I have seen several introductory posts by some of the newer members here, but aside from a simple 'hello', I find longwinded

greetings difficult to read or write (So I spoiler'd it). Instead, I would like to start off by introducing one of the problems I am

currently stuck with regarding game design.

I can't seem to finish a game, even though I have ideas, programming abilities, and have read/researched as much as possible.

Context/Personal Intro

[spoiler]Recently, I finally managed to fully realize why game development has been so painful over the last few years.

The last year or so, all thoughts related to game design were about trying to do things better. I would read plenty
of articles, hypothesize amazing game experiences, and (due to my programming experience) have a blast
thinking up the algorithms for those games. I kept learning about the ins-and-outs of algorithm design and
started to gain experience with a few of the practical foundations of game design. Among some important
things I learned were...

-Make loosely coupled code that "uses" each other via abstractions

-Abstractions are only beneficial if you have planned the black box out before (and thus know it's possible)

-Rigidbody dynamics are completely practical for platformers if you use the right math

With ambitious new mechanics in mind, I kept busy on projects while creating reuseable code pieces, and created
many small projects (still unfinished) using mechanics I had seen underused in most genres. But, while each of
these achievements brought slight satisfaction through their technical feats, none of them seemed to have any
long-term merit as a finished game. Finally, my attention started shifting (albiet still only partially) towards the idea
that games should not be treated merely as software, but as their own medium of entertainment.

The preliminary barriers have started to weaken (games are art, what is a game, how are games different), but
even though the mandatory elitism of other mediums has subsided, the fact remains that game design is one of
the most under-developed mediums in existence.

Game design as an art is proven, but not reliably understood. I will admit, it looks as if the film and literature
mediums don't have all that many recent examples of their so-called "mature art", but it can be easily proven
that aspiring writers and cinematographers have plenty of resources by making a quick google search, "how to XXX."
The number of specialized colleges for these people may not be exceedingly high, but the effects of several
millenia of writers have helped.

On the other hand, while the enthusiasm around games is huge, attempting to "grind" at learning game
design is met with a few exceptional books (A Theory Of Fun, Game Feel) and some useful community
resources (Forums, Extra Creditz), but then they are left to start from the same square-one as the last
generation, or fill their reading with the latest kinda design/kinda technical/kinda business "game design"
book. That being said, asking about how to learn game design faster is only the secondary purpose of
this post.

Even though many improvements to your coding style (for programmers), design practices, and development
workflows will gradually sharpen your skills, they can all be nullified by the unwillingness to follow-through.

Game designers will most likely always struggle with the tenacity required to finish a game, but for individual
reasons. Maybe you still have that nagging feeling that your projects are still just hobbies that won't amount
to anything, or maybe the development time turns out ten times longer than expected (not just maybe).[/spoiler]

(Basically, I figured out why I was having so much trouble.)

I can't work on a project unless I am entirely confident in what I am making.

My opinion of failure has always been moved upwards over time, but only in the logical part of my mind.
I can perform well enough on tasks where optimization isn't an issue, and exercising skills that I have mastered
is easy, but put me in front of any kind of artistic pallette, and each keystroke is imbued with the visions of being
just as unskilled in twenty years, and never having produced anything of worth to the industry.

I have made a (cursory) study upon this phenomena in other circles, but the best explanation comes from the
illustrative arts. When one learns about color theory, proportion, line style, and other concepts, they learn about
these both consciously and subconsciously (you don't know everything you understand). Unfortunately, most artists
achieve a much greater ability to distinguish the good from the bad than they have in their own skill to create. When
someone can always see flaws more often than they can fix them, satisfaction in their work becomes unattainable.

(If you know that your thing sucks, it's hard to follow through)

What I am asking is, how can I reduce the the pain of knowingly creating a commercial/personal failure?

