Can never finish a project...

Hi all , right now I'm on my 3rd Unity project, and while I have 2 other unfinished projects , i almost want to abandon this one and start a new one . Anyone else go though this .

 

no never do that

 

It's a common problem. It just takes some dedication. I for example, have about 8 or 9 unfinished projects sitting around. Though with this most recent one, I've been working almost non-stop (aside from college and my job) for about 3 months now. I have 2 A4 sketchbooks filled with designs, and notes, and every aspect of the game documented. I've only started making concept environments and characters within the past 3 weeks.

The trick is, no matter how much another idea tempts you, just write it down, save it, and then go back to the project you're sticking to. Once you've finished that one, move on to your new idea. Also remember, that some of these ideas may not be practical at all.

Keep pressing on, and you'll get there.

 

Also it is important to work with themes that you like, or your motivation goes down the drain quickly.

 

I do that too.. but I have only one unfinished project however I usually don't start a project I don't see myself finishing.. right now I've been working on a mario bros clone and so far I'm making good progress and fast too. I haven't really worked on it today I wasn't in the mood, some projects I lose all motivation to continue but like I said its rare for me only because I don't start projects often..

 

You should always start with a very simple very basic prototype of whatever it is you are working on. At this point, you can test the rough feel of your idea and should you feel it either does not have what you want or you don't have the time to polish it too far, then abandon it (or put it on hold.)

Once you start a project seriously, though, avoid abandoning it. You will get ideas for other stuff while you work, write them down in a notepad or something (i have an Evernote file with ideas for other games) and revisit them later but keep focus in your ongoing project. There are legit reasons to abandon an ongoing project (like realizing you bit on more than you can chew *cough* mmo *cough*) but don't abandon a project just because you got bored. You will get bored on EVERY project ant some point and you will never finish anything if you do that.

 

Back when I first started with Unity I didn't really have my bearings, so I started things I couldn't finish. I recently have occasionally come back to them to test prototypes, but have pretty much shelved them. Recently, I've been completing projects a lot more and have not abandoned any projects – aside from a few concepts that didn't even reach development. I've now been working on a large project for a couple of months and progress has been proceeding at a constant pace – even if it is a slow pace – and I don't plan on abandoning it any time soon. I think the two biggest reasons for abandoning projects are lack of experience and having too many projects at once. You always want to challenge yourself, but not in a daunting way. Also, it's easier to concentrate if you're working on a single project rather than multiple that need your attention.

 

I've said Sometimes mainly because abandon is a strong word. I often do a prototype and leave the project sit at that stage, I plan to get back to them. I have a crazy amount of projects and its a source of amusement to some of my friends :s.

Here's what I am working on at the moment (keep in mind I also have a full time job and a 3 month old baby):

Sorlo By Two - Playable Demo, purchased new Graphics.

Escape The Castle - Simple sidescroller using free and stock assets. Needs some level design before release.

Aviel - Large project, about 50% of art purchased, very early demo.

AdventureKit - Commercial project, discounted as I own the rights. Commercial component complete, asset in preparation for store.

PMProfiler - Poor mans profiler. A profiler that works in Unity free. Uses byte code injection. Basic timings done. No UI.

ChessKit - Asset store chess engine with strong play implemented in Unity. Basic integration done, organising licensing of engine code. Needs a sample chess game.

UCloud: Highscores - Self hosted Google Apps based Highscore solution. Working in one of my games, but a long way from AssetStore.

UCloud: Analytics - Self hosted Google Apps based Analytics solution with deep Unity integration. Small parts of it working in my games.

RVR - Endless runner collaboration with artist from these forums. Can't talk to much about it yet, but it should be out for Christmas.

Magic Chains - Commercial card game project. 2 of 4 milestones complete.

Awesome Knight - Part commercial part revenue share project. 4/7 milestones complete.

Puzzle Defence - PUzzle game meets tower defence. Simple vaguely playable demo. Design Doc.

TurfWars - Multiplayer online strategy. Design doc and technical docs. Working PHP based prototype (which will be replaced). Art under contract.

Unnamed Project - Angry Birdsish clone with a twist of course. Working protoype including purchased (production ready) graphics. Mainly needs level design.

