Development sucks. How to avoid this depression?

Awesome!

Yea, I can totally relate: I actually now have more motivation for the project I paused now that I've tried something easier. I know that after I complete this smaller project, I will have grown and have a lot more skills and motivation to begin again on my paused project.

It's kindof funny. To complete a big project, you have to stop working on it!

 

I'm going to add some changes (it won't be a clone) but I decided that the best approach (at least for me, in this particular case) is to FIRST create a game or at least a prototype that is almost identical to the release game which inspired it.

After the game is 'cloned', then I can alter it to be 'mine'. Even if that means completely revamping or tossing out a lot of work- hey, at least I got something accomplished that I can work with! A foundation I know is both successful AND easy to build. By successful, I mean people love it in that game, so there's a higher chance they will in mine too.

 

This is exactly why I encourage new developers to start with a bunch of tiny projects. What you learn from them will save you more than the time you spend on them when you do something big later. They could also make the difference between you completing that big thing or not. Or they could teach you that the big thing isn't what you really want to do and save you from learning the hard way.

 

My approach was to design it from the ground up with my twist. Having said that, it's so modularly and cleanly written that it could easily be modified a lot. (With that in mind I've considered releasing multiple games with different twists. The hard-ish bit will be coming up with other twists that are also fun.)

 

Is it playable enough for the Feedback Friday thread? Congratulations - enjoy the results of your hard work! I look forward to seeing it.

Gigi

 

If it's too easy, you may feel like what you're working on lacks a good enough goal to be worth any effort in the first place.

 

Huh?? Care to elaborate?

There are awesome ideas which turned out to be very easy to implement. Bad ideas which turn out to be incredibly difficult.

I fail to understand how the difficulty of something equates to its quality. A great example is minecraft. A simple enough concept that is easy enough to do that we now have scores of minecraft clones in early access on steam. Some of them are from literal teenagers programming away. This implies very little actual experience is required to build a minecraft game. So it falls into the "easy" category.

The idea itself is pretty great though. Enough that I can see why they'd love working on their minecraft clone with [blank additional feature].

Forgive me if I didn't understand what you meant. I am just scratching my head, because as a developer, even a "Very Easy" game still requires a LOT of hard work and overcoming difficulty.

 

Such as castlvania 1 for NES clone vs. Castvlenavia SOTN clone. The first is simple and basic, the other is far more complex. The complex one is a richer game experience, a greater goal.

 

Coding is writing the code.
Programming is also the "drawing" and managing architecture of your code/project on top of coding .

 

Reading this thread has been great. Hearing how this process can be a huge struggle for other people - well, it's nice to know you're not the only one.

Right now, I am pretty close to release (if it's ready or not, I'm out of budget). And I'm honestly just sort of terrified. Originally I set my goal being to get it through Greenlight, but that's a pretty unrealistic goal. I made a lot of mistakes, and over reaching is definitely one of them.

My stress levels are kind of off the chart. I've put so much time and effort into something that's so subjective and uncertain: is it fun?

The funny thing is, in a way I'm more scared of actually getting this game released than I am at failing. Man, reading all the terrible reviews... I see angry gamers with pitchforks chasing me down.

 

Hey, you are releasing!!! That is a huge deal and the fact that you did it is amazing. Don't kick yourself if it isn't perfect or if some folks don't like it. Enjoy the fact that you finished, completed a goal, and enjoy the respite.

If you finish, you won't fail. You might have to make a few changes or fixes, but you still finished! That is the first goal. You can't imagine how many do not finish, even with money and large teams. Congratulations!

 

Whenever I get "bored" with my project, I simply add in something easy and new to play with in my game. Such as a new unit, or a new building, or a new environment feature, and for some reason that makes it exciting for me again lol. But, I'm also working on an RTS, so that might work for RTS's, but not for other game genres maybe?

I feel fortunate in the fact that I really havn't gotten to the point with my project where I feel like completely quitting -- and I've been working on mine for almost 3 years now. Although there have been times where I want to start a new one, but then I think about how that other one will basically be the same amount of work as well -- and then force myself to stick with my current one.

I think each person is different though. I'm just glad I havn't quit on my current project yet.....not saying it will never happen though. I really hope I finish it before I move on to another one, for sure.

It is cool to hear how other people struggle with this as well. All I can say for now is, don't give up! And "never surrender!" lol.

 

I do this as well, it can help sometimes.

I also try to vary the systems I work on, so I'll work on some kind of combat subsystem for a couple days, then a day on audio, then a day on leveling, then improve some gui, spend a day improving a scene... Sometimes this can help keep you fresh, other times it's sort of overwhelming, since you keep changing focus. Overwhelmed frequently, but never remotely bored. I guess it depends on the individual which is more dangerous (boredom vs stretching too thin) to the future of a project.

But yeah,
Never Surrender! ;D

 

I find my motivation is heavily influenced by my partner's motivation.

I do the game development, she does all the game art. If she stops working on the project, I am seriously demotivated. I still try to work hard, but I notice I can only keep it up for so long before I begin to degrade. It's also hard to start back up when I know I'll be the only one working on it for that day or session.

So having a team can really help, or hurt. It depends on how much time to develop they have compared to you. If they have another job but you're full time, or they're constantly busy or taken out (sick, kids, family, crisis) then I can see that demotivating the more dedicated dev.

I've heard this is true for larger teams too (3+ size). They all say their teammates help motivate them to keep going. I'm sure this is true.

Working alone, I think is ultimately worse. You're more likely to gain from your team's motivation boost than to suffer from any demotivating events. Although team members quitting the project can be devastating for motivation, especially if it is one after another.

Another major factor for me, is a tip I read (not sure if here, or somewhere else). It's to always take 15 minutes or so at the END of each session, to plan for the next day. It is MUCH easier to begin a day knowing EXACTLY what you need to do. I find that if I do NOT have a plan at the beginning of each session, I seriously suffer for it.

The same type of mindset goes hand in hand with starting a new feature- especially one you don't know yet how you'll do. I just completed a huge chunk of my game, and now have to go on to a totally new feature separate from everything I've done before. Not knowing how to approach this is enough work or intimidation or mental fatigue (whatever it is) that it is seriously demotivating. However once I begin, I will continue to stick with that 15+ minutes at the end of each day to plan the next step. Sometimes I actually will spend close to an hour on that plan- making it VERY easy to just work the next day. Even better, sometimes I will develop a plan- see how simple and easy it will be- and just continue working that day. End of day planning motivating me enough to work an extra hour or two!

I don't know about anyone else, but that Plan-For-Tomorrow bit is a huge thing for me. It helps so much and I am grateful for the advice.