At the start of this week, streamer friend Kywil- who I’ve mentioned in previous posts- took on the Elite Four in the pre-public version of my hack Pokémon Creamy. It was an absolutely harrowing stream, as not only had I redesigned every team to be much more difficult, but Kywil openly professes to “not being very good at Pokémon.” Despite that and the fact that he was literally shaking by the end of it, he managed to beat all four with but a single loss. Three whole years of working on Creamy are soon to be realized, regardless of its sporadic streams. It is beyond exhilarating.
While Kywil did end stream- at my behest, no less- after besting a beastly Lance with not one but two Legendaries, we have the coming finale to look forward to. The end of Creamy’s main story is just around the corner, and there’s still a post-game to explore. I’ve waited three years for this. On the one hand, this is an amazing feeling as the dev. On the other… it feels a bit empty.
A minute lingering dread sits in the back of my head. All of the ups and downs of creation and its streaming, and it will soon come to close. Even if I will be remaking Creamy bigger and better than before, I can’t help but feel melancholy. I’ve joked before that Kywil’s completion of Creamy is the end of an era, but now it seems like an inevitability. All things must come to end, but it’s hard to just let that go and move on.
It is a personal philosophy of mine that change, amidst its inherently destructive nature, is paramount to living a healthy and fulfilling life. Clinging to positive feelings and experiences with no heed to the march of time can ultimately be self destructive. The world is not static. People are not static. We are in a constant state of change and learning, and continue to develop throughout our lives. Feelings fade with time, and memory is notoriously unreliable.
If all you do is live in the past, you will eventually come to an evangelized rendition of your creation. A falsified fantasy to capture the dead feelings desperately sought for, and abolishing all of the badness of the reality. The truth becomes lost to all as it is overwritten, and all that remains is lies and half truths. Such is the power of will and our quite fallible minds. Much the opposite is possible with overtly negative views of the past, but to the same ends: stagnation.
That isn’t a state anyone should inhabit. The lowest of lows, where one but festers and withers upon their decaying vessel. An unwelcome reminder of a crumbling foundation that refuses to move forward, and only serves to pull down others. A world lives and breathes outside these foul bastions, however. A reality that, rightfully so at times, people aren’t ready to face, but it bears a good lesson:
Be thankful for what was had, and know when to let go to move on.
For all of the trials and tribulations of this thing was call life, variety is truly the spice of it. Going out- in far less literal sense right now- and experiencing… anything, really, can lead you to so many places. I’m sure a lot of people can attest to that given social distancing, and the need to find whatever possible to pass the time. New hobbies, new interests, new friends. Maybe it didn’t go exactly that way for everyone, but nobody said it was all fun and games. It rarely is, and especially hasn’t during the past 365.25 days.
Much as it might pain me to think of the end of Creamy’s era, it’s been a wild ride. I’ve grown a lot in terms of my craft, and I would hope as a person as well. This silly ROM hack has left impact enough in myself and my abilities that I have great hopes for the future. My planned hacks and anything else I do. Furthermore, Creamy wasn’t just for myself. It is an expression of the Puntry, where we tell bad jokes and dad jokes, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Where one door closes, another opens. Creamy’s tale ends, but another follows, my experience and fond memories alongside. Those aren’t going anywhere, and will, in fact, help propel me forward. I’ll look fondly upon Creamy in the years to come, and endeavor to share it with others with the eventual public release of the hack. The same can be said for both past and future projects, and moreover, hope for what is to come. We could all use a lot more hope right now, and I wish to say that Creamy is but a stepping stone to an ever better ROM hack in the works.
Good times all around.