Website Upgrade - http://jnamobile.com

Editor Charts - Library for displaying charts in unity editor windows. Bar chart, pie chart, stacked bar chart, and line chart done. To be used by profiler and analytics.

Plus a heap of other mini-prototypes, experiments, etc.

EDIT: I'm not sure if listing them out like that was therapeutic or frustrating :s

 

I have just over 50 projects (just counted them) in my WIP folder. Some are just initial notes, some are full designs, some are prototypes and others are active projects.

Just have to keep reminding yourself that a crappy finished project is worth 100 brilliant ideas in a Word document.

 

I used to abandon projects fairly regularly. For me, the problem was that once I got to a certain point I realized that the project was not ending up as good as I had originally imagined. I'd get frustrated and quit. Over time I learned that things never end up as good as I originally imagine. But the pride and satisfaction that comes with finishing a project is a great feeling!

 

I often feel like moving on to something new, but I don't like the idea of leaving things unfinished. I also want to get my games out there, which will never happen if I start something new every time I get to a hard bit.

So, while I'll often start toying around with something new on the side, I'm generally disciplined about having only one personal game project on the go at once, and I'll persist at it until it's done.

However...

Last weekend I went home and felt like coding something new, so I did, and over that weekend got the foundation of a whole new game done. Really all it needs is menus, art and more levels, and to that end I contacted an artist friend who's more than happy to do that stuff. So I currently do have 2 projects on the go, despite what I said above. My main project is still on the go, though.

I think the key is to make projects small enough that there's a distinct end in sight. If there's no end point you've got no way to measure progress and no light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, about when you can get onto something new. But if your projects are short then when you get a new idea you can add it to the list of stuff to start when the current project is over, instead of having a million projects going of which you'll most likely finish none.

 

I can relate to this; it has happened to me oh so many times in my Unity lifetime. It used to happen a lot more when I was first starting out. But as I gained experience, by building simple game after simple game, it seemed to diminish (mostly). For me it was all about having an inaccurate estimate of all the challenges one will encounter in building a game.

 

Man oh man, id love to name the personal projects i worked on and never got around to finishing. Probably all up ive attempted 20-30 projects, most of them a learning experience. The longest i have ever worked on one was for about 1 year, an rpg which really took me to the next level in understanding game design. But that didn't last forever, my current project is nearly catching up so we will see, im so determined to pump out a fully functional game!

 

I went so far as to name my game Unfinished Business (though the game is related to the title also),
been plugging away for over three years and still have far to go.
It's not easy since I rely on someone else for all the coding, but I will not quit, even though there are almost continual issues, especially now moving to Unity 4 with some of the scripting errors.
(I know I will be working on this for a long time yet, so moved to version 4 to get things working as soon as possible)
I've invested enough idea-wise, time and work to know I cannot do anything else.
I either work on it or do something else not related but don't work on anything else not related to the game.
If I'm stuck on one point, I do something else until I can find a way to get resolution.
If I am out of motivation in one area, I do something else like graphic work, create a document,
a new model or new puzzle setup or work on another scene in the game.
I only work on it on my days off and vacations, can't get into it with too many time constraints.
Right now I'm feeling pretty stressed, on vacation but seems there are barriers almost every where I turn,
once I get some time to have my coder work on some issues, I think I'll be able to move on.

 

Where's the "Never" poll choice ?

 

Lol

Since everyone else is listing their reason for not finishing i'll list mine.. its mainly because I don't have an artist and I'm no artist myself. I have a idea I wanna work on but I haven't even really worked much on the idea because the idea is beyond my skills at the moment. no its not an RPG or MMO, its a genre that i'm not too familiar with. I plan to eventually work on it look for a artist etc but its hard when you cant play anyone to work on a title with you. That's another set back of mine is finances and finally my 3rd reason I dont start many projects is hardware not being up to date.. I cannot get new hardware because all my money goes too bills and my 13 month old son

 

Yeah I used to do that all the time. Usually has to do with lacking money to buy the required art but on the plus side it means you can abandon the project anytime you want without having to upset another person.

 

One big benfifit of working solo is when you quit on something you only disappoint your self . Lol

 

Most of my incomplete projects stem from no good graphics. I can code the game play easy, but it needs to look good, and my programming needs to code around the looks also, i.e animation programming.