(Or better yet, find a way to create something that isn't a failure)

Change what success means to you. Personal successes can be anything you want them to be. In general, I say, try to approach a project such that no matter the final result you will walk away from it with more than what you started with. Changing your mindset like that might not be easy but it's the advice I got.

It sounds like what's bothering you is your art skills. There's a reason why games usually have separate people to handle art. My suggestion there is to go buy an art package and build a game based on the graphics supplied in that package. Maybe find some sound while you're at it (it also makes a big difference). The artist(s) that created the art pack are in effect members of your team (who you will likely never hear from but need to be credited properly depending on the licensing terms of the package you purchased). You still have the role of designer and programmer. As designer you will look at what you have on hand and figure out a game to make with them. As programmer you will implement that vision. With your mind no longer worrying about developing skills that you don't want to bother with you should be able to focus on the skills that you do want to.

There is a common pattern to figure this out.

Figure out a small project, maybe a game prototype, that you estimate you can do in 30 days. Write it all down. Don't make this the magnum opus you are trying to build. Once you have what you THINK will take 30 days, work on it for 30 days. At the end of 30 days, stop. Put it down. Consider it a shipped game, no matter the state it is in. It is done. DO NOT continue working on it.

Spend some time reflecting on it. Figure out what was harder than you expected. Figure out what was easier than you expected. Figure out how much of your goals you actually met compared to what you wrote, and it will almost certainly be disappointing.

Then make another small project, also what you estimate will take another 30 days. Write it all down, work for 30 days, then at the end treat it as done. Don't work on it again. Review it, figure out your small successes and failures.

Repeat this for about six months. That gives you enough time to be comfortable with your tools, enough time to figure out common patterns you didn't know existed.

At the end of six months you should have a good understanding of how much work you can do in a month.

Then you can start building projects with a little more time. Still plan out a one month interval since that's how much time you are familiar with. Plan out one month, do one month of work, then re-evaluate. Start out planning what you can do that month, do one month, re-evaluate, and plan the next month.

In businesses with many people on teams it is more common to do this in 3-week or 2-week blocks instead of month-long blocks, but since it likely is not your full time job a full month is often a better amount of time.

The end result is that you will think in terms of how much work you have completed, you will have the ability to better estimate how much you can do, and you can be more realistic about how much you can accomplish. Keeping your goals realistic and achievable makes it far more likely you can accomplish them. Tracking how well you did on each item lets you know that you have some room to grow but you can still complete 80%, 90%, maybe even all your major goals.

You will never be happy with your life if you only are able to judge yourself in comparison to other people.


There will always be a better programmer, better artist, better game designer, better businessman, whatever. It literally does not matter what you choose to do with your life - someone else is probably going to be better at it.

And even if that isn't true forever, you will only be the best for a limited time, and then someone will surpass you, or you'll die.


Trying to find self-worth by measuring against other people's accomplishments is a waste of your valuable life.


Learn to set goals that are meaningful to you personally, and attainable with moderate effort.

Learn to think of yourself and your creations as intrinsically worth something - even if that value is not seen by others.

Do things - anything - because you want to, not because you feel compelled to run the fucking rat race to keep up with the Joneses.

If you want to explore beyond what I can offer in a meager forum post, I recommend finding a therapist, or life coach, or a positivity trainer of some nature. Martial arts is a popular discipline for honing not just your physical body but your mental self-perception, for just one example.


Best of luck and believe in yourself. You are much more than some unfinished games.

Welcome!

In addition to the above, I'd suggest finding and participating in some game jams (Global Game Jam, Ludum Dare, etc.). These are short events (usually a couple of days out to maybe a week at most) in which people challenge each other to create simple but complete games or demos in a short time period with a certain theme.

Participating with others can help to provide motivation, the theme can help to exercise your creativity, and the short time period and lower standards can help to reset that perfectionist mindset and get you to focus on getting things done. It's also a great opportunity to prototype smaller ideas to find out what does and doesn't work.

Hope that helps! :)