It was always clear to me that, to be a good programmer, you need at least some degree of the infamous Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (pure Obsessive Compulsive Disorder might help too). Nothing extreme, just a little. Luckily, I have that – nothing extreme, just a little. My apartment is a mess. My comics and illustrations can be quite chaotic. But try to disrespect or even partially ignore the neatness I impose on team work, and I go crazy. My friend Grazia could tell tales about that. When we worked together, I went to incredible – not to mention time-wasting – lengths to define the rules of a project (coding and design wise), and to even more ridiculous lengths to obsessively check that everything was perfect. Anyway, everybody can agree with that: neatness and polish are fundamental when working on something – though chaos too: chaos is very creative. Even more so when coding. And I believe that any need for neatness hides some OCPD (friendly called OCD).
Fact is, I now realize that level-design might require even worse levels of OCPD to be effective. And maybe I don’t have that. I just finished another bunch of Journeyballs levels and sent them to Blake. And there are so many things to take into account, especially in a game like that, where there will be at least 90 levels. The more the levels, the more OCPD is required. It’s proportional, you see.
The main issue is that the gameplay’s difficulty must increase exponentially. But. What really means “increase exponentially”? You might think a linear curve would be ok. And that would be a mistake. Actually, on my experience, difficulty should increase with something of an easeInOutCubic curve (more soft on the “in” than on the “out”, and with some bounces in the middle), spanned within each “world”. You start a new world/group-of-levels with some new shit. Than remind players of some old shit. And then build on that. When you have 6 worlds (at least), each of them with 16 levels, you can easily see how complicated it can become. You constantly realize that some level is too difficult for its position. Or doesn’t “fit”, design-wise, with other adjacent levels. Or mixes too many elements, too soon.
How can you solve that? I have no idea. Or at least, not an exact solution. In the end, this is my first attempt at a game that involves serious level-design (even if on a minimal scale). For now, I’m just happy I built a flexible enough level editor, which will allow me to move levels around with ease, while all the “world” stuff, like colors and backgrounds, is automatically re-adapted. This way, I can just go on, and then shift stuff. I really hope it will work.
Oh, and I was almost forgetting. Sexsomnia! Welcome OCPD, and hello sexsomnia. It sounded good for a title, and I have that too – and it’s late, I’m tired and half drunk, and I don’t know what I’m writing about. Nothing extreme, just a little (I don’t walk around harassing people while dreaming – though to be on the safe side, I avoid sleeping in the same bed with a friend). I actually discovered it’s a known condition only a few years ago. Prior to that, I just thought I was weird. I mean: not that I’m not weird. But. You know. Luckily, my lady is quite comfortable with that, and doesn’t kick me in the balls when I jump on her while still sleeping. Anyway, after a while I wake up, and it’s fun.
Disclaimer
I’m fiddling with OCPD just for this article, to have fun with it. Personally, I don’t believe in the classification of mental disorders. Or better: they certainly do exist – I had proof of that, many times – but the so-called experts usually assign them to people way too easily, on my opinion. On my opinion, the so-called experts mostly suck.
P.S. A note for Boon, in case you read me
Ah! Now I have a bunch of tags about game development, plus masturbation AND sexsomnia! How cool am I? 
I’ve definitely noticed a bit of that obsessiveness in myself. You need it for pixel art too, with the endless pixel tweaking. Level design is another world, good luck.
Ehe, I was talking exactly about that with my lady, this morning, after showing her your pixel art stuff (and pixeljoint.com). I was saying that I definitely am OCPD while coding, but not while drawing, and as such, while I admire it enormously and always loved it (when it’s good), pixel art is not for me. Good luck to both of us, I suppose
Masturbation + Sexsomnia sound like a combo move to me!
I have to find something else, so I can go for a fatality!
Thank you for writing this article about Sexsmonia. Sexsomnia is a very misundertood parasomnia that needs much more research.
I was diagnosed with severe sexsomnia in 2006 and I can tell you, from personal experience, that it is very frightening and scary. I am doing much better since my diagnosis but not because of medication. Perhaps lighter forms of sexsomnia can be treated with medicine but in my case it only served to exacerbate my illness.
My sexsomnia improved by addressing the underlying causes (triggers) in a healthy and productive manner. Essentially, psychotherapy. I have found that sexsomnia is like cancer in that it cannot be completely cured, at best all one can really do is identify their triggers and learn to use them to mitigate future sexsomnia episodes. Like cancer, the goal is remission. I use cancer as an analogy because a person does not choose to have sexsomnia or cancer, they are simply the realities of life and the cards we were dealth. It is upon us, the afflicted, to do the best we can to address our respective conditions in a healthy and constructive way.
I recently launched a site, Sexsomniacs Journey, as a place for Sexsomniacs, those that love us, and the curious to convene in a safe, understanding, accepting, and friendly environment. I sincerely hope that we will grow into a strong and vibrant online community that shares our experiences with each other and assists one another to get better.
Sexsomniacs Journey is one stop shopping for all matters pertaining to sexsomnia. From articles, news, and studies by the leading psychologists and psychiatrists to defining sexsomnia (courtesy of Wikipedia), discussing triggers, and having an open forum to encourage conversation about what all of us are going through. New content is being added constantly as it is found on the web, posted by members, or myself.
Again, I greatly appreciate apprising everyone of Sexsomnia. I would like to partner with you to increase Sexsomnia Awareness. Please visit Sexsomniacs Journey and contact me directly if interested. Thank you.
Take care and be well.
Wow, this is the first time I hear from someone else actually having sexsomnia. I apologize for talking about it so easily: I know it can be a very difficult and hard condition, and that my personal situation is a lucky one, since I have a very light form.
Hi Daniele,
Thank you for the response. It is nice to hear from someone else that is experiencing sexsomnia. It is my intent for all of us: sexsomniacs, those who love us, and the curious to come together and discuss all matters of sexsomnia freely, openly, and without the fear of reprisal.
Have you checked out http://sexsomniacsjourney.com/about/ ? I recently launched this site as a community for Sexsomniacs. I would enjoy seeing you join our community and working together to spread the word about Sexsomnia. Interested? Be sure to subscribe to our blog, I am always updating. See you soon.
Take care and be well.
Hi,
I read and will keep reading your blog, but I’m not much of a community guy (actually, quite the contrary), so I hope you’ll excuse me if I don’t join the community. In the meantime, wish you luck and temperance
Thank you for your support. I just added a few more posts yesterday and I am adding more soon. Should you have any questions please use the contact form to e-mail me or leaves comments/ questions on the posts.
Please remember that you are not alone in your journey to understanding and healing.
Take care and be well.