Some thoughts on satisfying pursuits, discipline... and Warhammer

Was just going to scribble this down for myself -- as part of figuring out some drive and interest things... and how they're not always manifested in the same way. But figured you might be interested as well.

I have very much enjoying engaging in Warhammer Fantasy -- playing, strategizing, optimizing, painting, crafting, acquiring etc. But last Thursday night (the last game Goose and I played), for the first time, I didn't really enjoy it (this was from the outset -- not just after I started loosing). This I found especially odd as all the circumstances were supportive of a good time: we'd had a very significant output for 36peas that day; I had a busy but well-prepared-for day of PBAL the next day; the kids were in bed etc.

I'm pretty certain – in fact I know for sure – that this was because in the preceding 10 days I'd spent no time whatsoever engaging in Warhammer stuff – I'd not thought about army lists, strategized, painted or done any related activity.

Last night I spent an hour painting – and I deliberately set aside an hour so that I'd a.) have some measurable and quantifiable assessment, and; b.) go to bed at a reasonable time in order to be up this morning.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. And this morning I am happy and enthusiastic about playing later in the week and already spending my off time (time when I can't fit any other activity in -- normally between modes of transport, in lulls of conversation etc) strategizing about how I intend to play, what things I'd like to paint in advance, etc. I also listened to TWIT live in that time, something else on my list of must-do-regularly-because-get-a-good-bit-out-of-it-personally-and-professionally.

This brought me round to thinking about discipline and immersion (the latter of which Goose and I talked about in GDIM #4). Do I (can I) only enjoy the separate elements of Warhammer when I engage in them all? And does that have to be on some kind of regular basis?

Given the variety and volume of different things that I do, this is something that worries me – I want to understand better that behavior (immersion in multi-genre gaming pursuits) but I find it unlikely that I (personally) would naturally end up keeping to any kind of regular pattern of engagement (at this point in my life) because of the multitude of other (self-imposed) demands on my time. But I really, really enjoy this particular pursuit, and I find it rewarding and useful as a game designer.

So, in the interests of full immersion (I’m one army of 10+ into one game of 3+) I’m going to try something else I’m interested in – disciplined activity. This is unknown for me – I do a lot of stuff, but it’s almost all on either a get-as-much-done-in-the-time-permitted or a just-in-time basis. First part of said discipline (KISS for now) will be to spend an hour painting at least 5 evenings out of 7. I always have other activities I can combine with this (watching, listening, thinking) and it I don’t expect to have to shift anything else out of the way – but doing it against a personally-imposed discipline may change how I look at this, and, more importantly, other pursuits in the future. I hope it will also give me a better view on games from the perspective of a fully-immersed player.