Have you ever wondered what makes playing games so fun and addictive? Why can you spend hours playing a game without thinking, yet cant drag yourself to get working on your next creative project? This week’s podcast episode is about game-ification – using the very psychology and tricks that game manufacturers from Candy Crush to Call of Duty, Gardenscapes to Elder Scrolls to keep you fixated and playing, to game-ify your life and art.
Personally I love such games but I have to be careful as I get obsessed. I talk in the podcast about the following few tricks the game manufacturers from Xbox to Nintendo use, to get you that obsessed and excited about getting your own creative projects and more important challenges over line. Game-ify yourself ;)
1)Set short winnable challenges, not so hard or unfocused that they are un-winnable, but bit size pieces, so get to the end of this chapter, how to get this one issue fixed. Short so you can clearly see the specific task ahead, winnable so not impossible, but challenging as our brains love to be challenged.
2)Set novel challenges. Each stage in a game you have often different rules, new characters, a new battle, maybe new items to use, the rules are slightly different which stimulates you to have a go. Too easy its boring, too hard you give up
3)Tell yourself the story of what you are doing. In games you have a cool avatar, fighting to collect points to decorate a garden (Gardenscape) or extra power for the next level. You have a mission, yep even if you are playing candy crush – you will win this next stage! They will start flooding the screen with flowers and glittery stars. So set yourself clearly ‘why are you doing this?’ For me I am currently developing the next stage of my Singing Psychic character and I am hitting lots of new tech problems on the set up as I explore the world of the DJ Singing Psychic. But I can see the joy of me and the audience next summer in a field with me DJing, reading the songs in the audiences heart and probably playing some of my Game Show games and everyone dancing and laughing. I can see it, my story and it is total inspiring me every time to fight forward
NB I also whimsically suggest you dress up as your favourite superhero, Wakanda (RIP the amazing Chadwick Boseman) or Wonder Woman forever whilst tackling these challenges.. I have not tried this yet myself , but I will report back next week on it


Aims of this podcast
I sometimes only seem to create when I have to create, under pressure or deadlines and then I moan about the rush. Ridiculous when I think about the fact I have chosen this creative life, or it has chosen me and I must follow my muse – often grumpily it seems! Or I do nothing and then feel guilty as I watch friends get with their own projects. Hence this podcast is about what techniques we can all use to get the work done and out there, no matter where you work full time as an actor, a choreographer or have a yearning to paint more over the weekends.

About me, Marysia Trembecka

I am at heart a storyteller and this has translated from the initial creation of work to being a performer, including film and theatre acting, writing and performing international touring comedy shows to MCing.
Highlights include sell-out Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringe shows, singing at the Royal Festival Hall in 23 different languages, as well as doing TEDx talks and corporate gigs, such as the Brit Awards Afterparty at the 02 as my ‘The Singing Psychic’ bio queen character.

My ‘THE SINGING PSYCHIC’ who ‘reads the songs in your heart’ also has a GAME SHOW version, and was a finalist in Best Show, Funny Women in 2016, and I have toured internationally since then.
I have also produced five webseries as the character including my 23 episode SONGS OF BREXIT webseries I made for the June 2016 EU Referendum, on the pros and cons of the EU, I started the web series singing The Clash’s ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now’. It was very well received due to the blend of education and entertainment, and I ended up on London Live and even a BBC2 Live Debate on the National Living Wage amongst other press of the back of that.


I also was awarded Arts Council funding for research on a solo show on how we are all judged by our sexuality, so as part of that, I interviewed people on the cutting edge of sexual politics. From this I then created another character ‘Queen Of The F*cking World’ which has also toured internationally from Glasgow WOFF film festival in the female perspective strand to sell-out London, Edinburgh and Adelaide runs. I sing well and play the bass guitar and guitar in this show.

My film acting credits can be found on IMDB and indeed my projects are on my media gallery http://marysiatrembecka.com/media-gallery/
Marysia Trembecka
www.loveyourcreativity.com