Stubbornness! In my few conversations with him that was clearly evident. He is a talented artist. His attitude is his undoing! Not created here is his internal theme. If he does not come up with the idea it is unacceptable. Why he is currently interested in getting assistance is a curious question. I believe it is that he is recognizing his own burnout and that the story is getting too complex to keep track of himself. I am currently getting pessimistic and suspect this PD may not be finished at the current rate. 1 PD and a rate that is looking at up to 30 months. Yeah, not good!
Much of what you say is true. I pulled away from AWAM some time ago, having been an existing patron, because of L&P's arrogant and uncompromising attitude toward a number of patrons. These were fee paying patrons who had been loyal, engaging and had offered articulate and intelligent contributions. It showed a level of contempt I found unacceptable. This I believe has changed to an extent for the better.
To balance this out I also believe one has to make certain allowances for artists who immerse themselves in creative processes. We don't like it, worse still do not understand it, but artists and writers can and do commonly behave like this. Sometimes it is beyond their free will, particularly if pressure is put on them to create and force deadlines to please others. Whether we like or appreciate this or not, an "artistic temperament" is not unusual and well documented. Unfortunately it's rarely understood or accepted by those outside this process.
I'm not making excuses for L&P. Indeed I voted out myself, but recognising L&P's undeniable talent I also knew I'd return to the fold, so here I am. And so, presumably is everyone who contributes to this forum.
In short, L&P is making a product that people want, and even with the frustration of unreliable deadlines people keep coming back. My instinctive feeling tells me L&P is trying to address these issues and more, but is continually thwarted by distractions of expanding story lines of his own doing, while trying to appease his patrons. In other words, during the increasing success of this game he's lost a sense of control. This could easily be resolved if he,
a) delegated out more, b) listened more to the concerns of his patrons, c) focussed AWAM more to its original script.
To understand an artist isn't easy and requires an enormous degree of patience. Try to change L&P's strive for perfection would be fruitless and counter-productive. None of us want to lose this great game, but to keep talking and sharing opinions, maintaining a level of understanding and hoping L&P will listen and respond is something we all can do.
