When the going gets tough

It's been my dream to make my own game for a long time. I've started many projects now, but rarely get very far. My problem is that I get easily overwhelmed. One day I'll be feeling super motivated and putting in a lot of work, and then the next day all my motivation will be gone. Now that's partially due to me currently going through some depression, but it's also due to me feeling like any work I put in to my game is futile because I'll never be able to get through the stuff that's more difficult for me (such as battle mechanics, dialogue writing, and art). I think it would be very beneficial if I had a team to help me, but I've never been good at reaching out to people.


To anyone who has completed projects, how did you get yourself to continue on through the hard times?

Having a team is great - it's even necessary to make a really polished game - but I would never recommend recruiting one as a way to motivate yourself.  Your job becomes multiple times harder and it becomes more of a "slog" once you have to deal with management and coordination issues, and worry about what other people are doing and when.


Keeping your end goal in mind (not just "finishing my own project", but how that project will look and play and why people will really appreciate it) is a good motivator.  And sometimes what you need to do is just sit down in front of your computer, tune out all other distractions (including browsing the forums) for the session, and just work for a couple hours.  Often you'll hit a good stride.  And if you work for 2 or 3 hours and you still feel extremely listless, don't be so hard on yourself.  Call it a bad day, resolve to come back to it in a day or two when you're feeling better, and enjoy something else for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately the only thing you can do is just keep going and tell your brain to be quiet. When I completed my game, I was really depressed and basically was able to tell myself: "okay you're going to finish this so I can finally say I finished a thing". That was enough to keep me going because I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. Even though I wasn't good at certain aspects of game-making, trying to get better was a good distraction from being really down on myself.


You say you're not good at battle mechanics, dialogue writing, and art. What do you enjoy working on in a game? You could always say "I'm going to write this dialogue (it can even be like the first draft of the dialogue) and when that's finished, I'm going to do this other thing in the game-making process that I enjoy" kinda like treating yourself. Another idea is have a set day to work on some part of the game-making process for about an hour (so Monday is balancing day, Tuesday is dialogue day, etc). I always found a set day to work on aspects helped in keeping everything going. And even if you don't like or don't think you're good enough to do certain things, as you continue to work on said thing, you should get better at it. Practice makes perfect. And if you just can't work on anything that day, it's okay. Everyone has bad days. What matters is that you get back up in the next few days and keep trucking along.


Making a game is incredibly hard work and it is very hard to stay on track when you're not good at everything you have to do. But the more you do it, the more you'll get used to how you do it and be able to put aside not feeling good enough about an aspect and just getting it done. Everyone has a game that they're working on, but few actually finish. Even if the finish isn't entirely spotless and perfect, they finished it. That's what matters in the end.


If you are overwhelmed, dial back your idea. You can't get into battle mechanics, that's fine, make the game simpler. Do you need the battles? If so, look at how past games have balanced their battles and see if you can imitate it just to get yourself going (this battle thing is what I'm going through atm, so I'm taking a break on that game and making one without battles). And likewise, you can't art very well? That's fine, there are a multitude of resources freely available to help you with your game project. Is it exactly like what you have in your head? Probably not, but it'll do until you feel practiced enough to try on your own. You can always start small with art and just do basic edits to become closer to your original idea.

I have an article on staying motivated that might help you  :D
 

@astra_not


Would you mind telling me what is your favorite part when making a game? Mapping? Making music? Cutscenes? Or anything else that I didn't mention?

As people said above, the only thing that can complete any poject is persistence - you need to convince yourself to go on with it.


However, if it is for a hobby and not on a deadline for earning money, then I've learned that it helps to have exactly two projects, and those should be quite different.


The reason is not to force yourself into a "writer's block" by having no choice - if you don't know how to continue one project, switch to the other. If they're different enough then you can work other things on the other project.


But it is important to limit that to only two projects (or perhaps three at maximum), or you'll never get far with any of them.


And it is important to have them different - for example one sci-fi computer game and one fantasy boardgame (to be done away from the computer).


Working on two similiar projects will not create the diversion and different focus that will help prevent the block

Character design, story planning, sprite editing, and mapping.

Well, if there are things you really don't enjoy doing, and they make you absolutely hate life, get a team. If you think there are some things that are at least bearable to do by yourself, try to do them and if you can't get the desired result no matter what, get some help. When I want to continue through hard times, I play other games, get myself really inspired and then come back. It also helps when I help others with their games, like making resources for them and stuff.  

You know, people loves sprites and maps. Maybe you should post more about your work here.


