Dealing with Lack of Motivation, Etc.

[kpenrose92]

Hey guys, I need some positive reinforcement today.

Lately I've just been feeling down about all the unfinished projects, vaporware, and general boredom I have found myself feeling towards game dev lately.

Sometimes dev is my life, my source of going on, but lately, I've felt so discouraged about making anything, let alone finishing something. It feels like there is already so much out and so much being made, it's hopeless to even try to compete. I know this is a silly attitude, but it's a human one and one that I just can't seem to shake.

How do you guys deal with burnout, boredom, lack of motivation, etc.?
Is there a point where you say "I know this idea isn't perfect, but I'm going to build it anyway" ?

 

[pixeltroid]

IMO feeling motivated is an emotion. It can increase or decrease depending on outside factors. So you can't rely on motivation alone to get things done. Instead you need to develop an iron will and a laser focus to get the job done.

A big mistake many gamedevs make is to treat their game project like a super-artsy vanity project. That leads to the mindset of "I'll produce work only if I'm in the right mood or feel a certain level of inspiration". The problem is that feeling motivated / inspired is a matter of emotion. Being disciplined is a mindset. Discipline, not inspiration/motivation produces results.

From my experience, more work gets done if the project is handled like a dull normal blue collar job with a real deadline, and not an exotic hobby or a fluffy pet art project.

 

[woods]

it all depends on how you treat your project.. is this a hobby/passion or a source of income?
if you treat it like a "blue collar job" there will be times you will find zero passion and things aren't fun.
if you treat it as a "arty project" there is likely to be less production, but more enjoyment.

...how much fun is there in stacking boxes on an assembly line?
...how much production happens flitting about painting that perfect obscure piece of art once you have found your muse?

unfinished projects, vaporware, and general boredom

if its a fun hobby project, sure.. take your time and take a break.. (enjoy it)
if you are close to a deadline and its crunch-time.. well you better get on it ;o)

for me game dev is more of an obscure hobby than a passion ..this is why i dont have any of my many many projects completed. i bounce around from concept to concept.. if im not feeling it, then i wont do it.. 6months roll by, and i may or may not pick up where i left off ..or work on a different aspect of the project, or start on a totally different project.

there is already so much out and so much being made, it's hopeless to even try to compete

just because there is a game out that has some of the same features, doesnt mean its already been done.. they are all similar to eachother, but they are all different in their own way.
take any game out there.. analyze it, pick it apart, and see how it works... emulate it... then change it.. put YOUR spin on it.. add features that arent there that you think should be.. put things in, take things out, change up the dynamics.. change it enough and its no longer an emulation.. make it unique.

everything hasnt been done already ;o)


dealing with burnout, boredom, lack of motivation, etc...
thats just part of life ;o)

its all about balance.. and that is different for every single one of us.

 

[Gamebot]

For me it's a hobby, generally working on conceptional ideas for future projects. I just take my time and use separate projects for these. Should any actually take off....we'll see.

Should I need motivation or too frustrated I usually take a break to take play a game or two and then get back to it. Helps quite a bit. There's nothing an old RTS to let lose.

 

[otterZ]

I don't know if this helps, but it helps me personally to divide a large project into little mini projects. Then reward yourself with something when you finish each mini project (within the bigger project).

For example, I recently added calculators to my project. I treated the calculators as a mini project in itself. When I finished it I gave myself a day off and ordered a take away meal as a reward.

At some point, all these fun mini-projects stack up to create a finished game/app. However, if I focus on finishing an app/game it demotivates me, as it could take literally years - and is almost like looking up at Everest from the base and thinking 'Jeez, that is a long way to climb . . .'

Kind of like a modular approach I guess, working on a module, finishing it, adding it to the bigger picture and celebrating each addition.

 

[baconlovar]

I see it like so many have said before, the concept of Thomas Edison, “I have not failed, only found 1000 ways it didn’t work”. I do game development because I am passionate and it sounds like you are too, that’s why you are disappointed because you care. If you need a break take one but you’ll be back at it.

 

[pj_Yama]

I would say something that is really key for me in my motivation is setting myself short & mid-long term goals. Knowing what i want out of a short little session working on my game is important both to ensure i stay focused and avoid too much feature creep, but also to keep myself feeling rewarded and like i'm achieving something.

For mid-long term goals, i tend to have these jotted down somewhere about what it is i want from the project, when i want it to be done by, features i'd like to explore.

It feels like there is already so much out and so much being made, it's hopeless to even try to compete.

For me i find it really important to set myself criteria for success, this doesn't just have to be monetary or critical success. Is it important you're enjoying yourself? Important you're learning? Important you finish something? Think about what's really important to you and work towards your own goals. Obviously finances feed into this if you're doing it full time, but that doesn't have to be the only criteria.

Is there a point where you say "I know this idea isn't perfect, but I'm going to build it anyway" ?

There's an old adage; "Art is never finished, merely abandoned". I think it's a matter of when you say this, not if - it takes practice to know when something is done because you can always refine.


I hope this helps and you find your motivation again It's never easy being in that lull!

