The Natural Progression of things...

If you've ever wondered why more things don't just get DONE on NarniaMUCK, allow me to enlighten you with a perfect example of the way I tend to work.

As the most recent news update has indicated, we're in the process of opening Lancelyn Green as a playable town. To that end, we need a village (done), an inn (done), some shops (not done) and something to do (not done). Having successfully completed the Inn, I turned my attention to the shops Bucki created in her workshop. I attached them to the square in Lancelyn Green, parented everything as appropriate, and sat down to put in the actual shop programming.

This is where I ran into a snag. I knew from talking to Bucki as she worked that she had come up with names and descriptions of the shopkeepers, but I wasn't sure what those names were. I couldn't set up the shops until I knew this, so for a time I just hung out hoping she'd pop on.

She didn't. Hrm.  Well, it was Saturday, and I'm absolutely in favor of my players and staff having a life outside the game. I had resolved to just wait.   Then I happened to check the Tailor shop and realize that she had listed the shopkeeper's name in the room description! Well, happy day! And a foolish-feeling Wix, as it hadn't occurred to me until that moment to actually read the room descriptions. I trust Bucki, but checking things over is still my job and all. Whoops.

With the needed name in hand, I sat down to set up the store, figuring I'd do everything except the description, leaving that to Bucki. I got as far as adding in the items the Lancelyn Green Tailor would sell, and I hit another snag...

I realized that I was tired of adding the same articles of clothing in different configurations to every single tailor shop in the game. And I realized that it was high time I did something about that. So I bounded off to my workshop (I can do that in Narnia, as I'm supposedly a squirrel there and all) and broke out my infamous notepad. For the next two hours I wrote programming that would enable my staff to help me create new clothing items. When it was finished, I compiled it, tweaked a couple of missed 'then's, and felt very proud of myself.

Then I looked around.. hm... Where should I set up the new command I'd just written? The staff area is set up to mimic Professor Kirke's mansion, and it's really only half-done. The building staff have workshops there, which is the truly important part, but I'd always intended to add more to it -- home places, a spyhouse, etc. Well, I thought, it might be appropriate to set up a sewing room in the Manor. That'd certainly be an appropriate place for a clothing-making program, yes?

Before I really thought about what I was doing, I'd added about six new rooms  to the manor, none of which had anything to do with sewing. o.0 Moreover, I realized, I was working in the wrong direction. As it happens, I am laterally challenged; while north and south are easy enough for me to keep track of, east and west often confuse me. (This is particularly evident in Madderholt right now, as I have the Alehouse and Florid's Hut pointing in the wrong directions). I realized that I had built the east wing when I needed to do the west wing...and..

Well, anyway.. those six rooms are nice and all, but as it turned out that what I NEEDED to build was actually a two-room stretch in a completely different part of the Manor to get where I'd intended to go in the first place.   Yeesh.

So anyway.. at the end of all of this, I was showing off  my hard work to Paxa, who dutifully admired all I'd accomplished.  Then she looked at me and said, "Why are you carrying around a tailor and a pricelist?"

Oh..uh.. right. Lancelyn Green. Right. Um....

And you all wonder why I never get anything done! Sheesh.