How about making a new thread, like this one?





Try to show more the skills you already have. By the time those skills will develop more and more, since you will be constantly producing good content (even if you don't manage to finish a game), and receiving lots of feedback. Eventually you will become so good that you will have be to finish a game. :)


IMO, game development is not only about a hobby or a way to become famous. It's also about improving yourself and having fun!

While it's entirely plausible to find some motivation by bouncing ideas off another person, it's always important to just dig down deep and plod on. There will always be days like that, unfortunately, and not even having other people around will save you from it.


Also, don't bite on more than you can chew. If you're having trouble executing a certain idea, compromise. It'll feel like you're skimping on your idea's full potential, but experience has taught me that that's just the way things are. Problems come up and you either find solutions through them or around them. 


If it helps any, you can PM me to bounce ideas around with. I can't really commit to any projects because I'm drowning in work myself, but I'll help where I can!

I have a chronic history of starting projects, getting ten's of hours into them, even spending money on them, and then losing the will to keep going.


Best thing I've been able to do make progress: give myself smaller projects that I will complete.    Then downplay or completely skip parts of the game that aren't interesting.  Most important part is get to the end.  Not interested in battle mechanics?  Ignore them for a while (with battle, it might be possible to remove them completely).  Make dialogue into narrative description on your first pass. 


When the dialogue pops up, instead of:


"Darling, the leaves will wither on the branch as the sun banishes her smile from this world before I would willingly stay apart from you..."


Do this:


"Says he loves her a lot and will miss her."


You can always punch it up later, and when the game is completely done apart from a few dialogue tweaks, motivation is a lot higher to get it done that when it's an impossibly high mountain.


Failing that:  Join somebody else's team so you can focus on the things you enjoy.  As you get to know people and build relationships, you'll have willing participants to help with your projects!

Make a list of what you want included in your project. Then work off that list, piece. By piece. By piece. Lots of little "done that!" checks are really helpful, because you can see progress, but the general idea of the overall shape is important as well. Essentially, you're running a marathon, and you need an idea of start, end, and checkpoints along the route. (Telling someone "Just run along for 30 or 40 or maybe 50 miles, we'll tell you when to stop" won't be motivating either.)


If necessary, make a list within the list. In my largest project to date, I had underestimated the effort populating a large city would take. In the end, I had the checkpoint "Desert Metropolis" subdivided into the eight districts, and for each of these districts a list of NPCs. The city as a whole was intimidating, but a single NPC was not. So I would try to cross off at least one NPC every day, without thinking of the rest. Seeing the "check!" marks accumulate was very satisfying. Well, and at some point, I was done.


If you prefer mapping, draft a worldmap. Then list all the areas you want to have in your game. Create all those maps, one by one. If you have accomplished that - or already inbetween - try your hand at dialogue writing, the unimportant people first to practice. If you really think this won't work out, ask for help. This is an extremely friendly community, and I'm certain you will find support - especially if you have something to show and a clear idea of what is needed from the other side. (So that they can work piece, by piece, by piece.)


There'll be changes and refinements, but that's okay. I worked out the story as I progressed with mapping (not the best approach, but then the story was only background for freeform exploration), and the list of the last ten maps in the finished game looks quite different from the original planned list. But I always had pretty clear to-do lists with manageable parts before me. Otherwise I'm pretty sure things would have deteriorated halfway through.

To build off of what Anthony is saying, look at your list of things to do as sections of the game, especially if you are working the project by yourself.


For example, look at the database. There are a number of tabs there, and as they are all interlocked, it's easy to get overwhelmed by what needs to be done. Actors need to be given Classes. Classes need Weapons, Armor, and Skills. Skills need Animations. There is a lot to do, and it can scare off anyone who isn't prepared!


My advice will focus on the database, but can be applied to the entire game project (again, Anthony stated a lot of what I was thinking when I read your original post).


1. First, go through the database and make a list of what is referenced by what. (Class is referenced by Actor, Animation is referenced by Skills, Actors require Sprites created in the Character Generator, etc.)


2. Work on the bottomost level first. i.e. if you have any Animation, work on them before Skills.


3. Move upward until you are at the uppermost layer. i.e. you end up in the Actor tab.


4. Glee! Your database is finished! Now you can start designing your game. Just apply the same logic of breaking down everything into sections.


There's a lot more to this than what I've listed. I'll be happy to break down the process a little more if you need, but between the other posts on here (all which are very, very helpful), and this, you should have a good starting point.


Cheers!