Have you ever been in a situation where you know that you have to make decisions, but there seem to be just too many options available to choose from and you end up putting off making those decisions.
This is the situation I am currently in with regard to my ongoing Belle Époque project. Whilst I was on our recent cruise, I tried drawing a basic campaign map that showed the relative locations on the imagi-nations ... but somehow, the end result was not very satisfactory. Likewise, I tried working on a draft of my Portable Belle Époque Wargame rules ... but I just didn't feel that the end result felt right.
Things have not changed since I got back, and I seem to be in the doldrums*.
I then happened to watch a YouTube video by a Canadian railway modeller in which he described exactly how I was feeling ... and he defined it as 'analysis paralysis'. This is:
'a state where overthinking or over-analysing a situation prevents a person from making a timely decision.'
This is EXACTLY the situation I find myself in. I need to stop dilly-dallying (i.e. Constantly answering myself questions such as 'Should I draw my campaign map before I write my rules?'; 'Should I use a hexed or squared grid?'; 'Should I add a couple more armies or should I crack on and fight some battles?') and make a decision. As the YouTuber pointed out in his video, it might end up not being the right decision, but a decision is better than no decision and will at least take your project forward.
* The Cambridge Dictionary defines 'the doldrums' as:
- Unsuccessful or showing no activity or development and
- A period of being sad or bored and with no energy or enthusiasm.
I'm sure a lot of us experience what you are going through, Bob. Things will fall into place at some point though - hopefully sooner rather than later!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Aaron
Prufrock (Aaron),
DeleteI have had periods of ennui before, but this time it almost feels as if I’m almost there … but things are just out of my reach.
I’m sure that you’re right and that this will soon pass.
Allthe best,
Bob
I'm familiar with this. Especially as a railway modeller. A friend of mine used to say "the thickest book ever would be titled Planned, but never built layouts". And I've found that it's better to lower the ambitions sometimes and do SOMETHING and not ending up as an "Armchair modeller". That same friend also said when I built the smallest garden railway ever (just an oval with a couple of switches); "Congratulations ' you've built and completed a layout and that's more than many in this hobby does. So at least you have somewhere to run your trains". And he was right. Start with something small or easy.
ReplyDeleteRoger,
DeleteWhat you write in your comment rings so many bells!
Funnily enough, I built a simple model railway some time ago that was a simple oval with a single siding … and I’ve had lots of fun just running a loco and wagons around it … particularly when I want some light relief from thinking about wargaming.
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteI'd crack on with a number of games on Hex Terrain with your 15mm Armies- a campaign map can wait. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteThat’s an excellent idea … and might help me clarify my thoughts about my draft Portable Belle Époque Wargame rules.
All the best,
Bob
Tell you what, Kev has been the inspiration for my getting my A into G more than once before now, tho' he won't know it. Coming up with uber-simple rules - especially naval - has created easily compassed projects. So I ladle on the chrome pretty thick, but the core concept was his.
DeleteThat is where my Mighty Armadas battles came from, and to some extent my Mini-Chubby Marine (the little wee fellas).
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteSome time ago I was lucky enough to get hold of a copy of Kev’s book about modelling … and I really found it very helpful.
All the best,
Bob
This reminds me that, perhaps every year or so, the Guardian runs an article about procrastination (am attribute I sometimes share). One year, I recall that the article referred to a SURVEY of people who procrastinated. But surely, I thought, really committed procrastinators wouldn't have got round to replying to the survey!?
ReplyDeleteToby E,
DeleteVery true! I love Mark Twain’s comment about procrastination: ‘Never put off till tomorrow what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well.’
All the best,
Bob
At some point I think many of us go through this. My own usually starts with what to work on next? Plenty of starts and stops often finds me nowhere.
ReplyDeleteThe best cure I have found is beginning something, anything. This cracks through the barrier and what I may have started might not be were I finish but I do finish things. I also get more productive when I set myself dates to complete things. That upcoming finish line reminds me to get going on things. I hope these suggestions help. Very much looking forward to new rules, battle reports and all the other inspiration you provide.
WEK 3,
DeleteThanks very much for the sage advice. Earlier this year, I set myself some short-term goals … and managed to achieve them with a degree of ease. As you suggest, I need to do something like this again.
All the best,
Bob
I am absorbed with fantasy campaigns, maps, character development and random events. However, my view is if I get to much into over thinking something to take a few steps back to keep the playability aspect. For example, I don't get to deep into the economic and character family aspects. The supply rules are kept consistent but also relatively simple.
ReplyDeleteQuantrilltoy,
DeleteThat’s very useful and practical advice. It’s reminded me of my own rules for writing wargame rules … keep things simple!
All the best,
Bob
Analysis paralysis...the story of my life lately! I sort of wonder if its an age thing. It now takes me forever to "push the button," so to speak, on a decision whereas 20 years ago, I would just do it and not go back and forth second guessing myself.
ReplyDeleteChris,
DeleteI don’t think that it’s an age thing but more an attitude to life one. I’ve known people who are much you ger than me who could write a text book about procrastination … if they could ever get the motivation to do so!
All the best,
Bob
Yes. It happens (or I let it happen?) to me every now and again. I have to ask myself "what's the worst that can happen?" and hopefully that unlocks the blockage.
ReplyDeleteNundanket,
DeleteI suspect that we all suffer from this from time to time … and I like the question you ask yourself.
