Multi-Tasking and Modding

Multi-tasking is a costly pleasure. It divides attention, slows down work, and tends to result in maps that languish on the hard-drive long enough for the author to lose interest. Today I think I moved a vertice. But it feels good so fuck it.

For me lately it has been listening to old Opie and Anthony recordings. Of course I listen to music, and it tends to be a mix of pop-synth (Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, New Order), funk (Change, S.O.S. band, Crown Heights Affair, Andy Narrell), prog-rock (Beardfish, Kaipa), and italo-disco (Clio and anything youtube sorta queues from that start). Occasionally I watch let's plays (Chip and Ironicus tend to be my favorite) or some old anime (lately it has been one called texhnolyze).

Its easier to mutli-task with some things than others. The least progress is made when watching an anime (gotta read the subtitles). On the other hand, maps seem to truck along when listening to a radio show/standup comedy (perhaps because it is long and unbroken). I tend to associate certain maps with whatever background activity I was doing at the time. For example, I prefer to only work on a certain nebula 95 map when watching slowbeef's Metroid Prime LPs, or to work on my unnamed squiggly maps while listening to Frank Zappa.

So I'm curious, what kind of background stuff have others here been engaged in lately while working on their favorite project. Please don't tell me you concentrate. That'll hurt my feelings.

Often I put on let's plays of random games on my iPad while mapping.

I listen to music.

Listen to my mapping station on Pandora

Browse DW forum!

Yeah, every 2 minutes alt+tab to change the song in foobar2000\chat\browse stupid websites\play some game\make a thread about how mapping sucks\etc.

edit: wow post number 7000, good time to take a break perhaps?

I once was listening to college lectures on youtube while mapping and found I was much more focused than I otherwise would be.

I map while listening to music or previous speedmapping sessions that were recorded.

While I am mapping I usually listen to music. Sometimes I put yt videos in background, generally reviews, talks, or random things that just listen to without watch it's fine.

I try to listen to music that I associate with the feeling of the map. For atmosphereic/dark maps I listen to Rob Zombie/Slipknot, while for more slaughter heavy maps I listen to thrash like Megadeth/Anthrax. Other times I listen to Punk or Electronic.

I listen to the voices in my head, slowly driving me crazy.

Hell's Kitchen Season 6 - Uncensored Highlights.

I most likely always listen to my favorite tracker modules if I'm not in the impulsive mode and don't listen to anything (particular). Actually I can do pretty much everything at the same time, depends on amount of coffee I've drinked.

I tend to listen to music.

However, as of late I'm at a shortage of radical tunes. I have a liking for goofy/bizarre songs with crunchy low-quality samples as per this or this as they are hilarious and wonderful and the best for me.

Please do assist.

Kind of weird, but about 90% of my mapping is done with the doom builder window shrank (shrunk? shrinkened? shwrinkled?) down and taking up the right half of the screen, and a movie or tv show taking up the left half. Probably why I map so damn slow, but oh well.

yea I listen to music too, along with adding -nomusic to the source port parameters in doom builder so I can iterate a lot without ruining the flow

Lots of audio-heads I see =). I tend to dip more into Octavarium's and Memfis's habits I think.

40oz said:

I once was listening to college lectures on youtube while mapping and found I was much more focused than I otherwise would be.

Oh cool! I used to do this quite a bit during the first few years of college. Even with a traffic violation video.

Jaxxoon R said:

I tend to listen to music.

However, as of late I'm at a shortage of radical tunes. I have a liking for goofy/bizarre songs with crunchy low-quality samples as per this or this as they are hilarious and wonderful and the best for me.

Please do assist.

Heh, I was on a Sonic Adventure music bend when making cc4 maps. King Meteor's version of "Supporting Me" from SA2 was one of the many songs map21 had cycled through before submitting the map.

I actually have found that my most productive periods always come when listening to Marc Maron's WTF podcast.

I listen to rants on YT, listen to heavy metal(preferably Metallica, Queensryche and Dream Theater), watch let's plays or watch Big Bang Theory. I get bored if I can't listen to or watch anything while mapping. It's the same when I study for a test or do homework for college.