Questioning FOMO
👋🏻
I was back in my script yesterday afternoon and the morning and it felt good. Words and corrections flowed out of me. Back on the horse and riding off toward the end of this project.
A month ago, I promised a letter about FOMO. It's time.
As I wrap up this script, there is the always present lingering thought of "what am I missing?" I'm not playing the other 3D Mario titles. I'm not touching the other two Splatoon games and the often praised single-player DLC from 2. Surely there are more examples, scenarios, and ideas buried in their levels and execution.
The same is happening to quotes, interviews, extrapolations, and more. I have so many points to...point out. I am buried in rich material. It feels almost wasteful to leave so much behind on the cutting room floor.
Way back at the start of this particular project, I wrote a couple reminders down. They are sobering to read now amidst the deluge of doubt.
This essay requires playing at least all four of these. And research. Those can happen concurrently. Then building the story. But don’t get too lost in the history. Important to express the spirit and how it makes me/players feel. And exploring why that occurs.
9/23/24 - Essay wise, this is 2D while the rest is 3D. Super Mario 3D Land/World is a unique fusion of 2D/3D. Remember the focus is Splatoon 3 and the spirit of a galaxy game. Don’t get caught too in the weeds on the 3D Mario games Galaxy and beyond.
It's all cut for a reason, right? Each pruning of the tree is in service of the final story: the story I want to and was meant to tell. I don't make cuts lightly. Each one hurts in its own way. Seriously, there are so many good quotes from those Iwata Asks interviews. But if I crammed it all in there or spent a couple extra months playing FOUR more 3D Mario games, I'd always find an excuse to keep pushing the work back. The flu is an acceptable excuse. 😅
I am reminded of this quote from Adam Savage's Every Tool's a Hammer: Life is What you Make It;
"We should be asking ourselves repeatedly, 'What is the essence of this project?’ as we move down the path toward completion. And as the delivery deadline nears, we should ask that question more frequently, because it helps us remember why we’re there, and what the point of the whole project is."
I'm out here trying to figure out the essence, the spirit of a Galaxy game, almost loosing the essence of my own video essay. Keep asking questions. Keep circling back. Make cuts. Make more cuts. Prune baby prune. The end product—and you—will be better for it.
This letter is one block from the newsletter Memory Card by Max Roberts. Thoughts? Send me an email at max@maxfrequency.net.
Max is the writer and producer behind Max Frequency. cultivate and curate curiosity—both for himself and for others—by delighting in the details and growing greatness from small beginnings.
He's written a rich history and dive on the making of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, celebrated the 15th anniversary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl with the voice behind its hype, and examined how Zelda "stole" Fortnite's best mechanic.
Memory Card is a real-ish time, raw, drip feed newsletter of his creative process for telling these stories. It’s how The Thing™ gets made.
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