The overbearing spectre of "acceptance".....

[Trykz]

I've been a member here since 2011. I lurked prior to that for a couple of years before I actually tried my hand at modding and posting some stuff at Nexus shortly after Skyrim's release. I left Nexus when I finally realized that I couldn't really "show off" my creations without being ridiculed by some of their supporters, reported for far less than what I see posted there today, or threatened with the ban hammer for standing up to them, and decided that I would much prefer the more relaxed atmosphere that this site had to offer. Equally as much, the appreciative nature of it's members for the time and effort I expended creating the mods I've released here. Now I realize that some custom races and armor conversions may not be the greatest of accomplishments when compared to what I've seen others release here. But I worked hard on them, and never once expected anything in return apart from the appreciation I'd come to know from those who tried and liked them. And to those users, I will be eternally grateful. I've also seen my fair share of modders retire from the scene over the past 6+ years. Not just for Skyrim, but for Oblivion and Fallout as well. And I hope their current endeavors find them well.

 

At this time, I'm currently conflicted with deciding the fate of my own future in modding. There are often times when I just can't bring myself to load up the Creation Kit for either Skyrim OR Fallout 4. But then, there are other times when an idea pops into my head, and I simply can't stop until it's at least close to what I envisioned. So for the past couple of weeks I've just been messing around with updating/porting some of my older Skyrim mods to SSE. And then, sometimes, it's a chore to even load up a game just to play or test a mod. And when I load up a game and see "Creation Club News", and most of the time, I find myself logging back out.

 

So there it is..... the "acceptance" problem. Do I accept that sometimes things change in ways I may not like? Or do I accept that sometimes things change in such a manner that they are simply "no longer for me"?

 

Whatever the answer is, I suppose I'll come to that conclusion soon enough. But until I reach it, I'll be returning to my aforementioned "lurking"......

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Trykz

[Shadowhawk827]

Some burn out is natural, esp if you push yourself hard on projects.  I stepped away from modding for a little over a year due to health and other issues.  Burnout was a big part of that too.  700+ hours in the CK and I felt like it had been forever since I just played a game and enjoyed it.

 

Anyway...  The best advice I can give you is that it's all about balance.  Work when you feel inspired, push yourself a little in middle times.  When you need a break, step back for a little bit and let yourself recharge your batteries.

[gregathit]

Agreed.  Always take time between both big and little projects to dabble in other hobbies.  You don't always engage in those hobbies, so there is no reason to try to force yourself to mod all the time.  Mod when you want to.  The beauty of modding as a hobby, like any other hobby for that matter, is losing yourself in them and forgetting how much other things may suck in your life.  Even if your life is peachy keen, you can and should still get some positive vibe from modding.  When the vibe is gone from the hobby, put it away until the itch returns.

 

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

[Princessity]

Your reaction is understandable. Skyrim is 6 years old and there's still no sequel on the horizon that might reignite the original passion and evolve the stagnant by now "Bethesda formula". It's perfectly natural to burn out after doing the same thing year after year with nothing fresh to look forward to.

 

So I feel you shouldn't be looking for someone or something to blame, least of all yourself. Maybe there is no reason behind your burnout other than... burnout itself? And that's totally okay! When it happened to me, I went searching for inspiration and motivation elsewhere and I found Stellaris! The game is great, it makes me happy, it's super moddable, the dev team is personable and communicative and it's a Paradox game so there's a new expansion and major patches every couple of months.

Moving on and treating Skyrim as a side-project while spending most of my time with a game that I actually enjoy working on turned out to be exactly what I needed to push forward and realise that... oh, my modding doesn't have to be tied to one game, franchise or company, diversifying is fun!

 

So I guess my sage advice is: there's plenty of fish (and other marine life) in the sea ^^ If you're bored of mudcrabs, maybe it's time to try a squid? Or a sea lion? How about a whale?

[Shadowhawk827]

An additional note for you or anyone else reading:  I've talked about how the occasional kudos motivates me to keep modding.  It does too, but NEVER let that be your driving motivator, just a bonus.  If you do let THAT form of acceptance become your primary motivator you'll go nuts when some other project gets more downloads and likes.  My reboot of Dawnguard Sentries, for example,  didn't do anywhere near as well as several skimpy armor or fap bait follower mods that hit the Nexus at the same time.  I know I did a good job on my mod, and take pride in the amount of work I put into it.  That's enough.  I've gotten some praise too, and it feels good.  That has to be secondary to YOU feeling good about what you did.

 

And as for the haters on The Nexus and Steam...  People are always going to tear down when they're incapable of building anything positive.  And when it's a "talented" modder slinging mud, they're probably just resentful that you had the courage to post stuff while learning and they didn't.

