Implicid wrote:
When it comes to AG, again I see some of the frustration, but look at the number of projects he has already completed. Just like Dynamic Designs, there comes a time when things slow down (real life) and if you follow Gideon Zhi's Twitter you would see that there were a lot of real life events that have kept him from doing the hobbies that he loves to do. He has even stated how bad he feels that he can't work on his projects right now. Just like when Wild Bill had real life issues that kept him from working on the projects here, so did Gideon and so has every other translation group or individual have things pop up that slowed them down. I don't think it's fair to criticize AG although again, I can understand the frustration. That's how the man has always worked. Multiple things at once. His record proves that it's a very effective strategy for him. Look at all that he has contributed and given us; we need to support him. I for one am looking forward very much to when Gideon picks up steam again. The only thing I would ask of him is when he does get the fire again and has the time to do so, update his project lists on his website. I really appreciate him and all the other hackers, translators, and contributors for sharing their time and talents with us.
I can appreciate this. I get that there's frustrations, and I apologize for that. One thing you have to realize though is that I've been working a 45-hour-per-week job (plus two hours of commute each day...) for the last two years. While I generally only spent eight hours in the office each day my evenings were bifurcated by a 45 minute call to India that happened pretty much every working night. It even happened on Sundays until I put my foot down. What I've been doing in my off-time I do to help keep myself from completely burning out on *everything*, not just romhacking. Further, if I'm going to spend some time on a translation project I want to be able to have several uninterrupted hours at once, and having my evenings split like that is actively harmful to anything requiring a significant time investment. All this while trying to maintain at least some semblance of a social life.
The good news for you is that yesterday was my last day at that job. It was doing terrible things to my mental state; the people closest to me have already noticed that I'm in a significantly better mood than I was even just two weeks ago. I'm not going to promise that there's going to be more time for stuff like this (and begging me to work on any given game is a sure-fire way to kill my motivation) because I'm going to need to spend time on the freelance localization contract I've picked up in the meantime, on brushing up my code skills, and on hunting for another full-time job. But my hobbies have been more on my mind of late.
Also please understand that I've been at this for nearly twenty years. AGTP has been around for more than half the amount of time
I've existed on this planet. My personal life has undergone a lot of significant shifts: from high school, to community college, to actual college, to a year as a NEET alone at home, to three years of full-time employment in mental health, to three years of full-time employment in mental health AND full-time college at the same time, to two years of this latest job. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, and there just hasn't been quite the time for romhacking that there used to be. But this doesn't mean I've given up, it doesn't mean that I'm quitting, and it doesn't mean that the stuff on my list won't get done. It just means that I don't quite have the energy I used to. As Agent D said in MiB, "The spirit is willing, but the rest of me..." I fit it in when I can and when I'm not so frustrated by other things.
To reiterate: I have no intention of quitting or retiring any time soon. I have Plans for a lot of the games on my list, several of the ones mentioned in this thread even, which I'm hoping to start executing on now that I no longer have my old job to stress about. You'll hear more about that when it happens; I expect the news to make a bit of a splash. I am as passionate about romhacking and localization as I've ever been, perhaps moreso, and I'm doing my best to find ways to make more time for it. If I can pull this off, I'll have a
lot more time for it. I've shared my plans with a few central romhack folks, notably Nightcrawler, Kitsune, Garrett, and byuu, but I'd be willing to share with Taskforce, Bongo`, and Bill over private messaging because there's potential opportunities for partnership here. But I'm not going to say anything publicly until I'm 100% sure that it's going to happen.
I am not a machine. I'm a person, like everyone else, and a very, very, very busy person at that. I do what I can, when I can. And yes, I have asked for significant help on a couple of things. Just because I'm not posting about progress doesn't mean it isn't happening.
Peace.