Hi, my name is PositiveAnion, and I am a rather novice programmer and game designer.

Currently, I am faced with a fear that I am not sure how to overcome. I am one of those people- Like many of us, I am good a picking things up, but have a hard time holding on to them.

I am in the beginning design process of a 2D top-down Unity game set on a planet that has no surface- Its inhabitants live in the upper atmosphere, on floating islands and flying ships.

However, as I realize just how big of a bite i am taking, I fear I might not be able to chew and swallow it, as I am worried about getting burned out. This game is going to take hundreds of hours to make, but that is not a problem, since I realize I already have the time.

What I am looking for is the sort of support that one needs to push them to the finish line. I don't have a team, just myself, but that does not mean i am doing this alone. The Internet exists, after all.

Where should I look for support? I think what I need to do is to make a number of social media accounts around this project, and use them to share it with the world. Hopefully this will get me positive feedback, and it is free advertisement.

What suggestions and ideas do you guys have? What keeps you going through your projects?

Hi,

Some of the motivational techniques that I use are:

1) Choose and stay on a reasonable path of progress, having a general goal in the long term and a daily path which keeps you moving forward. I worked on modding existing games before I learned anything directly about game development. My start was art asset oriented which is easy for me to remain motivated. I tried coding in Java, C#, and now C++. Courses and tutorials were a big help in keeping me motivated because I always felt as if what I was learning was helping me in the long term - step by step. You Need A Plan and Stay With It.

2) Surround yourself with a network of game development friends. It is particularly motivating to work in a team on projects.

3) Pick projects which have you seeing results on almost a daily basis as a reward for your hard work.

Sometimes I watch motivational videos on YouTube.

What I am looking for is the sort of support that one needs to push them to the finish line

Am I discouraging you if I say that there is no finish line?

Take it nice and easy.

Two things that work for me:

aim further than the goal you wanted to achieve. This helps a lot if you have a bad habit of not wanting to finish what you start.

Don't take brakes when you have a flow going, even a small break to check on emails can often lead to hours wasted on the net.

I tend to get burned out, and I've found only two ways of dealing with it - take days off, and get team members, preferably enthusiastic ones.

I get burnt out when I try to accomplish the large, extremely complicated tasks first.

I find it's better to I examine what I need, pick the easiest thing, finish it quickly, then repeat.

Usually what I discover is that the numerous smaller tasks tend to give me a better understanding of how to tackle the harder ones.

If it stops being fun, stop doing what you're doing.

Either your approach needs to change, or your fundamental activity of choice needs to change. One way or another, don't force yourself to endure if you don't really want to.

You alone can decide when you've had enough, and what your ultimate goals look like. Sometimes you need to do unpleasant work to get a job done; but if you want to avoid the work more than you want to get the job done, that's OK.

It is not failure to work on something and then decide to do something different.


Keep that in mind and you should be fine :-)

If this is a hobby then treat it like one. Do it because it is fun.

Be aware that games are more effort than most people expect.

Many people start into a large hobby project and run out of interest; it may be restoring a car, or building a boat, or landscaping a yard. At least with a game you won't have it cluttering your garage for the next 30 years, instead it will occupy only a small part of your hard drive.

There really is no secret to completing a game. There is a lot of work. People work until it is done. That work generally includes eliminating tasks or reviewing the scope of the project to something that can be finished in a reasonable time.

My recommendation is that you start really small. Think about what you can build in 30 days. Try to build it. At the end of 30 days call it done, learn what you can, and move on to the next project. (Don't try to work on that one any more, do something new for the next 30 days.)

I agree with Frob: if it's a hobby, then you should treat it as one. As such, the advice we give you will change if it's a hobby. In this case, treat it like something you do for fun. Are you having fun? That's the question you should answer.

However, if it's not a hobby, then it's a bit different. I'd say that you have to set small goals for yourself in order to feel like you are accomplishing something on a daily basis. I'd also say that there's a lot of things one can do, and it generally varies from person to person.