about how to share wips :P
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Joined: 4/15/2013
Posts: 331
Location: In the attic
feos wrote:
This thread isn't about how to share wips :P
A point I forgot to make was that you wouldn't be able to, you know, read the forum, go on IRC, do research, stuff like that. Stuff that could actually be helpful, and inspiring.
It's not about motivation, it's about having nothing else to do. Don't pay for internet for the next month and you will easily find time and interest in tasing.
Where's the upvote button? I demand an upvote button!
Makes me wish we had Smashboards' forum style, then we'd be able to 'like' posts.
Besides that, feos, how are you going to be able to upload WIPs without the internet? Hmmm?
Fair enough on most parts of the forum, with exception to completed movies section. Too prone to vote downs on people who don't vote yes and vice versa.
Sometimes, I find it effective to go to a project and resume work on it in chunks, or sections. Bursts of creativity, if you will. Then once I have, say, 700 frames worth of new content, I'll play it all back from the beginning and observe the current finished project. If I'm really enjoying what I'm seeing, I might then get another burst of inspiration and do a little bit more.
Rinse and repeat. I've actually been doing that today and so far have completed 1800+ frames worth of new input (and counting).
I usually re-watch my TAS work and then close the emulator, having done nothing.
What worked for me was having a small YT channel where I could upload my progress gradually in segments. So I would finish one level, upload a video of it, and then the comments on that would help provide motivation for the next level. Given the long production time of most TASes, I feel this is a nice way to offset that wait time for prospective viewers of the finished product as well as increasing your own motivation.
And I would also like to echo what others have said, both about loving the game in question and working with others. Even though I didn't exactly work with anyone in particular for my Sonic 3 TAS, I can certainly see how doing so would help aid motivation for all parties involved in the project. That said, if you can't find anyone to work with directly you could always post about it in the appropriate forums, which is another thing I did that helped provide valuable support for me.
Also, Adderall
