Hellooo :3
Lately, ive been kind of losing motivation an having to really on discipline to work on my game, since ive been stuck on the same thing (making an inventory) for a long while now. How do you guys stay motivated?
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Do something else for a while. It can be tiring to work for too long on something that feels too advanced for oneās current level or too apart from what one actually wants to do.
With something else i mean do something you find more enjoyable. Like writing dialogue or draw some art or come up with new enemies.
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Join a game jam!
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As @baba said. Take a few days off. Then re-evaluate. If itās not fun any more, and itās a hobby for you, do something else.
A good thing I find is to shelve projects for a while. Start a new game (something without an inventory), or get a new hobby. (Or drop inventories from you game. Itās not like they are an essential component.)
Maybe itās not for you. Or maybe it is and you just need a break.
EDIT:
Or as @Frozen_Fried said, do a game jam. That will get you in a different head space immediately.
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Some good advice has been given already. Perhaps collaborating with others, doing other things, etc. But I think in essence it comes down to stepping away from this project or feature youāre working on for a bit.
But Iād like to raise another question to think about. This is going to sound like me being an ass, but I mean it genuinely: does it really matter?
The fact that you raised this question implies a dissatisfaction with you losing motivation, but there are no peaks with valleys, meaning, itās not going to be constant. Thereās going to be times where you feel motivated and productive, and are able to churn out more than normal. And contrary to that thereās going to be moments where itās less than normal. Thatās fine.
Step away for a bit. Work on another game, read a book, play someone elseās game. Then come back when you do feel motivated. I assume youāre doing this for fun, so have fun.
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I talk about that a bit in my Post Mortem above. Burnout is real. Take a break. Read a book. Watch TV. Play someone elseās game that might inspire you. Go for a walk. Stepping away even for 15 minutes can help. And make sure youāre getting good sleep.
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Iāve been having issues with motivation/burnout too, although mine seem to happen more with asset creation. My game uses pixel art, and while I enjoying creating the look and feel of my game world, having to create every little thing that the player sees is a lot of work. Iāve learned to scale back some of my ambitions, but often I just need to take breaks.
Something that helps a lot for me is to get outdoors when I take a break. Usually Iāll go to a park to walk around and explore. I think the big advantage of this for me is the break from having my eyes on a screen. I also find inspiration in a natural setting, although that may not be helpful for something like creating an inventory.
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You could try my system of changing projects as soon as it gets tough.
It leads to learning a lot of Godot things and the only real downside is never finishing anything.
I like think of these projects as āstudiesā, like in the art world.
Another (less tongue in cheek) option is to design the inventory system as its own project until you get it working well.
From there you will be in a better place to design one for the game.
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You may want to try working on another part of your game for some time.
Or you may search for some advices by watching youtube videos or other tutorials, to have other ideas and see how other coders work on the same goal.
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I find that I get really discouraged and demotivated if Iām inflicing too many deadlines on myself. Fun and rewarding tasks become slogs because I feel like I have to finish.
If thatās how you feel then Iād suggest just forgetting about timelines and finishing and focus on working out the details. You can go down some fun rabbit holes just letting your mind wander.
I also find that working on something simple that I know I can finish is very rewarding and that might help you find motivation to do more complex work. Simple mechanics or small art pieces that complement your idea for your game help a lot to get things started and come with the added benefit of being useful for your project.
You can also revisit something youāve already finished and try to find new ways to accomplish it. Itās less taxing on the brain because youāve already done a lot of the thinking and thereās no pressure to finish anything.
That kind of simple reorganization can be quite lethargic and rewarding. Itās like coloring in a coloring book as opposed to designing a new art piece.
Hi,
Iām sorry you feel that. But also know that itās very normal! Nothing is wrong with that feeling. I think everyone here had that feeling at some point at least once!
Here are the things that helps me, I hope it helps you as well..
