{"id":809,"date":"2020-11-26T23:58:23","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T06:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jayjennings.com\/blog\/?p=809"},"modified":"2020-11-27T10:30:28","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T17:30:28","slug":"jay-pivots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jayjennings.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/26\/jay-pivots\/","title":{"rendered":"Jay Pivots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning:<\/strong> This is really just a bunch of blather without much point. I’m just documenting stuff so… well, not sure why, exactly. I guess this is more of a “Dear Diary…” kind of thing. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Just as a favor to me, please don’t do a search on here for posts in the last 20 years where I’ve talked about getting back into performing. Since I never did that, it would just be really embarrassing (especially if you found more than one instance of me saying that).<\/em><\/p>\n

Instead, let’s just say this is the first time I’ve decided that I should never have gotten out of show business.<\/p>\n

Quick history:<\/strong> I did my first magic show at about 9 years old in the 4th grade (thanks, Dell, for getting me into it). My first juggling show a couple years later. First clown show when I was about 13, ventriloquism at 15, RBBB Clown College at 17, puppetry troupe at 18, radio DJ at 20, and acting classes at 22. When I started programming computers in my mid-late 20s, I pretty much stopped performing except for some community theater acting\/directing in my 30s. But every once in a while I’d see someone do an act and feel “homesick” for those days…<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to now (mid November 2020) where a couple weeks ago I watched a documentary called Muppet Guys Talking<\/a>\u00a0(thanks for the gift, Mariella!) and it really hit home that I gave up on something that’s an innate part of me. I love programming and game development, and I’m good at it, but what I am is a performer<\/strong>. I was built with that passion in me.<\/p>\n

After watching that documentary I felt physically sick thinking about where I could have been, what I could have done. I actually thought, “I’ve made a huge mistake.<\/a>” Don’t get me wrong, I *know* that if I’d stayed in performing I may have just struggled the whole time, but I didn’t give it enough of a shot. At the time I didn’t know how important sticking with it was because I tend to suffer from “Ohhh, shiny object!” syndrome.<\/p>\n

So I’m pivoting.<\/strong> Most of my free time has been spent working on new games, updating previous games, etc., but as of a couple weeks ago I’ve stopped almost all game development and instead am working on things I need to do in order to start performing again.<\/p>\n

[I say almost all game development because I’m leading a small group of game developers through a book called Video Game Storytelling<\/a> and the class lasts for another 10 months, so I’m spec’ing out a game as we go through the book. But no programming on it, just design.<\/em>]\n

Things I need to do in order to start performing include:<\/p>\n