How do you keep yourself motivated when you are an indie dev and doing everything from art on your own? I watch indie dev documentaries which help me a lot, how about you?
I watched Thin Matrix develop his game Equilinox for two years and I definitely found inspiration watching him organize his day. From planning to execution to making lunch or going for a run - healthiest dev ever, by the way. He’s OK now but he was diagnosed with cancer during this process so I also became emotionally invested as much in his recovery as his completion of the game.
Success is a powerful motivator! Actually getting games finished, getting them out there, making some sales, getting positive feedback, players liking and playing your creations.
That’s what motivates me.
I agree with SGS. When it comes to game development, I can’t think of a better motivator than getting projects done and seeing that they are well received both financially as well as what the players think of the game.
Working on a project for months or years without an end in sight can get depressing. The more uncertain the project is, the more mentally straining it usually is. Finishing a game is a moment of pride and weakness. It feels great, but if the no one likes your game or wants to play it, then the longer you’ve worked on the game, the more it hurts.
In this regard, proper project management is vital. Having the ability to see your game progress in a measurable way is essential. If your game just keeps growing in scale as you keep working on it, with no end in sight, the game will probably end up being shelved (which is never good).
tldr : getting things done, both small and big, and finally releasing a well received product are the best motivators for me.
I switch from one “area” of developing to another when I feel I’m running out of steam or getting bored. So I typically do art for a while until I feel I’m not that creative anymore. Then I switch to game mechanics. When that’s slowing down, I do some other project related stuff and ultimately switch back to graphics.
I’ve found this makes me more productive than keeping on doing on thing for a long time.
I watched Thin Matrix develop his game Equilinox for two years and I definitely found inspiration watching him organize his day. From planning to execution to making lunch or going for a run - healthiest dev ever, by the way. He’s OK now but he was diagnosed with cancer during this process so I also became emotionally invested as much in his recovery as his completion of the game.
Success is a powerful motivator! Actually getting games finished, getting them out there, making some sales, getting positive feedback, players liking and playing your creations.
That’s what motivates me.
I agree with SGS. When it comes to game development, I can’t think of a better motivator than getting projects done and seeing that they are well received both financially as well as what the players think of the game.
Working on a project for months or years without an end in sight can get depressing. The more uncertain the project is, the more mentally straining it usually is. Finishing a game is a moment of pride and weakness. It feels great, but if the no one likes your game or wants to play it, then the longer you’ve worked on the game, the more it hurts.
In this regard, proper project management is vital. Having the ability to see your game progress in a measurable way is essential. If your game just keeps growing in scale as you keep working on it, with no end in sight, the game will probably end up being shelved (which is never good).
tldr : getting things done, both small and big, and finally releasing a well received product are the best motivators for me.
I switch from one “area” of developing to another when I feel I’m running out of steam or getting bored. So I typically do art for a while until I feel I’m not that creative anymore. Then I switch to game mechanics. When that’s slowing down, I do some other project related stuff and ultimately switch back to graphics.
I’ve found this makes me more productive than keeping on doing on thing for a long time.