What motivates you to complete a game

Odd question,

but as many of you like me have no doubt encountered, you start of with an idea but end up abandoning it, not because it is too difficult or in some cases it is, but more out of lack of motivation.

Oddly, I've found my motivation comes from someone saying, 'oh I don't think that is possible, or game jams.'

Then I feel more inclined to work on finishing, when left to my own devices, I never finish much, which I see is all to common in the WIP sections, lots of games most unfinished or so simple it is too easy to NOT finish.

So what do you do to motivate yourself? And why? I think game jams are great, because it gives you a goal and time limit, what do you think?

 

Finishing a project (whether a game or something else) gives me a sense of achievement no matter how unoriginal or stupid it is.

 

The next game.

Tech improves, as does my knowledge. Each game I build, there are things I learn along the way or new tech that comes out. Things that can utilize in the next the game.

That and the fact that completing games is what makes it game development. Not completing a game isn't game development, it is just goofing around on a computer.

 

Bragging rights on the forum.

Which reminds me, its probably about time for me to release something. My claim to being an actual developer is starting to get a little weak.

 

The satisfaction of one day seeing an expression of the game I always wanted to play myself, out in the wild, enjoyed by other players.

Also I'd really love that new Alfa Giulia QV when it arrives and producing the next hit niche flight game is probably my best chance... Right?

 

Does pong count?

 

finishing a game motivates me and scares me at the same time, BUT when I defeat it once I can do it again, so I'm motivated to get those kind of feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction back. Specially since I was never really sure, if I really wanted to be game developer, so every game thats being done makes me more determined that this is indeed what I want
Also the stuff I can learn motivates me I like learning^^ it makes me feel smart XD

 

I hate leaving things unfinished.

 

For me it's the to-do-list for my project. I make one for every project and work it off. The shorter it gets, the higher the motivation. Towards the end of a project, I'm literally posessed with it - can't stop working on it, when I'm not working on it, I can't stop thinking about it, hell I even dream about it every night.

Scary, but it keeps me motivated.

 

Definitely the next game. Partly because I’m sooo sick of the game I’m working on by that stage, but also because game development is so dynamic - new tech arrives at regular intervals, and it can inspire new ideas, even if it’s just something unique from the Asset Store (e.g. Curved World).

I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with not finishing a game, as long as you’re moving forward, learning new stuff and having fun. I’ve published four small 2D games, but my project folder is littered with half-finished games. That’s not an issue though, because (a) I learned a lot building those; and (b) sometimes you don’t know if a game will be fun until you’ve half-built it…and if it turns out it’s not, it’s best to just trash it and move on. Quality’s often determined by how much you throw away.

But for me, the motivation for completing a game is definitely the anticipation of creating the next thing. We’re lucky to be working in (IMO) the most creative industry to ever exist.

 

You might enjoy reading this similar thread that I started a while ago:
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/finishing-projects-why-is-it-so-hard-to-let-go.372556/
I got lots of great replies there.

 

I think the hard part for some will be stopping that list from growing often while working on it.

People also need to try to limit the feature set in their game. I find myself very frequently stuffing features from previous games into new ones just because I know how to do them and they're cool... but a horror game I made definitely did NOT need a hunger, thirst and crafting system lol.

 

You and me both man. I finished an infinite runner more than 2 years ago, and since then I've somehow gotten mired in-between two projects. The middle of a project is the worst! I like starting and finishing the best lol.

 

What about that shiny book?

 

The only real time I finished a project to a highly polished state was when I thought there could be money at the end of it. Otherwise Im not really sure what your motivation is to not say meh im bored of it.

 

Money falls under "extrinsic motivation" and can actually make people less motivated.

 

Trollin - $$$ of course!
The unrealistic expectation that I'm going to bank double,,, no triple what I earn at my full-time job

Since I've not finished (publicly released) a game of my own - I'll relate this to projects instead. I seem to have so many ideas - it takes a conscious effort and detailed planning/tracking to stay on task, to keep scope in line and focus on the present project. I find motivation in finishing so I can move on to the next hair brained idea I have.

 

Nothing. I usually finish something just to prove that I can. When I do finish something, it's because I want to.

In life, you don't want to be the guy who always starts things and talks about doing things but never does anything. You really don't. People notice.