 

Exactly....

 

Why would you need it? Just saying, dont lie

 

There's one more missing option: "Always" - [Check!]

To date, I've only really started a few (4 or 5) game projects, but never finished one of them.
If only I can make money *starting* game projects, and passing them off to somebody to finish and polish!

Do you want some inspiration? Participate in this month's 'October Challenge' at Ludemdare.
Finish any game, release it to the world, and make one dollar (or yen, or euro, or space dollar).
The winner? You! You are now a professional game designer! I can't say that yet!

 

Want to finish a project? Here's how I do it:

1) I pick a date, 8-12 weeks away. A REAL date on the calendar, say Wednesday, December 12. I will NOT miss this date.

2) I pick the SMALLEST possible project (ie not creating my 'dream game'). Something real, concrete, and doable with the resources/skills I have available right now. See #1.

3) I put ALL non-critical ideas (ie most of them) on my task list (a blank sheet of paper with 'things left to do') and immediately put an X in front of it. My brain says, 'okay, you acknowledged my cool idea and even wrote it down. Yeah, we can think on that later. Cool.'

4) Work Habits. I work every day. Minimum - 1 hour EVERY day, with 4+ hours Sat and 4+ hours Sun. Exceptions are rare.

It's a real date and a real promise to myself. If I stick to those 4 rules, I'll have a REAL project to share with the world. For example, Apple just approved my 3rd iOS app last night ('Good Sex, Great Marriage'). My Unity products are niche, but they're seen by thousands of people, and each is better than the last.

That's how I do it,
Gigi.

 

I abandon game dev all together regularly. I have a cool relatively simple idea. Start working on it.. keep working on it... Then when I have some very primitive code down I realize there is another side all together with graphics and animation and sound and lighting.. Not to mention my code at this point hardly does anything and the realization that I have thousands of more lines to go..


REALLY demotivates me.

Then I'll get another great idea.. and repeat the process.

 

The problem for most of you seems to be planning things which aren't within the scope of your available resources. For instance, if you know you don't have access to art talent then why start projects where you know you'll need it? Instead pick (or design) such that you can work with off-the-shelf art assets, or stylise the game so that the required assets fall within your skill level (eg: Geometry Wars has primitive shapes for art).

Another thing is scope creep. Decide at the start of your project what you're going to do in it and where the end point is. If you come up with ideas while you're going, which is bound to happen, don't just unconsciously roll them in - because this will impact your ability to finish because it adds the very real risk that your project's "time remaining" will begin to increase. Instead make informed decisions - how much extra time will it take? How will it impact other things you have done or have to do? Is there something else you can cut out to earn some time back? Or - my favorite - can you stick it in the next version of the game?

That last one is my favorite for three reasons. First, it's an easy control. Instead of deciding "yes or no" you're deciding "now or later", which is a lot easier. Secondly, it means you're already banking up ideas for your sequel. Thirdly, which I guess is an extension of the previous point, breaking up your project into several smaller projects means you can have several small releases. Why do one big release when you can do a few small ones?

 

If you wording the question another way: how often do you have what you think is a good ideal that you don't follow through on then I'd be on the often list.

 

I've got several unfinished (but sometimes playable) prototypes on my machine at home. I love to try something out or recreate what I see in other people's games so I can learn from it. However, with spare time being limited and other hobbies demanding their fair share as well I don't feel obliged to finish every single project - after all, for me coding is a hobby and should be about fun first and foremost. If it ceases to be fun, I move on and try something different.

 

I agree with this. Maybe by making individual projects, you can build a big project by combining later on.

 

Because I never abandonned any personal project
(unless we're talking about teenager projects, which are bound to be abandonned anyway)

 

The strategy I'm pursuing with Thora to get around this is what I like to call "deprotoization". It's a real word to me.

I can start with an example. Since I've not made a full RPG prior to this, I'm starting by prototyping the underlying technology. Last night, for instance, I perfected a method of seamlessly transitioning between two map scenes, which has a direct impact on battle transitions (since, Thora will be a game that includes a Fight Woosh).

