Of Gardens and Games: On Creation, Limits, and Value

I began this project knowing my limits. My ability as a coder or developer was nowhere near what I imagined, and that realization was both humbling and motivating. I had studied game engines, followed tutorials, and explored basic coding, yet the urge to create something immediately was stronger than my patience to learn.

So I started looking for help. I browsed through Reddit threads and developer forums, searching for someone who might take a chance on my vision. Reaching out was a leap of faith, one of the biggest creative risks I have ever taken. Every act of creation begins with uncertainty, but it also begins with courage. Sometimes, asking for help is the first real act of creation itself.

✦ The Gamble of Beginning

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From the start, I wanted to understand how games truly take form. I have always learned best by observing and participating, so working with people who could explain their reasoning and process was essential. I wanted to understand not just the product but the structure that allows it to exist.

One question often lingered in my mind. Is it still an indie game if someone helps you build it? This question became one of the reasons I created this blog. I wanted to be transparent, to show that I am a creative mind learning how to give shape to something beyond my skill set. The story, the mechanics, and the world all come from me, but their translation into form is shared through collaboration.

Another guiding principle was my intention for the game itself. I wanted to create something that could serve as a form of relaxation through strategy. Research has shown that structured play and cognitive engagement can reduce stress, and I wanted to build an experience that reflects that. ( Links to a few studies at the bottom) My goal was not financial success but the fulfillment of creative energy. If I could simply recover what I invested and build something meaningful in the process, that would be enough.

✦ Learning & Intention

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Practicality and vision are not opposites. Practicality is the foundation that allows vision to exist. Without structure, a vision floats without direction, and without imagination, structure becomes rigid and lifeless.

Creative independence works in a similar way. Independence does not mean working alone; it means holding your vision steady while learning to work with others. Some forms of external support can actually strengthen creativity rather than limit it. The difference lies in intent.

Creating something is much like designing a garden. The garden’s boundaries define where growth can happen, but the gardener’s intent defines what will grow. Independence and support are not enemies. They are the soil and the sunlight that together make creation possible.

✦Vision & Structure

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"Creative independence can only exist because the world seeks to limit it. Boundaries give shape to meaning

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~ Sohlvian

The Gardener Still Learning How to Prune

"Every act of creation begins with risk, but it also begins with courage"

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Working with limited resources forced me to define my purpose. I asked myself three questions: Who am I creating this for? What resources do I have? Why am I creating this at all?

Once those answers were clear, I could build within the space I had. A smaller space does not limit creativity; it refines it. Having more resources does not always result in better work. It simply means there is more to manage. Knowing my limitations allowed me to set expectations and focus on quality rather than time.

Authenticity is not born from urgency. Urgency often comes from fear, from the pressure to finish rather than to understand. True creation is a gradual process of discovery. Efficiency can coexist with authenticity when intention remains clear. That clarity is what gives the work its truth

✦On Scarcity and Authentic Work

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✦Seeds of Value

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People often ask what kind of value in art or culture cannot be bought. The answer, I believe, lies in experience itself. Every moment we live plants a seed in the mind. These seeds rest quietly until the right conditions awaken them. Money may water them, but it cannot create them.

Each seed represents something we have seen, felt, or understood. When the right moment arrives, that experience blossoms into insight, empathy, or creativity. Some seeds grow easily like wildflowers, while others require rare conditions to bloom. We do not control which seeds sprout, only the environment we create for them.

Art, emotion, and culture grow from this inner garden. They emerge from the patterns of life, the memories we carry, and the worlds we build inside ourselves. Their worth cannot be measured in cost because their origin is the act of being human.

"Artistry, emotion, and culture are the seeds within us. They bloom only when the inner season is ready"

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"Just outside. The light had that far-off clarity you only find near the edge of the world"

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