Game Update
Level work is progressing and we are figuring out how many levels we will need to finish in order to do the next major release for the game. All the terrain is already created and so the next task will be creating the enemies and the overarching story for each stage. I have a loose idea for a few stages but we will see how things shake out later.
I missed last weeks entry and so we came up with an idea to help generate more random events. We used some AI to give us the basic ideas for the code structure and will adjust them accordingly. Not all of the ideas were winners of course. I seem to remember one idea it generated which was “you found a lost puppy wondering in the streets!” It’s nice to have it for brainstorming ideas though. After all is there such thing as an original thought in the first place? Maybe not. I believe that execution is more important than originality.
Personal Update
Rough week as I didn’t sleep well but I did have a couple rays of sunshine towards the end. God revealed some information to me that I had wanted for some time now, and I was happy to finally have the truth. Scripture says, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” I’ve always seen myself as a very honest person with a lot of integrity. Often that gets me in trouble as it would be better to simply hide information to control situations in our society. I’ve just always been this way. When I was in school I tried doing some magic tricks, but couldn’t resist revealing the trick to my audience. I’m a horrible magician.
The book “Never Split the Difference” talks about a lot of concepts, and one of them is the concept of the “Black Swan”. The idea is that in every negotiation there is a Black Swan that will completely flip the negotiation. It was thought at one point in human history that Black Swans did not exist. When one was found the belief in people was so strong that they needed irrefutable evidence to combat their belief. The author goes on to say that in every negotiation there are at least 3 black swans and that it’s imperative to uncover them to ensure that the negotiation can work for all parties.
I did something crazy, and looked up an old flame or rather I spoke with someone that would have information about them. I’m not sure what I thought would happen, it’s not like they will ever talk to me again. Still the short time I spent with them may have been one of the best relationships of my life. I would do a lot to have that back again. I found out some disturbing news about one of their family members, but not much else. I suppose I could do the movie thing and travel far away to find them in person or stand in front of their house with a boombox or something, but this is the real world and that stuff only works in movies.
In life we are lucky for any time we are allowed with friends, family and lovers. I truly believe that. It’s a beautiful existence and looking back can cause agony more than anything. It’s important to be as present to the now as possible. Maybe I should spend some more time in quiet meditation away from my phone. It would probably do me a lot of good. The book “The Way of the Superior Man” talks about this. As a man it’s important to go out on solo quests away from everything. Being in solitude forces you to deal with your own thoughts and your own mind. Often we drown out all of those inconvenient thoughts and then they come rushing in at us at the end of the day when we are trying to sleep. The book is really uncomfortable. I think it’s time to get uncomfortable.
Speaking of getting uncomfortable, my first week of weight training is completed and I can tell it’s already having a positive effect on my run times. I can’t wait for next months half marathon! I’ve come so far in such a short amount of time running 11 miles the other day without stopping. I’m not to happy about my run time, but I’m sure that will start to edge up slowly. Then again Atomic Habits says that I will see a lot of gains all at once when a threshold is reached. I just need to keep the faith and stay consistent. I’m very committed to this year of fitness, and I can’t wait to see how my body responds to it. I’m thinking about hiring a high quality trainer, right now I’m getting some help from a friend. I was so inspired last year when I went to my first body building competition. I’m very curious to know what’s possible for my body. It’s very much an experiment of “What would happen if?”