However, before that I revised the movement system to simultaneously support WASD and click/touch-move functionality (if you look at my most recent Dev Webplayer, you can currently only use one or the other.) After all, before that I built a cave scene with some modular pieces that responded poorly to click/touch movement. Likely tonight, I'll remove the checkbox from the settings/settings dialog, since that's no longer necessary.

The point of the example is that I start by building a very basic asset. It accomplishes something, does it well, and I can develop it inside of an hour. (I agree with Gigi, an hour a day, 4 hours on weekends is the right way to go with accomplishing something.) As I progress, and the needs required of that asset expand, I take a short time to implement that expansion (again, only in the context of what's needed, and if possible within 15-30mins. I quickly go back to completing the small-scale problem at hand.)

As I go along, my prototype code is evolving - bit by bit (pardon the pun) into production-grade code. For things like the Settings dialog, Map movement system, and others, I'm already there; at present, there is nothing further I could do to improve the performance and use of these systems. I can simply move on to more interesting problems in the game.

Thus, I don't get bored, and come ever closer to completing a game smaller than my dream game, but a game that I've really always wanted to make. Besides, if I find out I screwed up...well, prototype. I throw it away and start over (of course, within the original hour constraint, but with the benefit of lessons learned.)

 

Looking good Asvarduil. Keep at it . Here's some feedback/suggestions:

- when you get too high, the camera distance clips out the geometry - happens if you climb the hill.
- perhaps turn on gravity, or if on, up the value (perhaps your units are large, requiring a larger gravity). Although, 'jump/floating' off the hills could be a fun mechanic .
- I recommend less 'pop-ups' for things like inventory. Maybe an automatic hotbar? Or show 'action' items on the bottom of the screen, like the 'Find-The-Key' kind of puzzle adventures.
- I personally enjoy using WASD/arrows to move. However, I also enjoy LoL, which uses click-move. Each has design trade offs.

I like your UI's and interface. They are solid. Nicely done!

Gigi

 

@Asvarduil: Good game so far, I do see some bugs but good so far.

 

Thanks, Kinos and Gigi! It's far from done; I'm nowhere close to real content yet, I'm just prototyping the systems.

However, that's another key to getting stuff done - prototyping is a very good thing. When I and contractors create real assets, I'll know the boundaries of what my assets are capable of, and more importantly have creative ideas about how to push them.

My thinking on assets is this: you can't place everything on code. Emergent behavior, when done properly makes for good, cheap, fast game development. It's all in the organization and strategy though.

@Gigi: Of course my UI and interface are solid. I stumbled all over them in Zombies vs. Knights

 

I wouldn't worry about it. I've abandoned plenty of games. Now that I look back on them I have no remorse... I tackled the problems, learned what I could and moved on. At one time there will come a project that you want to complete not just to learn but because you want it.

To bad that for me it had to be an mmo...

 

My game ideas are living breathing concepts, even if I did finish one to release and sell it I'd still want to change and improve it. Nothing is ever truly finished. It would be nice if I could harness all my motivation into one project to benefit from it, but that's not who I am. Instead I'm trying to find a way to adapt my approach to projects to my tendencies as opposed to adapting my tendencies to finishing projects. I keep plenty of notes in my code and GDDs (which are essential for me and are always made at some point). My project folders are usually like this:

Project Name:
>Compiler: The location of the assets and engine used to make the game.
>Game_Design_Documents
>> Reference_Pics: An archive of pictures that give me ideas for my project that are not my own work.
>> Concept_Art: Archive of all concept art for my game that is all my work.
>> Game_Design_Document: A word file that breaks down the logic of how my game will work and sometimes contains the story.
>> Old_Files: All old files are stored here as new versions are updated.
>Work_Files: All files used to make assets that are not assets to be used themselves, such as a 3dsmax file.

My project folders may become many years old and I will return to them and "abandon" them many times over, but they always get updated and improved. I carefully pick what to work on based on several factors.

The biggest issue with sticking to a single project is that you will never finish it before you lose interest and get lured away by something else. Your skills are always improving, new tools are always becoming available, new ideas are always emerging, road blocks are always discouraging and you have less control over yourself than you think.

A lone indie dev is unharnessed energy, we can make amazing and original stuff, but it is hard for us to harness such unstable and raw energy. So we shoot around randomly from idea to idea.