 

[pixeltroid]

it all depends on how you treat your project.. is this a hobby/passion or a source of income?
if you treat it like a "blue collar job" there will be times you will find zero passion and things aren't fun.
if you treat it as a "arty project" there is likely to be less production, but more enjoyment.

...how much fun is there in stacking boxes on an assembly line?
...how much production happens flitting about painting that perfect obscure piece of art once you have found your muse?

Hello.
I started off game making as a fun hobby but over time it evolved into a more serious priority... as a potential source of income. In both cases, I felt the urge to finish what I had in mind. I'm sure the hobby gamedev also intends to finish the project at some time. In my personal experience, the blue-collared approach is more helpful when it comes to getting things done.

When I took the art project approach, I'd waste precious hours "perfecting" trivial things that can be attended to later. It created the illusion that I'm doing a lot of "work" but I actually had very little to show for it.

Whereas when I take the blue collared approach, I work on the game like it really mattered and that if I don't finish it, there will be consequences. I focus on functionality related things that required immediate attention. It isn't as "fun" as the art approach, but it gets things done and pushes the game closer to it's finished state.

Ideally, a game needs both approaches but that's only feasible if you have several people working on the game. But when there's only one person working on the game, then the blue-collar approach is more likely to achieve results.

 

[Lord KJWilliams]

Having other things to do other than game development is how you get out of the rut . If you always subject yourself to the same thing everyday, your going to get burned out. When you get frequently burned out, frustrated, and your comparing yourself to other people's games that are successful, your only making yourself feel worse. So its important to take breaks from programming, like spend a day or two away from the computer, with the computer turned off. Dont even think about your game. If your alternative is something else you do on the computer, then your going to be subjected to your rut, when you think about returning to your game. Therefore, doing something that has nothing to do with computers is how your going to get out of the rut. Your brain is telling you that its sick of what your doing, so its time to change the TV channel in your brain and think about something else.

For instance , I do chain maile :


This was a project that I had on hold for several years, until 2020 came with the pandemic, so while I was at home I constructed my
own rings from my own stock of spooled wire.

This is how I make my rings, 3/16 of an inch. I make these long coils as you see in that picture using a electric drill clamped in a vise that spins a rod that has the wire specially mounted on. Once I create the coils, I cut the wire feed from the coil, then unclamp the electric drill just a bit so I can get the rod loose to free the coil.



Once the coil is removed from the rod, I use tin snips to cut the rings. To create the chain mail I use two hooked needle nose pliers to connect them together according the 4-1 European pattern to make those gloves.

Again , this has nothing to do with computers , thats why I enjoy it to take my mind off of programming when I need to.

Im still not done with those gloves. They are intended to fit over other gloves as you can see in the first picture.

So, I am sure you can find something that has nothing to do with computers that will get you out of the rut.

 

[woods]

@Lord KJWilliams
is that 4-in-1 weave i see?

i started a chainmail project about 2yrs ago, ive got a couple patches put together, about 8" x 6" each 3/16" stainless steel links... GOING TO BE a chain shirt.. but had to put it down due to the shoulder injury. thats alot of wrist twisting action that was just too much for me to handle at the time.

was seriously considering digging that out and working on it some more, now that ive finally gotten past surgery ;o) ...could work out into some good physical therapy for me.

 

[Lord KJWilliams]

@Lord KJWilliams
is that 4-in-1 weave i see?

Yes it is , I do other weaves too.. but some of them require more than one kind of ring, so I end up not doing them as much.

For instance :



The top belt is 4-in-1 with 1/4 inch rings, next is dragon scale weave, next is kings helms weave ( I think ), the bottom one is a modified weave of Byzantium or Birdcage.

 

[woods]

these big fat fingers i got.. its kinda difficult to work that small of a ring... but the protection/coverage is far better than using say 1/2" ring (that 1/2" is just too big)

personally i think the dragonscale and the 4n1 look the cleanest ;o)

 

[K12gamer]

I try to cut out a lot of distractions (mainly television, Youtube)

Made a mistake and recently got XBOX Game pass ($1 for 3 months). It's too addicting.
Now I find it hard to stop playing XBOX games, so I can focus on my own.

 

[woodsmoke]

If a project is getting me down I PUNCH IT IN THE FACE! That way I always have a new up-to-date monitor.

Sorry I'm being silly. What helps me is going for a jog (or long walk). I always get lots of ideas and a longing for gamedev when jogging. That and using pencil and paper away for the computer (preferably outside) to make plans for games.

 

[AnthonyRose]

Greetings, I agree with the "stay away from your pc" approach. Going for a jog or walk for example can help you just get fresh air too, or think about ideas, etc. Another thing could be doing a different hobby that you enjoy, like drawing for example, just grab a pencil and a notebook and let the ideas flow, you might not even realize it how one of those drawing could end up as actual concept art. Enjoy playing an instrument? You could again not even realize something you played could be a concept for a soundtrack.

 

[Joe]

Coffee. When you're out of coffee? Make more coffee. The sustenance of gods.