Motivation and techniques for getting a project/game finished

[Maswoo]

So I don't know if this something people can relate with, but now I'm trying to release my side project/game I've spent 8 months on, my mind does nothing but critique. It's difficult to work on it in this mindset because all I want to do is expand scope and completely change direction. If I give in to this mindset I'll never release anything and be constantly working toward something impossible to complete with my resources.

I got as far as I have using the macro/micro approach. I consciously decide to be in either the macro vision, where I play what is built and think broadly about what needs to go in, how it should work if it fit the theme. Or the micro vision where I look at the to do list generated from the macro, hone in on a specific task, if it is to vague/not actionable I break it down into sub tasks that can all be described as actionable. I then take one actionable task and complete it, ignoring the broad scope/greater picture. When in the macro vision I don't even open the project, I have the to do list and maybe a build to play. I don't consider it a wasted day if all I do is adjust and add to the to do list. This works if you stick with it, the most difficult thing is to stay in the micro, I like to pick one day a week where I do macro stuff then don't even consider the bigger picture until the full week has passed.

If you're not good at forcing you're mind back to task then I would recommend breathing focus meditation, basically you focus your mind on your breathing and every-time any thought enters your head you force it back to breathing, can do it for just a few minutes a day, it's not for everyone and it's important to remember you'll likely be bad at first but every-time you force your mind back is a mental push up and you're getting stronger/better. Remember that you are not your thoughts, you are the one that observes your thoughts and can exert your will over them, you can't stop thoughts from being generated but you can control how you react to them.

So with that said it sounds like I have to do core-vision meditation where instead of breathing I focus my mind back to my games core-vision each time my mind wants to stray. Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. If you have any advice or experiences running your own projects I'd love to hear it.

 

[Deleted member 3145675]

Hi,
I would think one good way to solve your dilemma would be to consider your project thru the eyes of an architect:
- whatever materials you have
- whatever building methods you will chose
- whatever area you have to build your project
- all of this is irrelevant if you don't know what you want to build.

you need to have at least a relatively clear understanding of what you want to achieve. i.e. short/medium/long game - how many final branches there will be inside your game etc...

to circle back to architecture:
- your ideal built house :
1 - area? floors? how many rooms? attic? cellar?
2 - exterior style? interior arrangement?
etc...

(option B: movie making approach - from your final script make a hand drawn storyboard for each (important) scenes of your game)

you must also get used to giving yourself final delivery dates for each important intermediate stages of your product.
(punish yourself if you fail to deliver)
Have fun GL.

 

[AnimeKing314]

What I was most surprised at when I first released my game was the positive response to it. Before releasing I was starting to get really unmotivated towards it and honestly was starting to think that it was total crap. While there was and always will be criticism there's also lots of support that can renew your motivation towards your project. Even if you don't think it's ready (which after 8 months of work, it'll probably be better than most initial releases I've seen) start making some teasers for it and get some hype for it.

This won't work for everyone but personally I feed off of the energy of the community and it really helps the production process when you see people getting excited for your work.

 

[osanaiko]

I've got huge respect for anyone who actually releases a game, even if it short and buggy. Because they are taking the risk of showing their art to the world.

The chance to get real constructive feedback is super valuable.

Of course, you can find many sad and critical people in any forum's comments. People who never did anything interesting or difficult themselves, but they love to criticise and dump shit on other people's work. You just have to ignore the haters, and keep looking for the diamonds who will help you improve.

The other strange thing that seems specific to this forum are the awful weirdos who constantly appear in game threads and loudly shout about their specific fetishes, or oppositely loudly whine and complain like retarded children about fetishes they dislike.

Hey weirdos... NOBODY FUCKING CARES! Go make your own game if you don't like something.