Step 2 - aka The Cave of Despair

Oh good, you're sitting down! No, no don't get up, because, well, I have a tad bit of bad news. Now don't give me that look, you haven't even given me a chance to explain. In the scheme of things it is relatively only a small drop of bad news in a vast ocean of despair, so there’s that. Umn, so there is no real easy way to say this, so I will just go on and say it. 

Your leg is gone. Yes, gone. I would blame myself but really that shifty looking old guy in the battered cloak—who swore to me on his bow-legged donkey’s hide that it would cure any illness—was to blame. There was no possible way I could have seen this coming. You know I spent a good solid copper on that big jar of goat weed and I applied the whole thing as liberally as possible to your wounded leg. Honestly who could have foretold such tales of woe? You really can't trust travelling salesmen in this day and age…

What's that? Oh yes, no it doesn't really matter. Why is that you ask. Well because after leaving the forest road and heading into the foothills we got stuck in this cave. How? Well you remember that travelling salesman I mentioned earlier, he had this bargain basement special on quest maps and....

To cut a long story short we are lost. Where exactly, well in the dark damp cold somewhere of the beginning of the #indiedev cave. You strode in with your bright light of an idea, eyes blazing, sword flashing slaying everything in your path only to realise your supplies of courage and stamina were somewhat lacking or misplaced. You should have spent more time practicing on forest spiders before slashing your way into certain doom.

So this week I will be discussing with you how to escape the traps and pitfalls of the commonly occurring despair cave which most of us accidently stumble into at some point in their quest for glory. It’s the place where you have reached a point where failures, set-backs, piles of to-do lists have come to rest and you are about ready to give up your passion and learn the oboe. But before you go filing your project folder away under old projects read this and learns how you can overcome the hurdles ahead.

Since we last spoke I have been rather busy. I have planned to finish the majority of the art and coding for the weapon system in Black White Trey. A month and a half has passed and well it’s still not done. I am close, but I would probably say sixty percent finished is a tad on the generous side. How did I get so lost you ask? Well, I have had two holidays, started an exercise regime, I have work, children, a girlfriend, a day fulltime day job and friends who all need a small portion of my valuable stamina pot of time. But those are all excuses; whoever says they don’t have time has lost control of his or her journey and only has their own selves to blame and I am not different.

When I sat down after so much time away I wasn’t sure where to begin again, I had lost sight of what I enjoyed about BWT and what I wanted to achieve. The ideas seemed old and the work tedious. You too will find points where your mind will scream to abandon this foolhardy endeavor and cry off. But just as you thrust your broad sword or long staff up into the foreboding darkness and scream “Why have your forsaken me!” you see a light spark in the darkness and out of the murky shroud appears…yours truly!

Come on now, don’t groan like that. You will ruin the fiery passion my hearty words will reap on your tattered and tired mind!

Look, let me break it down for you, the cave of despair is really not all that scary if you understand its evil mind tricks and treacherous pitfalls. So let’s load your crippled form onto the donkey saddle and let’s journey boldly ahead where any great person who has ever achieved anything great has been at least once before.

The forked road

As we slide along the first passage of the colossal network of interlocking tunnels your eyes slowly become accustomed to the dimness and you take in your surroundings. The rocky walls glisten in places and give off a funny dank smell, which quite possibly could be coming from your guide. Who, come to think of it hasn’t showered since the journey began…umn...but all of a sudden, this thought is shaken out of your mind as the torch lights up a massive chamber containing many interwoven shafts.

You have reached the crossroads. The chamber through the passage to your left leads to a large beautiful chamber full of iridescent gems which draw you to them. Even from hear they appear to be singing sweet siren songs of easy work and reward. As you struggle off your makeshift sled a hand catches your tunic. A disapproving—yet ruggedly handsome face—stares kindly down from above.

So here is the first challenge, the old forked road. This part of the cave is a simple trick yet a very devious one that catches many by surprise—including yours truly on occasion. Where is the harm in going in and grabbing a few of those beautiful sparkling gems? What’s the damage in giving the house a clean on the day you are supposed to animate your sixth level boss sprite? Why not sit down and organize your entire mp3 collection? You know exactly why not and don’t pretend you don’t!