All the best,
Bob
For what it's worth, I'd play some games. Playing games is always better than thinking about playing games. I would pick a historical battle you like then relight it with a couple of your Belle Epoch armies. With hexes then squares, then two more games with the attacker and defender rolls reversed. Hopefully this will help clarify things a bit, and help you to come to a conclusion about squares vs hexes.
ReplyDeleteAs for maps, I used old historical maps as the basis for my new imaginations world. I've also used Risk territory cards. Just draw two cards then combine them, fiddle with them until they look good to you. The basic geography can then also be used. Example, I draw the western USA and India. I put the USA to the west and India in the east joining them in the north and getting an M shaped continent with a sea in the middle. Drawing on the geography there would be mountains in the west and North east, the major rivers would be indicated as well. In the case of your imaginations countries I would add a large island for Britain in the middle of the sea. Place the countries as you see fit and give the bridge some territories on each coast and away you go.
Hope these quick ideas prove useful.
Mark Cordone,
DeleteThanks for the list of great ideas for me to try to break my current en pass. I particularly like the idea of using RISK territory cards to help generate maps and the melding of parts of existing maps to form new ones.
It has given me lots to think about.
All the best,
Bob
Oh yes! I'm good at collecting ideas. Not so great at putting them into practice or into a coherent structure of any sort. Part of it is I do like to tinker. Part of it is new ideas keep entering the picture. Part of it is uncertainty about how I want to proceed with the next steps. Part of it is another idea or project tempts me to do something else entirely. How does anyone get anything done? ha ha I guess some people are able to focus.
ReplyDeleteFitz-Badger,
DeleteI suspect that most of us are also equally distracted by new ideas and projects … and end up with lots of unfinished, incomplete, or unfulfilled wargame projects.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
ReplyDeleteI have my own expression from this, deriving from my systems analyst days: thrashing. It was a situation in which the mainframe, in those days with just tens of megabytes of memory if you were lucky, running several jobs, all of which featured a LOT of I(nput)-O(utput). The traffic jam would becaome such as the machine would spend its time inputting and outputting and not really doing much of anything of real interest.
That is one of the reasons why the Little Great War is on hold. I decided on the Hundred Days 2.0 Map game, and even then have chosen to play it out in a fairly leisurely manner.
But sometimes, if you have the energy, it is well to take on some other little task, go for a walk or something, just to recharge the batteries.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteYour description of ‘thrashing’ explains what’s been happening very well indeed. I’m getting lots of inputs but don’t seem to have enough time (or energy) to do much processing. Hopefully things will,improve soon.
I have been following your Waterloo campaign with interest. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for years … and if I ever get my Napoleonic figures out of storage, I might well do so one day,
All the best,
Bob
Perfectionism can be a curse ! I have the one project stalled for a couple of years as the counter map (War Between the States - SPI) has generated a 40 k a side battle very early in August 1861 and I am painting the volley and bayonet or fire and fury figures but wanting all the “historical” units from my Order of Battle. I also want a 12 x 6 table and the thing to look perfect. My OCD won’t let me play it at a half scale or compromise - result stasis. Almost through a house move and crack on - keep up the momentum Bob - 95/90 percent what you want is fine and you can continue to iterate. Perfectionism leads to stasis and then the guilt sets in about not moving foward.
ReplyDeleteNeil,
DeleteI think that it was Winston Churchill who said, ‘perfection is the enemy of progress’ … and that is definitely something that I can plead guilty to! I have always striven to do the best I can, and this has often resulted in me not completing a project because I run out of enthusiasm or become disillusioned when things don’t turn out as well I hoped they would.
I think that your advice to accept that 95% of perfection is good enough is very sound … and something that I really ought to take on board.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteI have found that it is really helpful to decide exactly what you want to get out of a campaign. In my case I wanted it to provide interesting battles to wargame. I then considered what figures and scenery I had available, and designed my campaign order of battle from the table up.
I spent a lot of time trying to create a campaign map using a road atlas as my template. It soon became obvious that I would never be able to create wargames tables from the deail shown on the map. Nor could I determine 1813 road systems or location and size of geographical details not shown on the map. Eventually I designed a map of Europe which was in effect a large number of wargame tables.
As always there is a lot of compromise, but you as you make the decision it is always something you can live with.
The most important aspect of knowing what the campaign has to achieve, is that you quickly discard later ideas which often to be time consuming and detract from the original campaign aim.
Good luck with your campaign revision.
regards
Paul
Thistlebarrow (Paul),
DeleteI’ve always admired your ability to hone in on the essentials, and your Napoleonic campaigns stand as an example to us all. My problem is that I can’t seem to be able concentratemy efforts in the way you have … but I am trying!
I have tried designing a map based on the various tabletop battlefields I’ve used in the past … but after a lot of effort, the (incomplete) end result wasn’t very satisfactory.
However, I am about to embark on a campaign that has been set up by a friend of mine … and the map he is using has given me lots of ideas. Basically, movement is from nodal point to nodal point on the map, and each nodal point has an associated map. The space inbetween the nodal points is terra incognito … but this isn’t important as the battles will take place at the nodal points.
I am hoping that taking part in this campaign will help me to move forward with my campaign map. In the meantime, I can concentrate on adding a couple more armies to my collection!
Thanks for your very helpful advice.
All the best,
Bob