How do you deal with discouragement? Thread

Hello everybody,

I've been working on some game ideas for well over 1 1/2 years now. I have a fully-functional main project that I've been working on since February 2014, and I have a few others but they are far from finished, since my main focus has mostly been on the main one.

I'm working two jobs at the moment to cover basic expenses and I carve what little time I have into my day to keep on making this game, and games in general, because I really do like making games and would hopefully like to make them for a living someday. (Big aspirations, I know)

However I have become increasingly discouraged over the last couple of months though, mainly because I'm the only one working on my main project (which I'm perfectly fine with, but...). It takes a long time to get anything done. I'm a really slow pixel artist, and a slower and much more horrendous animator, so this severely limits my ability to make new types of monsters and NPCs, which prolongs development and discourages my passion for this project.

How do you deal with discouragement in your indie development adventures?

Sounds like you are under a lot of stress lately. Check the reasons why you are investing your sparetime into game development. Do you still want to achieve what you had in mind when you started? Next, check your current set goals you want to achieve. Are they realistic and doable in the near future? Is there a way for you to know, whether you have achieved those goals or not?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then simply take a break and rest. You are wasting your time, if you keep working while you don't have the energy to produce good quality in a timely manner. When the next time comes and you have some time for your project, don't do anything for it and read about Mihály Csikszentmihályis' theory of flow. I don't think it's necessary to read through it thoroughly, but you might learn a few things that might help you understand your situation better.

Best wishes

Edited by: iqew

It's very easy to get discouraged. I think a good way to regain that motivation is to show off as much as you can. Try to converse with people about your projects. Normally when you work solo you do lose motivation and start doubting what you're doing. Opinion and discussion is often the fuel to many development projects (in my experience).

Good luck and don't give up even if you think its going slowly. If you enjoy it - does it matter how long it takes?

Making games is hard, man. I think all projects go through a tough period in the middle somewhere. I think a key thing which really helps is having a roadmap with realistic targets: as you tackle them one by one, you'll feel a sense of progress. A breadcrumb trail out of the maze.

Your profile badges describe you as an artist, coder, writer, audio and management guy. That's a lot of hats to wear. Even if you are capable of doing all that stuff to a decent standard - maybe you should focus the project around your strongest skills. Either simplify the rest or find others to step in and help (not an easy thing in itself, of course). Devote your time to what you do best. Take some jobs off your plate, lighten the load.

Looking over at your project's page, it looks like you're taking a LOT on for yourself there. Don't be afraid to limit the scope of the game just for the sake of getting it done. Project management is an important skill - and part of that is identifying what you can feasibly implement in a given time, and designing the game around those constraints.

You might find that reducing the scope of the project, even temporarily, helps you get some enthusiasm and momentum back. Have a think about making Act I the whole game: if you build that and people enjoy it, you can create Dungeons of Daggerhelm 2 based on the existing Act 2+. If you do that, you might start getting people playing in a couple of months, rather than a couple of years. That's an encouraging thought, I'm sure.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I had a rough roadmap when I started out, and many of the features in the game today weren't even a part of that roadmap but somehow found their way in, which is ok because the game is better for it in my opinion. I have definitely pushed certain things into the future so that I can focus on more tangible goals. I'm setting multiplayer aside for now even though it is a focal point of the game, simply because it will take too long to do by myself. My inventory system was pushed back up until fairly recently because I wanted to first get familiar with my engine's coding language and syntax before attempting it, which was a good idea.

I am actually almost ready for the game to be "completed", meaning in a playable state that I'm satisfied enough with for an alpha release. This project was always meant to be something that I'm always working on and never truly 100% finished (always in "beta") because it is such a large and expansive idea with many areas to expand and increase. I can always add more items, more zones, more classes and more NPCs with an infinite supply of ideas.

I think I'm essentially stuck between moving forward with story mode, or simply scrapping it and adding in story elements into adventure mode (which are technically already there anyway). Mainly because story mode isn't supposed to be a big part of the game, mainly a place where players with different tastes go to for a different experience.

I don't necessarily want the game to be *just* story mode because that would defeat the purpose of what I've already built and would require scrapping most of what I have set up.

I think I might just hold off on story mode for now, until I can get the ball rolling on everything else. I'll probably end up taking a break from development as well, maybe about a week or so to clear my head.

RenderedWorld wrote:

How do you deal with discouragement in your indie development adventures?

Simple.

I don't deal with it.

I keep on doing what feels right.

It's okay to take breaks. It's okay to change your mind. It's okay to focus on whatever aspect of the project would be most fun for you at the time.

Let us know if you want any help with your project, too. Collaboration can sometimes be a positive "game"-changer. I'm not fond of puns but I couldn't help it.

Thanks BrianReinheart. I'm pretty much following that advice right now. Took a 10-day break, came back to the project a few days ago with a changed list of what I want to work on. Been working on it every day since then and I have a renewed desire to get back to it.

I originally thought that collaboration would help with that like you've said, but after trying it out, it seems to cause more headaches and problems than I'm willing to deal with.

Hey RenderedWorld. I am glad to hear that you are doing alot better now. I am actually going through the same thing (discouragement). I totally agree with what jjc_uk said about creating small games / pieces of your game. Once you have small victories then that will keep you motivated on your dream to make games for a living (Not overly ambitious you can do it!).

I don't have much experience in game development under my belt yet, but I know the headache of getting people to collaborate. Maybe we could work together in the future once I have created a couple games. Good luck, keep your dream alive, and always fail forward.

Good luck!