Observing the Impossible; the Metaverse and More.

Created in 2010 via 3DS Max

I was initially going to write about how life's recent events have made me depressed and miserable, but honestly; no one wants to hear about that. No one cares if you're down (unless they are close friends and family) so I've decided not to dwell on it. 

I'll admit the following. Some of the recent things are my fault or beyond my ability to affect (the recent loss of a beloved family member) or the deterioration of some personal relationships (both sides to blame.). When mortality and the realness of the effects of life hit you; they hit hard. You are where you are in life, not because some imaginary force led you there, but because of the choices you've made and the options you've taken. Recently I've decided that if I was going to do anything in life I needed to accept some hard line, harsh realizations. These are evident truths that while I've always kind of known, I never really accepted them for the truth that they represent. 

The realizations: 

 

 I can't change what other people do. 

I can change what I do. 

I cannot change what others think. 

I can change what I think 

I cannot change other's peoples beliefs 

I can change my own beliefs. 

I cannot change other peoples self-confidence 

I can change my own.

Change in Focus

About four weeks ago I made a very important decision in my life. While on lunch, I decided that what I was doing for employment was okay, it honestly wasn't very fulfilling. I do good work at my job and I rarely receive anything resembling a complaint (other than mistakes which are a part of the process). The job is decent, and it pays fairly well, but it doesn't satisfy the craving in my soul. If you've ever read this blog before, you'll know being creative has been my thing for as long as I can remember. The earlier years of the blog were about my screenwriting, then novel writing, game development, etc, etc. Even my last post was about creating an isekai story (which is still on going) though I've yet to publish it (something I plan to rectify) My writing skills were never all that great, but my story telling skills are still sharp; but I digress. 

So as I was saying, I'm sitting at lunch and I decided that what I'm doing isn't enough. I need something else. My mind is usually oriented towards the future (I'll point to some older post I've written to explain what I mean) so I start thinking about the things I would want to learn that would be both satisfying and financially beneficial to me and my ultimate goal for financial self-sufficiency. What I came up with was a bit of a Masterstroke and I feel proud enough to say that. 

First a little backstory. 

Sometime ago (maybe about three years) I developed the belief in this idea called the "Creation Engine" or CE for short. The CE isn't so much a thing but a methodology and approach to being able to create things in real space. While there is a capitalistic element to it, as a part of it's design is to create products with a certain sellable element to them; the creation engine is about developing the means to ideate and manufacture using a certain set of tools. The tools are both specific and non-specific, and are as much about the process and mindset. The Creation Engine is a streamlined process to ultimately produce an effect similar to magic (something I've touched on before regarding writing. Though not the typical, loosely defined magic that society generally views as unexplained phenomenon. More like the ability to create something from nothing. Creating a tangible result that exist in the realm of 3D. Artists (writers, singers, painters, sculptors) do this all the time, sometimes with or without a process. 

The Creation Engine is by design; my process to do exactly what I desire...to create. 

Backstory over. 

Using the CE as a sort of frame work, I assembled what will be considered my major attempt at changing my life for the better and developing useful and relevant skills. The skills developed will be of great use in many ways as they can affect multiple fields individually or combine like Voltron to deal with greater challengers. So what is this great effort that I've spend so much time and effort into developing?

 It's called Observing the Impossible. 

Arranged as a syllabus for the development of the Creation Engine. In it, I start by outlining the basic skills required to develop physical products (as I own two 3D Printers), but it doesn't stop there. Its goal is to also develop the type of skills necessary to serve as a foundation to create virtual spaces that include the modern and future notions of the Metaverse (Yes I know, Meta owns the term, but they don't at the same time). 

The reason I created it as being like a college course, was because I realize that the way I learn is easier when there is some kind of structure. Being able to learn something is never easy, but if you know how you learn; it can remove some of the challenges from the process. Putting together this syllabus took about a week. I knew what skills would be required in the near future and the overall challenge level associated with each one. The course was written specifically with me in mind, but it could be adopted by others who were interested in a similar approach. 

The syllabus is divided into four areas. 

3D Modeling 

Programming (C# and Python) 

Unity (Game Engine/Multimedia Platform) 

Unreal Engine (Game Engine/Multimedia Platform) 

The reason these four were chose is outlined in the section titled "A less than proper introduction." 

In that section I wrote the following. 

"-Sigh- Here I am again caught up between what I would like to do and what I am capable of doing. It's funny how one thing affects another. There are four specific areas that greatly affect my ability to move forward in certain area/fields. I’ve tried my hand at these with low to middling degrees of success, but nothing ever permanent and nothing ever long lasting. Most of the information is never retained and the gains are lost over time due to inactivity. Still, these are the skills that I feel will benefit me in the future. There is no particular order though Skills 1 and 2, greatly benefit skills 3 and 4." 

While I can go in-depth about the reasoning behind each choice; let's assume that I know what I need  and am capable of making the assessment of what I need for the future. 

Starting with 3D Modeling; I knew I would need to learn 3D Modeling as a sort of pre-requisite for both Unity and Unreal. Both engines require some knowledge of 3DM, Lighting, Shading, Topology and many other terms that I was only marginally familiar with. Knowing what a "Normal" is and the difference between vertex, edge and face is important. In 3DM these are critical pieces of knowledge that everyone who does it, should be familiar with. 

If you've been following along this long, then I thank you. 

Observing the Impossible is a five year course (No, I'm not kidding). In order for me to fully embrace those skills I'm trying to learn I must achieve some sort of functional mastery over each one. Since I've started with 3D Modeling (the easiest and yet still challenging.) the way I've approached it; is to watch a ton of tutorials, try out the methods, succeed or fail and then try again. In between; I also keep track of the information I've learned so I can always go back and reflect. Watching the tuts, have been beneficial, especially some of the ones geared towards beginners. I've learned much in the last three weeks, and I'm proud to show off some of my work.  

I have a long way to go, but I'm determined to see this through. I know that it's going to be rough, but where I've quit before I'm going to work through it. If I get stuck I can always reach out to the various communities available either through Facebook or Discord (as well as a few others) for solutions (something I've had to do). Nothing that I want to do in regards to 3DM is impossible (other than advanced caustics on a GTX 1070). There's a solution to every problem, even if I don't know how to do it. Every problem has a process to it's solution. With that being said; below are some of what I've created since I started. Still basic (as there are elements of lighting and composition that I've yet to master) but I'm really learning what the different functions are and I'm proud of the direction I'm heading.  

I've tried devoting myself to things in the past, but rarely with anything resembling structure and I've learned much about myself in the last few years.  So if you'll follow along, I think you'll see some new and surprising things.  

I won't make promises to update frequently, as my dedication to the task has forced me to cut out a lot of extra activities, including my weekly game playing sessions, but I'll keep you posted as I am able to.

This is Nytmaer signing off for now, but as always;

Stay awesome!

:o