Hey Monte. I would never normally comment, in fact I very rarely read everything. I skim and if I like it then I slow skim. Life is busy. However, I read this whole article.
I know you have your friends to tell you this, but I believe you are an awesome game designer. I do not love everything you produce, but I love that you produce it. We are all different and there are eight (+) billion of us imperfect humans alive right now, and would you credit it, we all like different things. So, thank you, thank you for burning your candle to bring entertainment to me and the other humans who love RPG's.
I hope your week/month/year got better, and I hope that you listened to your friends.
You're definitely not alone, and it's nice to see that I'm not either. I made the very difficult decision to prioritize my health over my art earlier this year, and it's a struggle not to beat myself up over it, but honestly, I'm so grateful to past me for this space to just... be.
Hard relate over here. Expectation management as a multiply-neurodivergent person is a whole thing. Other people's expectations, yes... but mostly our own expectations.
Speaking as a martial artist... some of my most significant learning has been from sempai (other students who are somewhat more experienced than me) rather than directly from sensei. In that sense, I've found your writings profoundly helpful... ESPECIALLY when you unmask / pull back the curtain like this.
Learning to be ok with interdependence is a helluva challenge (RPGs have been enormously helpful to me here). I really appreciate the way you've acknowledged how important it is for you to have the support of your friends and co-workers in keeping on doing the things that are important to you :-) What a possibility-model!
I am right now in the middle of *not* giving myself a break, so thank you for this reminder to pump the breaks, even if it lurches everyone else in the car... Better than falling asleep at the wheel.
And now that I've driven this metaphor into the ground, I think I wanna go play a game, lol.
Great perspective Monte and a good reminder that “perfect is the enemy of good enough”. You do excellent work and in order to maintain that level of work you have to take care of yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally. I am glad to hear that you are giving yourself the chance to do that.
Thank you for writing this. I've let the house slide into disarray, I haven't mowed the lawn in months, and I feel stagnant. This article helps a lot. The advice is good. 'Take a break, try again tomorrow.' ❤️ I'm going to work on that. Cheers.
I really want to thank you for taking the time to share this. I deeply respect the courage you've shown too. We are of similar ages and as another cisgendered male I often feel like I'm not supposed to show my emotions nor admit I'm struggling. I lost my both of my parents in the last few years and that taught me that it is okay not to be okay and to reach out for help. I'm glad you have such a wonderful support network around you because not everyone is that lucky.
Take care and I hope you find the R&R to get back to yourself and having some fun as well.
I also often find myself driving myself a little too hard and then being all over myself when I need a break. It’s good to be reminded it’s ok to stop, drop and roll [some dice] now and again.
Hey Monte. I would never normally comment, in fact I very rarely read everything. I skim and if I like it then I slow skim. Life is busy. However, I read this whole article.
I know you have your friends to tell you this, but I believe you are an awesome game designer. I do not love everything you produce, but I love that you produce it. We are all different and there are eight (+) billion of us imperfect humans alive right now, and would you credit it, we all like different things. So, thank you, thank you for burning your candle to bring entertainment to me and the other humans who love RPG's.
I hope your week/month/year got better, and I hope that you listened to your friends.
Take care - Ian
Well written and honest. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is something I will reflect on.
You're definitely not alone, and it's nice to see that I'm not either. I made the very difficult decision to prioritize my health over my art earlier this year, and it's a struggle not to beat myself up over it, but honestly, I'm so grateful to past me for this space to just... be.
Hard relate over here. Expectation management as a multiply-neurodivergent person is a whole thing. Other people's expectations, yes... but mostly our own expectations.
Speaking as a martial artist... some of my most significant learning has been from sempai (other students who are somewhat more experienced than me) rather than directly from sensei. In that sense, I've found your writings profoundly helpful... ESPECIALLY when you unmask / pull back the curtain like this.
Learning to be ok with interdependence is a helluva challenge (RPGs have been enormously helpful to me here). I really appreciate the way you've acknowledged how important it is for you to have the support of your friends and co-workers in keeping on doing the things that are important to you :-) What a possibility-model!
I am right now in the middle of *not* giving myself a break, so thank you for this reminder to pump the breaks, even if it lurches everyone else in the car... Better than falling asleep at the wheel.
And now that I've driven this metaphor into the ground, I think I wanna go play a game, lol.
Great perspective Monte and a good reminder that “perfect is the enemy of good enough”. You do excellent work and in order to maintain that level of work you have to take care of yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally. I am glad to hear that you are giving yourself the chance to do that.
Sorry to hear that you are having a tough time of late. Hang in there. The world can dang well wait a little bit until you are ready 👍
It’s very brave to write something like this.
Your story reminds me of Jad Abumrad’s (of Radiolab) story.
Take care, Monte.
Thank you for writing this. I've let the house slide into disarray, I haven't mowed the lawn in months, and I feel stagnant. This article helps a lot. The advice is good. 'Take a break, try again tomorrow.' ❤️ I'm going to work on that. Cheers.
I really want to thank you for taking the time to share this. I deeply respect the courage you've shown too. We are of similar ages and as another cisgendered male I often feel like I'm not supposed to show my emotions nor admit I'm struggling. I lost my both of my parents in the last few years and that taught me that it is okay not to be okay and to reach out for help. I'm glad you have such a wonderful support network around you because not everyone is that lucky.
This is exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you.
Take care and I hope you find the R&R to get back to yourself and having some fun as well.
I also often find myself driving myself a little too hard and then being all over myself when I need a break. It’s good to be reminded it’s ok to stop, drop and roll [some dice] now and again.