- Take a break (days, weeks, even months..). I know months may not be realistic if this is how you earn your living. But if itās just a hobby, then you can do it.
- Talk about your game or show your game to your friends. Just seeing them very interested in that can change your motivation level.
- Work on something not urgent but fun things about your game. I make a list of fun but not urgent or important things for my game. And when I feel unmotivated, I just switch to the items on that list.
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Learn something new and exciting like git stash which allows you to put away that inventory code and start work on a new feature for a while.
To elaborate a bit, you want to first do git add --patch then git add for files that arenāt in the repo yet and the git stash --staged. git status will show you what you are about to git commit
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@ananasblau
Wow. I am still a noob with github but git stash looks amazing! I have just been reading about it and wow thatās going to be useful. It just reverts your files to the previous main version and stores all the changes you made locally, so you can re-instate them whenever you want. (Still donāt know what they do with collisions if you have since committed other changes but I am sure they must have worked that all out too I am guessing).
Ooooh. I canāt wait to try this out. Thanks for the pointer!
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Those are like merge conflicts, nothing that canāt be dealt with. If you read a bit deeper into git stash, as I hinted, you can stash only part of your work like with git stash --staged
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Lots of great advice here! Seconding taking breaks, working on different projects, and joining game jams. All of these can be great tools to help with lack of motivation.
Honestly, though, the main thing that has helped me work past low motivation has been consistency! I try to work on my game development a little bit each day, even just 5 minutes, even if I donāt feel like it. It doesnāt have to be on my main project (like your inventory system), although I find it most effective if i spend some time chipping away at whatever Iām stuck on and then work on something more enjoyable. Eventually, the progress you make snowballs into motivation, and even if it doesnāt you still have some progress to be proud of!
Itās definitely not a strategy that will work in all scenarios, donāt do this if youāre experiencing burnout. But itās helped me through periods of time where Iāve gotten stuck.
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It helps to set a deadline. Most of us donāt like it, but we work best when we decide we are going to get so much work done. One of the reasons game jams are so popular. You can do it on any project, break it down into smaller pieces and plan to have it done by such and such a time. The main reason I still do it as a hobby is that there are so many skills involved. For some thatās bad, but for me, it helps. Iām modeling, programming, and working on game mechanics and story.
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Just stop and do whatever you like. For most of us this is a hobby. If you have no more fun then start a new game or just an idea you want to try. Free time is spare and life is short. This time should not be something to worry about.
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For me I think sometimes it means Iāve bitten too much off as in the project is too big, Iāve shelved some because of that. It could also mean that youāre just (in your own eyes) not making enough progress, so I find it helpful to constantly ask myself whatās the thing that I can do that would make the biggest impact and is the fastest to do? Doing those things helps. I also switch from code to art to keep things interesting/moving. Really to make games you need a basket of self care tricks, go for a walk, touch grass, remember that youāre blessed being able to do this. Take some time to do some writing, about the lore of the game or really anything, see if you can get in touch with that initial spark that got you moving in the first place. Lately Iāve been starting with a comprehensive mini GDD where I ramble about lore and mechanics and market research then get ai to clean it up so when I return to it thereās a cohesive well presented structure I can get reacquainted with, inspired by and maybe expand on it. I switched over to Obsidian synced via dropbox so I can do this on any app, this is so I can support myself to make the things I want to, which is again in that basket of tricks to help you make games. You have to be your own champion and care taker before you can do anything creatively productive.
Goodluck and be well!
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Oh thatās a good one. I do that too, in fact I dedicate entire days to either art or coding. I find they are two entirely different mental spaces and mixing them is detrimental to both. (Except minor coding things on art days like checking on the size of something or if it fits with the background etc and vice versa on coding days rejigging a piece of art to fit a particular dimension).
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Yeah for sure! I prefer to dig into one or other for a bit and not jump back and forth. I find the best success that way, and usually by the end of some sizeable task Iām happy for the switch.
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