How to stay motivated?

General
21

Take a look at this article Building a Healthy Mystery Gamedev Habit - by Kinjo
It helped me a lot.
In summary, we endup with a burnout while developing because we tend to treat game development as a sprint instead of a marathon. That is, we try to rush our way to the end and end up really tired, while we should be doing a small and constant progress aiming a long and harsh marathon.

22

I usually lost motivation in cases when my idea is too big or it is hard to think about. If you relate, i have some tips that worked for me

  1. Stop thinking, pick something super easy, not complicated and small. After completing such tasks i feel myself better, then i just stop working for a while to rethink my idea, find something useful or just rest.
  2. Make a side project with smaller scope or lower difficulty. Don’t be ashame by bunch of not completed games/apps, most of the time you’ll learn something cool and new (by accident or by researching). If new project is also gives you bad vibes, start new one with the same rules (Smaller scope, lower difficulty)

Usually frustration comes from your current abilities (in programming, marketing, game design), by learning and training you’ll find your current level and it will help you become master.

Making games is hard (important to remember!), and many people can relate to this, just remember that overcoming this path will make you stronger, it will take time but you’ll get better and better. Good luck!

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23

My best advice, work on something you actually care about.

Like, really, really, REALLY care about. To the point where you’ve dedicated your life to it, without realizing, for the past 7 blasted years, because it’s your special interest of your special interest.

But maybe I’m projecting.

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24

Burnout is a strong indication your project might be too big for your current capacity. Maybe it’s too complex. Make something simpler that you can finish faster if you can afford to change course now.

25

I don’t think so. It’s more of an indication that the developer is just stressed and no longer finds the fun while making the game. Burnout happens to me when I start thinking:

Is working on this game even rewarding? Are people even going to play it?

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26

Hahah, ayy, i suggest finding something random that you are really excited about adding to the game, and then make sure you dont implement it until the rest of the game is almost completed, it works for me

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27

It’s important to assess what ‘s causing the stress. In the end, stress can also impact performance and that degrade capacity. By capacity, I mean anything that could decrease your ability to put effort to finish the game (personal problems, health, finances, etc). Glad you mention that so I could clarify further.

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