TIGSource Forums

I started working on my game from the Summer and I tried working here and there on it but I'm to a point that I can't work on my game. I was successful working on it here and there like once per week or twice per week in the past but I can't work on it anymore, I have visual studio open in my task bar but I can't force myself to work on it. [I think] It's not that I don't like my game because while I was doing my conscription service, I spend time there to debug my code and found a new way to fix one my biggest bugs but now that I'm back, I don't work on my game. It's so bad that I can't enjoy anything that I feel I have to work on my game but I can't and it doesn't let me to focus on anything else.  :noir:

I was working in a 3D game that I quited to have more time to spend on my game  :cavestory:.

Please share your thoughts and share what drives you forward on making your indie games.

If you’re not having fun then quit. You only live once; there’s no reason to keep doing something if it’s not making you happy.

Thing is I want to work on it, it's the only job I want to have but I have problems working on it.

Do other things. Any other things, all other things (that you have access to).

May either get your juices running to develop games or let you find something else you'd like to devote some if not all your time to.

I can only agree with Melly here. Just step away from developing your game for a while. Motivation will come back. Trying to force yourself to continue working leads to a vicious circle of frustration.

Also, if game development is the only thing you feel like doing at the moment, why don't you put your main project aside for a couple days and make a small side thing? It can be incredibly satisfying and creatively refreshing, plus you may write some code or have some ideas you can find use for in your main project.

Start working on it right now.

I mean right now. Close down the browser and get to work. I don't care what excuses you have. Fucking do it.

Do this if you wish to reach Burnout Paradise.

Moreso than you already have, anyway.

I'd say it depends. In every development/programming process there are tasks that are dull and don't result in immediate improvements or brings you that much closer to the goal of finishing the game. But they still have to be done. That's where the work part comes in and the having fun part can disappear. If you're serious about doing this as a job, then you'll have to kick yourself and get the stuff done.

If you're just tired of making games in general (and not tired because of some boring task that needs doing), then, yeah, take a break from it.

Well, what do you already have? How long do you think it would take to finish the game? What are the current tasks at hand, are they interesting and rewarding? Did you actually try doing it now? (Sometimes I just need to start to let the flow begin again.)

Things to try:

Give yourself a deadline
Start again from scratch
Write a different game instead
Set aside 30 mins to work on it every day; have visual studio closed at all other times
Spend some time away from the PC
Sleep more, Exercise, Meditate, Eat well, Stop smoking

assuming that you're using a decent scm system

• start in file 1 and hold down the delete key
• grin manically as the cursor slowly works it's way through your code
• repeat for the rest or just delete the files, whatever
• go away for a bit
• checkout a new copy, with a better understanding of the fact that you own the project, and not vice versa

Oh yes. Even better, print it all out and burn the pages one by one with your lighter. Make sure you have a fire-resistant trash bin.

Having the intention of discipline (ie. keeping Visual Studio open) is no good if you can't follow through. :) Don't be so hard on yourself that it becomes some huge monster which is impossible to defeat! And don't be scared of not having fun making something (as fun as games are, there's a huge amount of grind in creating anything.)


Fun fact: In the time it has taken me to finish the game I started first, I have made eight other games! Sometimes it's good to have fun/do something more casual.  :lol: