I'm mentoring someone who's interested in #creativecoding and #generativeart, especially in the space of #gamedev and #alife. His biggest challenge is going beyond dabbling in private to actually following through with a project. I think this comes down to finding good tools for "quick and dirty" work, as well as finding venues or communities for sharing his output and getting feedback.

Does anyone have advice or pointers I could share with him? Boosts appreciated! 

@ngaylinn I found that the godot community where I live is very active and the have a lot of community and support too.

I haven’t made much in that domain but they have been helpful to get started.

@ngaylinn publishing images/videos to Instagram etc has been good practice for me.
Trying to put something up everyday has worked for me because:
1) Keeps me under pressure - otherwise my lack of discipline means I wouldn't do the work
2) Keeps scale/scope small - can't get carried away with crazy big ideas that would be too daunting to start, let alone finish, if it's something I'm trying to bang out in 1 or 2 hours
3) Build up toolbox/playground - got all the handy bits in single repo/propject

@ngaylinn
3) (cont) so that when I get new bits I add them to same toolbox and try combinations etc
4) Record videos, then reassess with fresh eyes when editing clips for publishing. That's often where I'll see things I missed, or get new ideas of small tweaks and other stuff to try

I don't make new stuff everyday, often I'll record a long test session and then edit a few clips out of it and that's a few days worth.

@dunk Thanks, that seems like really helpful advice!
@ngaylinn No worries!
I'm booked to do a talk at a Uni on their creative tech course in a month, so it's something I've been thinking about a bunch and starting to take notes on.
If there's anything more specific they're thinking about gimme a shout in thread ;-)
@ngaylinn good friend of mine has been following that process for his own app and I’m sure would be happy to provide guidance in his discord channel: https://hardreset.app/presskit
Hard Reset - Press Kit

Press kit with logos, screenshots, and promotional materials for Hard Reset.

@grogpod Oh, that's a really cool idea! Definitely could be a good fit for him. Also, I love the art! Thanks for sharing.

@ngaylinn

Going through with something is all about making the time, sitting down and just doing it. (I struggle to do this myself)

Starting new projects is easy and exciting. When problems show up, the next action has to be to sit down and solve the problem and not retreat into the next project.

But I find that even if it's not the 4-6 hours I want, just sitting down, touching the code and trying to solve even a single problem ends up being 1-2 hours.

@bmaxv Yeah, exactly. I want to say "just stick with it!" but I realize that for him, it's not that easy. Probably ADHD?

In terms of how to help, I'm thinking of two approaches:

  • Work on establishing regular habits of working and sharing, using whatever motivational tricks will work
  • Streamline the process to minimize time spent on debugging and polish so finishing is easier / faster
@ngaylinn someone was promoting their book about this on here recently. It’s still a couple months out though: https://linktr.ee/next_level
Next Level | Linktree

Next Level: Making Games That Make Themselves is coming out May 7th!

Linktree
@jnkrtech Oh, fun! That book sounds really cool. Thanks for sharing.

@ngaylinn Just sliding in here.

I think JavaScript is a good start as it is so easy to get nice stuff on a screen and share with others. I know some people liked p5.js (a JavaScript version of the processing language, that many creative foders use). GSAP is a good library for making nice animations more easily.

Pico 8 is a fun "fantasy console" if you want limitation. It might be good as it prevents the project from growing.

Arduino is very good to do physical projects.

@hyper_defined_rat Yeah, I think web-based is the way to go, if possible! He's already doing browser-based stuff, and it ought to remove many hurdles around compatibility and distribution.

I think part of the challenge is finding the right tool set. Maybe some of what you recommend will catch his interest! He's been doing WebGPU stuff, and is excited about parallel computing, but that does complicate things quite a bit, unfortunately...

I hadn't thought of the pico8, but that's a cool idea. Not sure how he feels about retro-computing, but I'll ask. I know I'd have fun coaching him on that