Finish something here and there, if for no other reason than to keep yourself from having to go around with that stigma.

There are no real, legitimate excuses for abandoning a project after showing you're so far along with it. It counts as a fail.

I know we supposedly live in a time when everyone gets a trophy just for participating, but if you don't make an actual game, you haven't actually even participated.

 

When I finish a game I'll let you know...

 

What motivates me to create games is that when I play games, I try to understand how they work. When I create a game, I understand how that works. My second motivation is me finishing my first game. I look over the other games I made and I'm impressed to see how much I progressed. But now its time for me to get back to the drawing board(still ain't finished with first game xD)

 

LOL, that's a good one!

 

"That's my game people!"

 

Tons of money

 

Because I can't think about anything else until its finished. And then when it's finished I never want to think about it ever again!

 

The money... oh wait...

 

Out of interest has anyone actually finished a game

 

Have you tried setting a hard date? I pick a deadline (or my wife does it for me!!!), I pick small projects that I know I can complete, and then, I put my head down until I finish. My projects usually consume me.

Five apps + three games across 3 platforms; plus several presentations; and 16 episodes of Game Design Zen. Done in my spare time, since Mar '11, which is when I started Gigi Games.

A good follow-on question might be 'how do you get things done'.

Gigi

 

Well... how do you get things done? ^^

 

If I recall correctly it involved his wife daring him to actually finish something.

 

If someone knows how to get things done they should bottle it up and sell the winning formula because I don't have a clue with the number of distractions today.

 

People already have tried that:

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Thing...453327530&sr=8-1&keywords=getting+things+done

Didn't work for me. But that might have more to do with me than with the book.

I'm still trying to figure out how not to spend a large part of the day on this forum ^^.

 

Plenty of people have done this. Start with 7 Habits, its one of the classic texts on the winning formula.

The formula is not hard to find. Implementing the formula is another story.

 

You can always check out Pond Wars. The main reason it got finished and published was so I could say I had something finished and published.

 

Any chance of doing a linux 64bit build, or mac 64 don't use windows, although I did try it in virtual box but it came up with an error.

 

There are lots of 'self help' books but I think the reason why they sell so many is because noone can actually 'implement it' like you said so they move on to the next self help book , hence why it is a booming industy

 

Throwin' the old gauntlet. Fear of judgement can be a huge motivator.

 

At this point, sheer stubborn will..

 

Well "finished" is a bit vague. I have finished game projects as far as calling them releasable and done so. Generally based on whatever initial goals I have set for the game. Finished in an absolute sense? I don't think any game or other project is ever really finished in that things can always be improved in one way or another.

Imagine if 10 years ago you had made a solid base game and released it. By now you could have revisited it several times to redo the graphics. That's just one aspect. Of course, you could have continued rebuilding sections of the game as your own skill and the available tech increased.

Perhaps you started out with Pac-Man and by now Pac-Man would have attributes you can upgrade, gear he can collect. Maybe he now completes the first "screen" and enters the ghost house and descends stairs leading to the underground ghost world where he hopes to put an end to the nonsense once and for all.

The only way you can really be finished is if you max out your creativity and/or skill. Or just go by that little napkin which has the scope scribbled all over it. When you get all of that in you call it done. That is what most folks do.

 

Ill probably tell you after i complete a game. But if you mean in general, i think that creative work of other peoples is what motivates me and even base les critiques that i get from my friends instead of help can't demotivate me.

 

Then it isn't "finished". Finished in terms of a work of art means you can make it different, but not better. Or to put it differently, you can not like it any more no matter what you do. This is the perfect combination of everything for what you envisioned. That is what finished means.

If you can think of a dozen things off-hand that you would change or improve, you are not finished. That is simply by definition. If you make a list of features, and implement them and call it "done" then you're doing everything wrong. That's like making a checklist in a story "love scene, check, part where the bad guy gets angry and shows how evil he is, check".

All games are not created equal. Done does not mean you are tired of working on it. If that's how a person operates, then they have never finished a single game.

No matter how many games they are "done" with.

 

I totally get where you are coming from. But with that approach I'll never release any game ever, because I'll always be able to think of something to change so that "I like it more".

I much prefer the definition that I heard here:
"Finishing something is what happens when you stop doing all the things you were doing."
I think it was @Gigiwoo who said that, I'm not 100% sure though.

