I Just Want to Show You My WAD

[SiMpLeToNiUm]

I have been working on a WAD for several years now. I go on creative hiatuses where I don't touch the thing for months at a time. When I do pick it back up again I might add one more room or a monster. It contains one very large map that I have just kept adding to. It's gone through countless iterations and represents the pinnacle of any one of my previous mapping endeavors.

In its current state, it is more than playable, with several areas and technical details that I am quite proud of. In fact, the only thing that keeps me from scrapping it altogether is the work I've already put into it. I consistently find myself play-testing over and over again..."that ledge over there needs to be impassable.", "those textures need to be aligned better." little things. I might be a perfectionist. It has quite literally weathered dozens of design styles that I have developed in the course of my learning Doom modding techniques. Many areas seem to just "flow" and look professional, while others make me ashamed to even show them. I hit a brick wall when I finally get around to editing it, however. As goofy and ugly as it is at times, I find myself unable to change anything about it. It feels like I'm doing myself a disservice by tearing it all down and starting over.

I look at all the other WADs out there and can't help but wonder what I'm really hoping to contribute to this rich community of creators. On the same token, I really want to put my creation out there and get it seen. I fear that it will get torn apart though, the rough experience of years of Dooming hardening others' hearts to my raw, nooby concoction. What really spurred this block of text was the /id games archive. I really feel that I need to put my WAD out there, but it just doesn't quite feel done yet. Releasing an un-finished product seems like the worst sin I could commit. I know there's no "demos" allowed on there, either.

I guess what I'm saying is: do any of you fellow creators ever feel these existential predicaments?

[Kinsie]

There's something to be said for perfectionism, but it also tends to result in the burnout that you seem to be feeling. While /idgames/ is one thing, there's nothing wrong with releasing WIP/test builds here or on the Doomworld forums to get feedback and critique that you can address, potentially re-energizing your efforts or giving you new outsider angles to consider.

In short:

[SiMpLeToNiUm]

Thanks for the encouragement! Yeah, guess I'll just post it and see what happens. Stay tuned.