For quite some time I was heading straight up. My writing became steadily better, my game designs were continuously more interesting. I liked where I was going.

Then I failed.

See, no rising curve lasts forever, no breakthrough is endless. At some point you will come to the dreaded plateau.

What happens is that as you start in on something your skills will rapidly increase. You’ll be learning new things by the simple method of never having experienced them before. The difference between never having been fishing and casting that lure into the water for the first time is huge. But then you cast it and cast it and cast it and you don’t catch anything. You curse and spit and decide to go home. You’ve plateaued. And you’ll never catch that fish. (more…)