 

Here's a good idea, go into Unity Asset Store and buy some of the necessary features need for you game, and then tweak code if needed. Some assets you need may be free. That's what I'm doing and I'm getting farther then if I had to make assets around my code, i.e AI, and animation.

 

That's fine for placeholders or learning projects, but for a finished game you could sell that won't do.

 

True, they can be placeholder, but if you code your game correctly, once you get real assets, all you have to do is set it up like it's another character(and get rid of the placeholders ) and you're done. Plus, you can use them if you want to sell games, just put from whom you got the assets from(just good manners). Hell, someone was selling the whole bootcamp demo somewhere, I forget where.

 

I came up with a brilliant little game today, and jotted down about 2 pages of notes for it. My brain is imploding as I prevent myself from starting it, because I need to stay focused on what I'm building now.

 

You know what's weird, I haven't taken music training since the 4th grade and can't write or read music. Sometimes I can't even identify a instrument by sound. Yet rarely when I wake up in the morning I will have original music already playing in my head though and once with voices; that time there was a vague visual scene. Given the number of original visual dreams and dialogue in those (although sparse in mine) I find it surprising there are not more musical dreams. Maybe music is too abstract.

 

Dreams are, by nature, abstract. That's why you can't typically read anything in your dreams. That is an interesting thought though (why aren't there more musical dreams).

P.S. If you're hearing voices, you may want to seek professional help

 

Not wierd.

While I don't have musical dreams, I was only a music minor in college, and it's what's responsible for nuking my GPA out of a good range. Actually, art and music are both harder for me (given that I keep improving my skill as a programmer; while the skills aren't mutually exclusive, if I stay on programming for too long, I see my graphic and musical skills decay.)

I learned more about writing music from downloading Final Fantasy series MIDIs and reproducing what sounded cool, then applying my own leitmotifs to it, then writing my own melodies. People still tell me that, despite using rendered MIDI for my music, much of my stuff dosen't sound bad, and gets better the more I write and experiment with my style.

Lesson for you: don't feel secure in it? Put some time into it. Study something in the field that you like and have an attachment to. Chances are, sooner or later, you will begin netting positive XP in whatever that is. You may even level up and learn Firaga! ...actually I'm probably stretching it there.

 

One day I'll learn to read music so I can write it down when I hear it.

As far as hearing voices in dreams, they're not too weird: like running down a riverside path, up a cliff, to a cave in cliff side in order to save a white whale that had got stuck in the cave as it was too big for it by pushing it back into the river. How it got up that high and why it wanted to be there don't ask me. And of course I'm saying I've got to find that whale and save it.

 

A abandonned a lot of game.

I have no graphic skills and once the mechanics are working there is no need to do more because no one will play my game without good assets.

So now i mostly focus on finding a good graphist that will stick to the project. It also help to know that two people are working on the same project.

 

+1 it is exactly, what my problem is and so i have a lot of started but not finished projects.

 

The grass isn't greener on the other side. Imagine being mainly an artist and struggling with code, or be half artist and half coder and have a mediocre game all around.

Teams could solve this issue but online game dev teams are difficult to maintain.

 

At least an artist can learn what to do, even though it may take a while; I don't think it's possible to learn how to be a good artist, you either have it or you don't. Wish I was good at art >.<.

 

Guess what? I used to believe that too, until I was proven wrong. Take a gander at "Drawing On the right side of the Brain". And then take a gander at "Mindset". Mindset changed my professional life and DrawRight turned my wife into an artist at the ripe old age of 42.

TL;DR; 1) Realize everything is a skill - aka learnable. 2) Practice things beyond your ability and GET BETTER!

Gigi.

 

Our prototypes and personal projects are usually abandoned with bits used in our commercial projects (which are never abandoned). Hope that helps.

As for finishing something, it makes finishing other stuff easy. I always know I will finish something regardless if I like it or not, but choose not to finish personal projects esp if they aren't financially viable.

As you're a hobbyist it doesn't matter if you abandon it or not. Enjoy it?

 

Well, this is the case with me all the time, although i am interested in programming, game designing and also hacking but sometimes i lack concentration thinking that, what if i will not be able to do then? and that is what makes me distracted and then i leave the work. LOL