Monday, June 16, 2008

The Grass Is Always Greener


So, it always seems that everyone else's work is always "better" than what you've done. Somehow everyone else on the planet has magically executed better than you and of course, they knew the super-Secret Squirrel shit, the amazing kung-fu that not only made a great game, but they did it without any problems and their development was super-smooth. It had to have been that way, to create such a great product, right?!?

BULLSHIT!

It amazes me how many people always look at somebody else's work and think that the other person's always got their shit together. In my experience, everyone out there seems to be flailing. No, it's not that I haven't come across "the perfect developer", I've talked with a ton of these "star developers" and they all have horror stories. Every one of them.

So, why do people look at other's work and romanticize how it was done? Why do people put others on such a pedestal? My guess is that people need hope. If you're having a shit time at work and things aren't "the perfect development" that you've built up in your head, by idolizing someone else and envisioning this "perfect process" at Developer X, you can imagining that someplace else is "better" and there's hope.

Now, I'm not saying that every place is shit or there is no "great places" to work, of course there are. But, I really don't think there's any "perfect place" or "perfect method". I don't think any one place can be "perfect", because everyone's different . There can be a happy middle ground, but "perfection"... nah...

I find understanding that nothing can be 100% ideal is quite liberating. Coming to this conclusion allows you to look at the things that you consider "problems" and really assess them relative to "the big picture", i.e. Your Life.

Which brings me to another subject; Your Job Is NOT Your Life!
I'll get around to writing that blog, someday... someday when I'm not busy with my job or my Real Life(tm).