Mental vs Creative Energy
2026-07-29
For the past two years I've been working for a "Triple-A" co-dev games company. I've worked in Unreal and private game engines using C++ and other languages and worn different hats such as bug fixer, gameplay programmer and UI developer.
I've learnt a lot and suffered just as much (my first project required me to crunch!) but a notable lesson I've learnt has been just how mentally taxing working on creative media is.
Creative Media For Work
Many elements in videogames are inherently seen as creative. 3D art, 2D art, animation, music, sound effects, these all stem from traditionally creative methods. On the other hand, programming can struggle to be seen as creative. While art and music are seen in theatrical productions, museums and street performances, traditional programming stereotypes are dull office jobs churning out programs for companies.
However, I believe programming in videogames is just as creative. Programmers have responsibility in the controlled feeling of the game. A character's jump height can subtly reveal their strength, weight or gravity of the world. Acceleration, top speed and steering radius can all drastically change the characteristics of a vehicle from lumbering truck to sporty coupe.
Programming for videogames is more than simply following a design document. It's talking with other departments to understand the intended perceived feeling, designing for the possibility of further tweaks by non-coders and being aware of the whole game flow and where this new function or class will fit in amongst the other systems in play.
Creative Energy Capacity
With all these extra considerations, videogame programming consumes another type of energy than just mental focus. I'm sure other people have coined this term (or a different one!) before me, but I'm calling it creative energy as a contrast to mental energy. Mental energy is about expending effort to solve problems and meet requirements, whereas creative energy is coming up with innovative solutions to tie in with the rest of the game feel or other game systems.
Towards the end of my tenure, I had lost most of my motivation for creative endeavours. Project ideas that used to become prototypes turned into notes on my phone "for the future" and I struggled to do anything more than simply consume media. Even after I left, it took me a fortnite before I had the motivation to look at code again.
During those two weeks, I realised that over the past two years, my creative energy had been slowly draining away and I needed to completely cut off all creative and mental thoughts to recharge. The first week was tough - I felt guilty doing nothing! By the end of the first week I had begun to relearn how to relax and enjoy the absence of tasks and deadlines. By the end of the second week I could look at projects and contribute towards them. I took it slowly and worked back into it because I didn't want to burn myself out almost immediately again.
Now I'm an ex-games industry professional, currently working in healthcare. While the work is still complex and requires mental focus, there's no need for creative considerations. This is my ideal work life balance. During the day I collaborate in a professional scenario, learning new techniques and enhancing my skills, and during the evening I have the energy to create, be it writing, music or programming.
Programming is just as creative as other artforms, and just like other artforms, it can drain your creative energy. I'm in a better space now, and I'm already looking forward to working on my own creative endeavours again.