What is the prediction of dedicating myself to the creation of a videogame? 41.5

[Euphon]

There some context behind this question.

I work in a performance arts-media company, of which I'm currently the organizer. I intend to enroll to a Master's degree that would give me more competence related to this line of work. Among the disciplines, I saw a "Theory and technique of videogames" course, which made my gears roll.

I started fantasizing on designing a videogame. This specific idea also ties together a lot of different eclectic interests of mine.

So, I asked the question. Just a note, in my language I used the word "pronostics", which is more concerned with quality or moral characteristics than "prediction" in english.

This result is quite difficult to understand, although it seems positive at a first glance. Maybe it's inviting me not to put all my eggs on this basket? To make my efforts into something manageable and smaller-scale?

 

[rosada]

I’m not following your thinking. How do you get “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” from 41.5?

 

[Euphon]

I''m not sure of that observation... it's one among many. Because of the focus on restraint and simplicity that I get from this reading, I could interpret it as the I-Ching telling me to pursue this, but not to let my entire focus be captured by this pursuit.

But as I said, it's just one impression I get. As I said, I don't know how to read this one.

 

[rosada]

Ah! So you are seeing that even though the line itself seems very positive, the fact that it is hexagram 41. Decrease could be a caution to keep your vision within reasonable bounds. I can see that. Still the line is so positive it seems to be suggesting that even though the odds may be against you it still looks like this project is worth exploring. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Hans__]

Hi Euphon,
H41.5<>H61
H41 Mountain over Lake.
What is interesting in the answer is that the immovable (Mountain) generates trigram Wind through the moving line at the 5th position. The trigram that represents the invisible force that sets things in motion.
Mountain with a moving line in 5th position is sticking to the familiar as it dare not take the lead. It sees obstacles and puts itself in a dependent position when it should be taking the lead.
Wind advises long-term planning and implementing it accurately. Focus on small steps and details. Communicate with others about your plans.
The Mountain - Wind combination requires letting go of the old/familiar and getting things moving.
So this is about decreasing your "investment" in what is known.

The lower trigram Lake is stable, it is the joyful. The unique personality as the bearer of talents. It is the one who thinks outside the box, the one who has original ideas that others have not thought of.
In H41, the qualities of trigram Lake are shielded by Mountain, as if there is a lid over it.
In H61, these qualities are spread by Wind so that the rest of the world knows about them.

Hence the text of the 5th line says:

Someone increases him.
Like ten pairs of tortoise shells.
It cannot be opposed.
Supreme good fortune.

When the moving yin line at the 5 position reverses to yang, it assumes its leading function again. No longer passive in Mountain but active in Wind, hence Supreme good fortune.
The nuclear hexagram of H41 is H24, Return.
To return to the Way (see text Judgement H24) you will have to decrease the investment in that which does not belong to the Way.

What is the prediction of dedicating myself to the creation of a videogame?

When you are willing to let go of the old/familiar (you know best what this refers to), the prediction is that your inner qualities will spread.

This would be my interpretation. As always, take what resonates and leave the rest

 

[Euphon]

@Hans__ "Letting go of the familiar" would be the most misterious aspect in all this. It could go many ways. My current profession? The things I usually do? Literally "my family"? Maybe I should attempt to ask what I should let go of.

 

[Hans__]

@Hans__ "Letting go of the familiar" would be the most misterious aspect in all this. It could go many ways. My current profession? The things I usually do? Literally "my family"? Maybe I should attempt to ask what I should let go of.

Trigram Mountain with a moving line at the 5th position sticks to what is known, everything stays the same because there is no leadership to start something else.
This does not necessarily have to be a situation, it can also refer to personality. The top trigram is about the outside world or how you present yourself in the outside world.
As indicated earlier, in H41, the inner world Lake is shielded in the outer world by Mountain.
"Letting go of the familiar", then, can also refer to letting go of a certain attitude you now take on in the world.
Maybe you are someone who is a bit aloof and expectant? .

 

[Euphon]

Maybe you are someone who is a bit aloof and expectant?

The short answer is yes.
I this impression that there is a tension, it seems like it's advising restraint and "letting go of the familiar" at the same time. I think it's implicit that this means not being impulsive in this pursuit.

Maybe the suggestion pushes me to become more active in the way I follow through my plans, but with carefully planned steps. Proceeding slowly, watching carefully, and putting myself out there without expecting results immediately, and with what I already know how to do. And them. from there, branch further.

