GML What do you do on gamemaker when you arent working on your main project?

[fxokz]

Sometimes i feel as if i need to take a break from working on my game whether its because im waiting on a pm, need to think of fresh ideas or just am mentally exhausted after a long session of working on my game.

When i do take a break i start to feel unproductive and waste my time playing games and just feel somewhat worthless really.. Ive tried watching and recreating tutorials and experimenting with things i rarely use such as data structures and other "throw away" projects (i keep them as a reference)

Is there anything you guys do to keep yourself fresh whilst being not too distant and disconnected from a main project?

 

[GMWolf]

Yeah. My last random project was a GML Distance field renderer.https://twitter.com/gmwolftuts/status/831277179736567808
I also dabbled a bit with audio buffers after that.

Now Im back on my main project with a lot more drive than before.

Not only did it keep my mind fresh, but i learnt a lot on how to best use arrays for vectors, and data driven development in GM. Very fun.

 

[Kransky]

I also like to make a mini project based around something I haven't quite figured out, or just building something based around a mechanic I had an idea for and see how far I can take that without letting it become too crowded with other things. Sometimes this actually results in something interesting that I ultimately decide is worth pursuing. For example, I threw something together in an effort to understand pathfinding better, and that project has since become my main project due to it actually becoming sort of fun pretty quickly in development, and led to me coming up with some exciting, interesting ideas that I wanted to add to it. Of course this meant I abandoned whatever I was working on before that. But I at least feel that with each project I abandon, I'm taking some knowledge with me to the next one.

 

[Tsa05]

I usually come to the forums, look for something someone is asking how to do, and try to code it in under 10 mins. Exercise!!

 

[Rivo]

@Tsa05 Oh i've got some 'exercise' for ya

 

[Shariku Onikage]

I suppose i practise a few things. I'll just pull up a new project, make a room and some base objects and just try to script something into existence.

I tried making chess the other day. Because i hate myself i tried doing it without using sprites and just relied on draw for the squares and text for the pieces. I burned out and moved on around the time i got the pieces to move by clicking on them and realised i had a ton of ai work to do if i wanted to continue this. It was still fun for a bit though.

 

[DyingSilence]

Well, I always have a great idea i want to work on, most of the times many of them at once. I just switch between projects, settling which is my main.

I have two main projects right now:
Melodies of Sorrow (metroidvania about childish sense of wonder and discovery)
Hopeless Descent (dark souls + roguelike + infernal setting)

I work hardly on Melodies of Sorrow, but my second game is my long term goal.

 

[gmx0]

I work on:
1. converting my old GM (pre-Studio) games into either new platforms or Marketplace Assets
2. smaller games for jams
3. since my main love for game making is RTSes, I have many little RTS projects around, along with my main project, which is an RTS, but also non-RTS projects going on as well
4. Overlap between these

 

[RangerX]

I always have this temptation to start side projects. But I struggle so much already to find decent time to work on The Life Ruby that I always convince myself not doing a side project.
Sometimes I wonder if I should still do it. I have plenty of other ideas but I always see them as "taking away time I could put on my main game".

 

[ZaOniRinku]

I have another project file that is just for testing things for a game. I also come back to what I made before in a game to make it smoother.

 

[Genetix]

I pretty much start a side project every single week. I've got the main games that people keep demanding new updates for, but sadly have very little inspiration to work on them somedays (after spending a thousand hours with any project that can set int.) Most of my side projects end up scrapped, but I do learn from them. Sometimes they end up being 'fun' and have the potential to become a full project that can be released publicly.

Going out for a walk, camping, getting out always helps and sometimes you should step away from programming altogether for a few days if you feel like you have to force yourself to do it. Everyone is different though.