Because the journey through the cave is not one choice but a plethora of choice and before you know it, your water supplies are running low and your map is blank in places where it’s been rubbed through from using it for gem polishing. You see success isn’t one decision to get started on the right path. It is a multitude of choices and given you have a reliable guide I say we go this way. Agreed?...No seriously, , stop giving me the one legged beggar look would you and get back on your sleigh Santa.

The impossible keyhole

Your mind whirls as you become aware of your surrounds once again. The realisation that you had been knocked unconscious for your uncouth behavior at the last crossroads comes to the fore of your mind as your sled hits a solid bump in the cave floor. You push yourself up to your elbows to see where you are being taken only to realise you have stopped.

Ahead a solid wall of stone towers above and to all sides seemingly impenetrable, but as your guide comes back to check on you, you see it. Half way up the wall balanced precariously on a ledge is a small opening where you can hear the echo of running water emanating. You look up, fear and doubt clouding your small untrained mind and into the maddening look of surety and amusement plastered on your guides face.

Ah, welcome back! I see you have regained your composure after our last little incident. Now I need to mention this next bit will likely be a tad bit unpleasant. Trust me though, it is worth the effort. If this map is anything to go by, once we are through, we are in for a real treat.

Now this part of the cave we face when we have been unaware or unconscious of our final goal to escape the warren of doom. We finally awaken to realise that since we have been sleeping that simply to move forward we must ascend to a great height and push ourselves forward through a seemingly impossible hole.

The trick is to realise that this is the only way forward. There is no way to avoid the keyhole, to skirt around hoping the road back to your goals will become easier. You needed to get in the god forsaken harness and launch yourself up that rocky slope. You will likely be cut and grazed by how far you have fallen behind in your work and how much time you spent procrastinating at the bottom.

Once you drag and pull yourself through that barrier you will find though that the other side will come rushing back to you. The sound of ideas and possibilities your project had previously will once again fill your mind. You will be dying to get back down to the cave floor to continue on your way!

The mighty river Styx

After a precarious ascent in which your guide twice lost grip on your harness rope you have finally both reached the fissure you must navigate. You push your curious and, come to think of it, rather disproportionate head through the keyhole in the rock wrenching your shoulder sideways and feeling the spray of cool water hit your face. Suddenly, from behind you, two strong hands shove you hard forward. There is a brief moment when the situation is in question and then your body pops free, out over the chasm on the opposite side. As you sail down towards certain doom you hear a jovial voice call out from above. Sorry about…

That…the rope you forgot was attached to your waste whips taut around your one good leg just as you almost reach the outcrop of rock below. You spiral out of control downwards throwing out your hands to shield your already crippled body from the impending collision. But by some miraculously twist of fate the rope pulls tight with a whine leaving you suspended upside-down a few meters of the rocky ground below.

Just as you let out a sigh of relief you hear the voice of your ever-present companion above say something inaudible about a knife. Your mind locks onto the understanding an instant to slow and as you plummet head first the remaining few feet to the ground you barley have time throw out a free hand. You writhe around screaming like a wounded baby lamb staring wide eyed at the row of fingers that are now pointing out at odd angles away their stumps. Thankfully consciousness again slips away.

You awake to a frightening sight, your trusted companion has descended from above and has decided to test out his rudimentary knowledge of finger re-alignment. Before your dulled mind has a chance to register the movement there is a crackling pop sound and the world goes dark once again. Your third returning to consciousness thankfully signals the end of the ordeal. You look down to see that by some miracle all your fingers have returned to their normal bearings.

See now, that wasn't so bad! I mean, it was actually lucky really, last companion I tried that on ended up losing his whole hand and look over there. The river Styx lies ahead. According to the trusty map, all we need to do is jump in the river and it will take us all the way to this little smudgy bit right near the exit.

This part of the cave is where you have overcome the hurdles to get back into your project and your juices are flowing. You ride the waves of the river out towards the light at the end of the tunnel, smiling in relief and anticipation that the worst is hopefully over. Feeling safe in the knowledge you have not given up, but become stronger and more resilient in your spelunking adventure.

So that concludes this adventure! Thanks for tuning in, feel free to leave your thoughts here or on my twitter feed. If you have any suggestions for the journey ahead, I would love to hear them. I hope you enjoyed yourself as much as I have, although a little bruised you may be. He he!

I have started to include a links section in the blog to any relevant articles or posts.

Enjoy.

Links

Here is an insightful look at the art of finishing by Derek Yu the guy who made the original Spelunky in Game Maker