"The familiar" might have something to do with my current job also, which I find worrying. This is my family's business, so, it's quite literally "familiar". But it's also my only true source of revenue, and I'm getting experience as an event and objective planner/organizer, which might have concrete implications in this other venture as well. Leaving this profession altogether doesn't look like a smart choice to me.

 

[Hans__]

I this impression that there is a tension, it seems like it's advising restraint and "letting go of the familiar" at the same time. I think it's implicit that this means not being impulsive in this pursuit.

Where does it give the advice of restraint? I do believe that restraint and decrease are 2 different things.
H41 is the hexagram of reduction. I would see that in the light of the preceding as the decrease of aloofness and expectancy.
As I see it, the answer is about showing your inner qualities in the outside world. As mentioned earlier, in H41, those inner qualities are shielded by trigram Mountain. In H61, those qualities are spread by trigram Wind.

"The familiar" might have something to do with my current job also, which I find worrying. This is my family's business, so, it's quite literally "familiar".

I wouldn't put too much weight on the word "familiar".
Someone who is somewhat aloof and reserved usually does not like innovation, new situations, etc. When you want to develop and market a new game, I don't think such an attitude helps.

But it's also my only true source of revenue, and I'm getting experience as an event and objective planner/organizer, which might have concrete implications in this other venture as well. Leaving this profession altogether doesn't look like a smart choice to me.

But then why ask what the prediction is for dedicating to developing a video game?
That is also what the Mountain - Wind combination is about. Combined with H61, this says that if you want to fulfil your heart's desire (H61 Inner Truth) then you will have to be able to let go of the familiar.

 

[Euphon]

@Hans__ I took long to come back to you, lots of things happened and I lost track of the thread.

Your reading unsettled me quite a bit, because as of now my work in the family's business is my primary form of sustenance. A very incomplete one at that. The pay isn't particularly encouraging, and I see no real chance for growth.

My father often tells me that "this will one day become yours", but the allure of that promise is slowly waning off, because it's quite clear that my suggestions (and my brother's, since he's also working here) amount to very little, even nothing at all.

We are making our attempts at being more "hands on", but they're either squashed by other people's expectations and by our father himself. I can see it's taking a toll on my brother, since he's taking the brunt o the burden. Our official roles are "administrator" and "organizer", but in reality we're pretty much an "accountant" and a "secretary".

This business is strictly related to my father's skills and fame, which are very idiosincratic, and everyone expect precisely that from our product. Once he's out of the business, my brother and I won't be able to provide that product, and everything will come crashing down pretty quickly. We will be left with nothing in our hands. So, I believe that "letting go of the familiar" is to be taken literally, and differently from what I initially understood, the I-Ching seems to be inviting me to put all my energy into this other pursuit. Get out of the comfort zone, and prepare everything for when I will shoot myself to the stars.

I've asked other questions since then. I have a degree in electronic music production, my formal skills are all oriented towards audio, so it only seems rational to at least start out this way in the videogame industry. I laid out a plan with several steps to obtain all the required skills and tools of the trade, and I asked the I-Ching if my plans and objectives had its approval. The result was 55.2.6 which I read as being positive, even though some sources imply that I might not be seeing the situation correctly still, almost as if I need to go through some temporary confusion before I manage to acquire true clarity of mind.

After a conversation with my brother, in which we both expressed deep dissatisfaction, I asked another question.
"Am I to consider my employment at the family business a temporary crutch before better opportunities come?" The result was 13.2

The casting extremely interesting. The unchanging hex seems positive to me, but the changing line modifies its meaning entirely, because it implies that staying with the fellowship of men (and we are effectively 3 men) will lead to trouble (I see humiliation as the word being used more often). Some interpretations seem to imply an incestuous relationship in the line, which I take it as being too close and undifferentiated from one another. That's how my brother and I feel: entirely subservient to our father, used as mere tools and deluded by empty promises of grandeur. Our work with him will guarantee no growth to anyone, and the whole thing seems destined to end up in our father's grave.

It doesn't effectively answer my question, but to me it confirms implicitly that my future isn't in this business, and more generally, not within the family. But it doesn't tell me whether I should abandon ship as soon as possible, or if I'm correct in working with the company at least for some time. Unemployment is rampant where I live, and this work is inherently flexible most of the time, which plays in my favor. With the correct amount of discipline I should be able to work on my own pursuits before leaving the business.