Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Sometimes being off-site allows you to maintain perspective about issues that, if en-
countered while on-site, can become webs of political intrigue that rarely do the
writing any good.
You Can Be More Productive
Working on staff can be chaotic. Meetings multiply in a geometric pattern that can
leave almost no time for actual writing. People not experienced in the pitfalls of our
process can be ignorant of the flow of ideas and may think nothing of constantly
interrupting you with what, to them, are innocent questions but, to you, cause you
to lose track of the gossamer tendrils of that new plot thread. At home, you have to
battle the demon Procrastination, but at least you can get into a mentally productive
space without much trouble. For myself, for instance, rarely do great ideas come
until I've gotten “warmed up,� which for me means continuous writing for an hour
or more. That kind of situation in an office can be rare indeed.
Ideas Can Be Fresher
In a similar fashion to the office politics alluded to above, ideas in a development
office can become self-limiting. “Group think� can take over, and true “outside the
box� thinking can be hard to come by. Development groups fight this by sometimes
having off-site meetings, knowing that the change of environment can actually open
up avenues for ideas that just won't come in the office environment. Working out of
your space, you have access to thought patterns that don't exist in the office. Use that
to your advantage.
You Can Be Near Your Own Workspace and Materials
We all have environmental “comfort food�: music we like to listen to, artwork that
inspires us, a chair we like to write in, keyboards that feel more like “us� than others.
In an office, much of this can be out of your control, even in the most supportive
environments. Many developers populate their office with cubes, and I don't know
many writers who like cubes. For instance, I like to spread out my materials so that
I have everything I could possibly want at my fingertips. To others this looks like
chaos; to me it is a comfortable workspace.
Time Spent On-Site Can Be More Productive and Precious
Because you are not there every day, when you do visit (and I encourage visiting as
much as you can; see Section 7.3), people will make time for you. Managers will
inform their people that you're going to be in all next week, and they are willing to
adjust their calendars so they make the time you need. This can be very productive
and precious. Take advantage of this and appreciate it.
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