[Vaelorian]

Here's my unsolicited two cents:

 

Sometimes, we don't get to decide how things work out.

 

When Bethesda rolled out the Creator's Shite, I stepped away from the Oblivion and Skyrim scene.

I still occasionally offer some suggestions or tech support - though only rarely now-a-days.

 

Still, that doesn't mean I've stopped modding - I've simply moved on to games by a different company.

 

In my opinion, you don't have to agree to a company's business practices, and if they make a move you cannot agree with (or accept) - just walk away.

Modding is fun, but morals come first (at least, in my opinion).

 

If it's just burn-out, you should take a break. Rest a bit. Allow yourself to get caught up in other things. Some months later, you'll think "You know what I want to do? Mod." and then you'll be back, when you're ready.

 

Good luck going forward, whatever your decision is,

-Vael

[Sarge Misfit]

Things change, that is reality. We change, right along with the rest of everything. And we have to adapt to those changes, or we get left behind. That means accepting that they happen.

 

You have clearly been enjoying yourself. You still do, but those "off" days are telling you that whatever changes that have gone on in your life have gone unrealized. That's part of burning out. On those "off" days, take a break, do something else. Read a book, treat yourself, let your mind wander. Let your self catch up with the rest of the world. On those fun days, then mod like hell and enjoy it.

[KoolHndLuke]

All I can say is thank you. Even if you never release anything again, you have shared your hard work and passion with the rest of us. I realize now that the fun part is making the mod and the work is releasing and maintaining it along with reading ppl's complaints about this or that.

 

Personally, I know I will learn how to do the things I want for my games. But I'm not sure about ever releasing anything. Although part of me believes I should give back more than praise and "gifts" to the communities that gave me so much over the years, I'm not sure I want to deal with the headaches that go along with it. I salute anyone willing to deal with that in the spirit of sharing. More than anything, though, I am still looking for a niche or game that I can comfortably call "home".;)

[Futanari Prisoner]

13 hours ago, Shadowhawk827 said:

An additional note for you or anyone else reading:  I've talked about how the occasional kudos motivates me to keep modding.  It does too, but NEVER let that be your driving motivator, just a bonus.  If you do let THAT form of acceptance become your primary motivator you'll go nuts when some other project gets more downloads and likes.

This.  It really applies to being "just another brick in the wall" of the internet.  

Modders really don't get enough credit, but that's just how it works online.  Here's an example:  When downloading and installing about 30 mods in a row for Fallout: NV, my s/o says,

"Jeez you're doing a lot of work!  Can't they make it easier, like, one big download for everything?"

 

...like I'm not downloading separate works, for which no one has been paid, probably worked on by at least 100 people total for those 30 mods.  People want things easy, and if they have to even click download, install, and read a paragraph, they're not as thankful any more.  

 

You have to want to mod.  Or really want the end result.  If that's not the case, do something else.  Not to be rude, but when life is at it's most hectic, this won't even be an issue.  Enjoy the fact that you can even ponder these sort of things with your free time, and enjoy being able to choose what you really want to do.
 

[D_ManXX2]

You dont really need to quite, there are plenty of other games also able to modded. maybe it is time to put skyrim or fallout 4 to the side and just try a new game. this will keep you busy and also after sometime you want to get back to skyrim or fallout 4. But never force yourself into doing stuff you dont want to do. This part will burn you out even faster.

[DCLXVI]

I hope things go well for you, whatever you decide to do. Also I just wanted to say your spriggan preset is still my favorite preset of all time.

[nobis]

I used to be very into modding , in all kinds of games since 13-teen.

 

Then having few dark periods, at age of 25 , i started investing all of that creative energy into another hobby - art / drawing.

 

In 2 years - 3 000 hours after daily work.

 

Now i reached the point where, it, allows me to earn money.

 

Yet again - i found another passion to focus on and bring my attention to >

 

Entrepreneurship / business.

 

And all starts overa again.

 

 

Yet IF I EVER, would go back to modding, i would go back with knowladge of art and desing and business.

 

That's a synergy of skills.

 

 

Let it go.

It my be temporary pause.

 

My point is - maybe you have another talents, hobies , that could be another stage of your evolution in life ?

[Veladarius]

I have done the same thing, open the CK to do some work then close it not wanting to look at it at all.

 

Mod making, to me, is a form of art which requires inspiration and drive and sometimes you may not be up to doing it. I have the same issue but my inability to work comes more from my mental issues than anything else, I had times I worked all day on my mods and now I am lucky to be able to work on them for a few hours a week. At this point I have 6500 hours logged in the CK at this point, almost as much as Skyrim itself.

