Talent

Hey there, Gamers and Game Makers!

This week, I wanted to talk a bit about talent and what that tends to mean to people. Now, for the purpose of this blog post I'm going to talk about talent in a very broad sense and not specifically to one thing.

When we usually think about someone having a talent, we think of it as something they were born with. Something that you either have or you don't. And when people see this they see what they assume is just a talent that comes easy to that person.

When in reality, talent for the most part is the result of a person having a passion for something and the drive to put in the hard work. Often times, someone will create something amazing and people tend to see that as a raw talent that involved no real effort by that person. That this was something that just came natural to them. You've heard the countless times when someone would say "How did you get so good? Such a talent" or "I wish I could do that"

​I always think about this comic strip by Sarah Andersen when someone talks about talent.

For me talent is just that. It's practice. Now I do believe people are talented in ways that are very hard if not sometimes impossible to emulate through practice. Some people just have way of seeing things that make give them a unique perspective on what they do. But even at that, they have to have that passion and drive in order to perfect that talent through practice.

No matter how talented you are, that talent will never grow unless you work hard at it and practice. Talent is not a skill. Skill comes with the practice and it's up to you to put in that work and practice. Even if it's only something small every day. If you keep trying, you'll see the improvement much faster than you may think.

I believe everyone has a talent. As in everyone has something they're passionate about which with practice becomes a skill. The hard part is being able to recognize and understand what our talents are and how to grow them. Sometimes people have a passion for something that they truly love but feel it doesn't fit into the norm of everyday life and as a result don't pursue it because they don't know where it will lead.

For me, games have always been my passion and I knew from a very young age that I wanted to make games. Games development is a very hard industry at the best of times and sadly the games industry here in Ireland is practically non-existent. That however didn't stop me from learning how to make games and continue to make games. While it's something that is hard to do, it's something I love doing and it makes me very happy. With every game I make, I learn something new and I improve. I would argue the point that my talent for games design is nothing more than the result of a passion for it and continued practice.

So next time you feel like you have no talent or when you look at something amazing that someone made, remember that we all have a talent but that talent is the result of following a passion through even the hardest parts.

​Until next time!