“Drama doesn’t need to affect people’s behavior. There’s a great and very, very effective tool that changes people’s attitudes and makes them see the world in a new way. It’s called a gun.”
— David Mamet
“Beauty is context.”
— Sruli Recht
‘After a painfully rapturous brainstorming session, you have a huge list of ideas in front of you. This is where many designers trip up. They have so many ideas they like, they aren’t sure what to pick. Or, they have a lot of mediocre ideas, but nothing spectacular, so again they aren’t sure what to pick. So they float around for too long, in a vague haze of indecision, hoping that the “right idea” will suddenly become clear, if they just wait a little longer.
‘But something magic happens when you pick an idea and decide you are going to make it happen. As Steinbeck says in Of Mice and Men, ‘A plan is a real thing.’ Once you make the internal decision, ‘Yes, I’m going to do this,’ flaws you missed before suddenly become evident, as do benefits. It is kind of like flipping a coin to make a decision - when the coin comes down, you suddenly know what you really want. There is something inside us that makes us think about things differently before we’ve decided to do them than after we’ve committed. So, take advantage of this quirk of human nature - make snap decisions about your design, commit to sticking with them, and immediately start thinking about the consequences of the choices you have just made.
‘But what if, with the enlightenment that suddenly comes with commitment, you realize you’ve made the wrong choice? The answer is easy: be ready to reverse your decision when you realize it is wrong. Many people find this difficult - once they have made a design decision, they are uncomfortable letting it go. You can’t afford this kind of sentimentality. Ideas are not like fine china, ideas are like paper cups - they are cheap to manufacture, and when one has holes in it, go get another one.
‘Some people are quite disconcerted by this combination of snap decisions combined with sudden reversals. But it is the most efficient way to make full use of your decision-making power, and game design is all about making decisions - you need to make the best decisions possible, as fast as possible, and this slightly eccentric behavior is the way to do it. It’s always better to commit to an idea sooner, rather than later - you will get to a good decision much faster than if you bide your time considering potential alternatives. Just don’t fall in love with your decision, and be ready to reverse it the moment it isn’t working for you.’
—
Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
“Smoking is actually just like yoga. You are constantly aware of your breath and the circle of life.”
— Kai Kühne, a member of the design collective As Four
“Good editors are geniuses, gifted with sight, and, with the exception of people like David Remnick, Graydon Carter, and Tina Brown, mostly unsung. They canvas the world and work down to a relatively few choices, some of them predictable, some of them exquisite, all of them useful.”
— Grant McCracken