 

In the end do what makes you happy and if that means only doing it occasionally or even not at all then so be it. Trying to push yourself when you are not into doing it usually ends with bad results, discouragement and even less drive to work on it later on.

[Fakenet]

You just gave the answer yourself:

If you don't feel like modding you don't.

Modding is a work of passion and like any other art you have to suffer for it ... but only as much as you want to.

There is no pushing yourself, have you ever read a novel of a writer who pushed themselves? Those novels are utter shite.

Art needs inspiration, passion, wanting it and most importantly you have to feel like doing it.

 

 

You don't owe us anything, all I would ask you to do is that if and when you abandon a project; tell us.

Open and honest communication is the most important thing in any kind of relationship.

[Etrius vanRandr]

On 11/28/2017 at 9:28 PM, Shadowhawk827 said:

Some burn out is natural, esp if you push yourself hard on projects.  I stepped away from modding for a little over a year due to health and other issues.  Burnout was a big part of that too.  700+ hours in the CK and I felt like it had been forever since I just played a game and enjoyed it.

 

 

I nuked my install of Skyrim and have been playing on a laptop that can barely do 720p60 to keep me away from mods. Honestly Skyrim without mods is hella refreshing.

 

In terms of modding, I mod when I feel like it. Sometimes I load up the CK or Blender or whatever and say to myself, I don't really feel like doing this right now. Then I go do something else like watch YouTube, write a short story, jack off, ride my bike, etc.

 

Seriously, nobody ever abandons modding. Once a modder, always a modder....it's an addiction that is never really cured.

[Bjorn Stronginthearm]

I am quiet lurker here and on the nexus and for the most part I do not post other than to say a quick thank you to a creator whose work I find I cannot do without in my games. To all the creative people who read this, whether or not I love your work to hell and back or not, I appreciate all the time and effort you all put into making our gaming experience better than the original virgin game.

 

On this site, or on the nexus, creators gift the rest of us with some fantastic art, stories, models, whole new worlds even. Look at Falskaar for heavens sake. But whether it's a complete DLC or just a couple of tweaks to some code in an INI file one of you brilliant people took the time to gift it to all of us. I respect each and everyone of you equally no matter what your creation is, simply because you use your time and energy to make it and then you give it to us and seek nothing for it, other than the respect that is rightfully due to to you for your gift.

 

To each and every one of you wonderful, fantastic people all I can say is thank you and I am humbled by your generosity.

Creative talent should be put to use often and then it blooms, giving true happiness to both the creator and we mere mortals who can only sit back in wonder at how you do what you do.

 

Please don't ever stop creating, even if it's only for your own use.

 

Bjorn

[landess]

Burn out happens to players as well, I'd imagine.

 

My Skyrim is ridiculously modded, and even looks better than my Fallout4. That said, every time I log into Skyrim, I find myself doing more looking than actually playing. I know the map like the back of my hand... I've done every quest, most of them multiple times on 7 different characters whom all have a unique identity and look/race/political alignment.

 

This is my burn out problem - 5 minutes after loading it up, I have nothing to really do which interests me other than messing around with the mod interactions. So because of the fine modding community the life of this game has far exceeded anything Bethesda had any responsibility for.

 

Piddling around with the game and getting mods to play together nicely was something else that kept it interesting, but I believe I hit my interest cap in just playing the game now. It's a lot of fun loading it up and showing others whom know nothing about mods to say "See, you won't find anything like this for sale anywhere". I like to self educate as well, and learning about all this stuff has been terrible and great at the same time.

 

Sometimes I imagine what it would've been like if the Skyrim I have now would've been the one that came in the box and I had just opened it.......

 

God made sand, people made sandcastles. God made ore, people made the Apollo rocket and went to the moon. Modders are people.

[LillyByte]

While I don't do any modding, and coming from the experience of a developer... burn out is a real thing and tired of the same old, same old is a real thing.

 

I'm on day 252 of development of a single project, thousands of hours sunk into one project that will be free to play... that, I don't know if people are going to appreciate at the end of it. But, ultimately, what I do, I do for me; not for anyone else. People are welcome to join me in my adventure if they want, but I won't cry if they don't.

 

As for getting tired and bored of doing what I do: I mitigate the monotony by setting times when, no matter what, I will not work on code or graphics; even if I have that overarching drive "to do". Motivation is like a bottle rocket; it gives you a boost of energy... then it fizzles out to nothing. To keep going, that takes discipline. Motivation starts you, discipline keeps you going... however, discipline is not as fun as motivation and it wears you out rather than drives you forward. Motivation and discipline need to balance each other out, you use discipline to control your motivation and you use drawn out motivation to keep your discipline from becoming boring and tedious. It's a precarious balancing act, and the long you walk the fine line... the more chance you have of falling and walking away.