Btw.: Why did you change your name? I'm confused.

 

I'm really not sure that that holds up to reality, if you seriously can never say that you are confident that you've completed something you're working on, then that's fine. but that would imply that you're working on it constantly, improving upon it. if that's the case then whatever you're working on should be pretty awesome.but to start projects and then barely make them functional, and then release them because of some excuse you've invented where there's no point in making it better because there's no such thing as a finished game... That's just living a delusional life.also to say that you're working on something when you're not actually doing anything at the moment, or you're just playing a bunch of video games, is bullcrap. Either you're working on it or you're not. I did you know how to finish something or you dont. but I see a growing feeling around here that people are tired of pretend game developers. unless you're making games and releasing them anything you say is just an excuse. so it has been decreed.

This is the name Gotham deserves. And the one it needs.

All the cool people are named after animals. Look it up.

Also, "stopping all of the things you are doing" is not a definition for finishing, as finishing by definition necessitates something being completed, as in requirements fulfilled, as in crossing a finish line. What you have offered is a great definition for quitting/phoning it in... on the other hand. I picture someone falling to their knees and dropping their tools and saying "That's it, I am finished with this..."

 

Usually what motivates me to make a game is based on what games i like, so for example if i like Team fortress 2 a lot, which i still do, then ill make a game similar to tf2. But if you ask me to make a game like binding of isaac, i will have a hard time focusing on it, cause ive never really enjoyed that game.

Friends also motivate me.

However, things like a due date, and time goal like in game jams dont motivate me much so i dont bother participating in them. Because theyre things that are optional, i dont have to do them. But if its more of a job situation, where id have to do it or else no moneis for me, then id to it.

Even if id get forced to make games, id still enjoy, cause the process is fun.

 

There are always going to be times when your 'head's not in the game', but if you just work on the smallest easiest bit of your game and crank up some good tunes and you will get going again.

For me as a solo indie the problem is how much time to invest in a game, I'm in a cycle of developing smaller shorter games in the hope that one will spark enough online interest for me to continue working on it.

When is a game finished is more of a problem than finishing the games, there is always more you can add or how much closer you would like to get it too your ideal of what it should be.

 

Id sometimes look back to my 1 year old game that i forgot about cause i got busy with school, and id work on it, fix a couple bugs, do a little things here and there. And then id close the project and revisit next 2 or 3 months later.

 

Nonsene, both in terms of art and in terms of games.

Finished is typically the point when you put an item out to market. That's not strictly true today, with patches and support and everything. But its nothing to do with perfection.

 

Who are you disagreeing with? Why are you introducing the concept of perfection into this, and making it seem like I did it? Since when is all art put out "to market"? How can you define the point that art is finished with the point that it is sold? All art isn't even sold. If it is sold, that means it is finished? Can an unfinished work then, therefore, not exist? Your statements don't withstand casual passing consideration, and serve little purpose other than the inflation of one's post count.

Two harumphs out of four.

I seem to find myself arguing that something is not a finished work of art simply because its creator has decided not to finish it. And it is with that consideration in mind, and the fact that it is impossible to argue effectively and purposefully in favor of something self-evident, I bid this thread farewell.

 

I apologise. It seems I misunderstood your last post. I thought you had said that a game is only finished when you run out of ways to improve it. By this definition no game is ever finished. There is always more that can be done, a game can always be made better.

So I reccomend putting a stake in the ground. These things are in scope. These things are not. When you complete all of the in scope tasks the game is finished.

Perhaps it's just my project management background bleeding over. But choosing to do every improvement you think of seems to be a recipie for disastrous scope creep.

 

This should be the new Unity splash screen.

 

All I'm saying is that I started out with your approach and ended up abondoning my first game because I couldn't bear to invest any more time into it after 1000+ hours (This is no guess, I had time tracking software running. I just can't remember the exact number for all the different tasks and it includes composing music etc..). This is what it looked like at some point (recorded on the iOS simulator where it was quite awkward to simulate multitouch, and for some reason the audio only recorded mono):
http://www.keinebilder.de/temp/iShowU-Capture7_1_1.mpg

So while I agree that cranking out crappy shovelware isn't the way to go either, experience taught me that your approach doesn't work for me.