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[Sheep]

Hi there! As a kid I always wanted to make videogames. I learned myself Game Maker and was able to make games (with my limitations of programming). Right now, I'm studying gamedesign and gamedevelopment, and since I did that study (this is my first year), I've never made a proper game in my free time again. I'm not sure why, but since my hobby became my study, I became demotivated. As a kid, I always wanted to learn how to make 3D landscapes, and how to be a photoshop pro, and to learn programming with Flash. But in those lessons, half of the times I'm bored and go play some videogames (and I'm not the only one of my group).

One thing is for sure: This is the right study for me, because if I'd study something else I like, I would probably end up the same. I just don't know how to motivate myself again, how to get myself spend hours on 3DS max, even at home. But also making pixelstyle indie games.

If you know something, I would really appreciate any tips. 

[randomnine]

Hey - it happens. You probably spent less hours working on games every week in the past than you do now, officially studying game development; and you probably just did the "fun" stuff, rather than seriously buckling down and learning useful skills no matter how dull the process might be. If you end up spending too much time on a hobby and taking it too seriously, it's natural to want to do something else with your free time.

The fact is, lessons are just less interesting than playing around with tools and technology when you've got something cool to work towards. Also, if you've been working on this stuff yourself, you might find the material in the first year or two of the course very easy.

You may also feel complacent about 'becoming a games developer' now that you've got on a course that says it'll make you one. (If that's the case, you might find it interesting to ask what percentage of graduates go on to work in games. It won't be 100%. Some people will drop out along the way, and some people just won't be good enough when they graduate. Some of your friends on the course probably won't make it. You might not.)

Anyway, however it happened, the reason you had to make games has disappeared. You've got to find a new one. I don't know if it'll work for you, but consider taking part in challenges like Ludum Dare 48 to see how you measure up to other game developers, including professionals. That'll give you a chance to test your skills and see how far you need to go to match up to the best. If you're at all competitive, give this a shot - it might motivate you.

Something else that'll help is to hang around people who make games all the time. Whether it's on this forum, on IRC channels (like the Ludum Dare channel) or anywhere else, the more time you spend talking about making games with people who make games, the more you'll feel inclined to do so yourself. It's a simple trick, really - we're social creatures, so we adopt the norms and expectations of the people we spend time with.

Finally, just go looking for cool things you could make and reasons to try them. Do you like thinking up game ideas? Who doesn't, right? When you come up with one you like, try bashing out a prototype over a weekend. If you think of a way to improve a game, try modding it in. You don't have to commit lots of time to this stuff - you can knock out basic cool things in a couple of evenings, or a weekend.

In the long run... game development probably will never be quite as much fun as it used to be. But as you work on game ideas and so on, occasionally that old passion will flare up and take over. It's not gone - it's just sleeping, waiting for you to get back on track

[cystem glitch]

Yeah, what that guy said. Just take an interesting idea and flesh something out that can completed in a week. If you are interested in 3d take a look at Unity

[ANtY]

Try starting with making games for Ludum Dare (however I never did any so I can be wrong, just my thought), then u can find motivation for more. It's like reading books, u start from short fables with many illustration, then u go for 900-pages and 0 illustrations books... I guess 

[J. R. Hill]

Depends on why you wanted to make videogames when you were a kid.  Was it because you played a lot of awesome games and you wanted to make something like them?  Then go play a lot of awesome games and get inspired again.  Was it because you liked to create worlds and tell stories?  Then go play some legos and read a book or two.  Was it because you wanted to make a ton of money?  Then go find a boss that will pay you to mak gam

[Wireless Mouse]

I think the motivation will come back once you're done with school. I'm almost done myself, and I find it hard to attend to personal projects when I know I have course work to do instead. It is even worse if that course work is related somehow to whatever the personal project may be, whether it is writing stories or programming computers.

[Eldboll]

I think one of the most important attributes you can achieve as a game developer/artist/programmer/whatever is to work without motivation. Motivation will drop and peak during the process of developing a game, we've all been there! The "oh no, no inspiration! I'll just sit around until it comes back" will only get you so far!

Buuut, yeah. Stepping away from a project during some time always helps obviously. Setting up milestones or minor deadlines works great for me personally. Chopping up your project into smaller parts instead of "START PROJECT - COMPLELTE PROJECT" keeps the end from looking so damn far away. Completing and achieving stuff along the way is always nice too (especially if you have a list with stuff you can cross off. So satisfying!)
Having specific work hours is also a pretty good way to get shit done and not getting caught up with youtube and facebook!

I would try to keep at it even if you're not feeling super motivated though. It's an uphill battle but once you reach the top it's like flipping a switch. You can turn on work mode on command which is really handy, especially in this line of work

Good luck dude, hope you get it all sorted out!

[Paul Eres]

so it sounds like you enjoyed making games until you started going to school to learn about it. the solution seems obvious: drop out of school or at the very least change schools; school destroys motivation

there are lots of people who loved reading and then majored in english and had to read lots of books for school and came to hate reading; this seems like the same sort of thing. i've also known a few people who loved making games, then started game design schools and came to hate making games. the way game design is taught in most schools isn't very good, and probably makes it seem boring to do

so i think one mistake is thinking that you need to do it as an academic study rather than as something you down on your own, as a daily practice. you don't need to go to school for games to make games, a lot of (most?) successful game developers never studied game development in school

[Blodyavenger]

Are lessions mandatory?

Last year, I had "Computer Graphics" course at my study and instead of listening to the lectures and visiting practices I stayed home working on the final project for the course - 3D game in openGL because course practice was boring - drawing triangles and moving them around.

Of course, one thing is for sure - at school you do what you HAVE TO do but at home, you're free to do whatever you want. Start something small, make small project at home and finish it, that will bring up your motivation.

Maybe you should try to listen to the lectures with interest it may become more interesting if you try to push yourself on

[Jasmine]

Perhaps you don't know what you want.

As a kid, I always wanted to learn how to make 3D landscapes, and how to be a photoshop pro, and to learn programming with Flash. But in those lessons, half of the times I'm bored and go play some videogames.

From this quote it sounds like the idea of making games is attractive to you, but the reality of making them is not.

I expect you are more interested game design than game programming. And I expect you are drawn towards leisure more than learning.

[anonymous]

you have no discipline and are lazy, commit, the only kind of a developer is a  developer.

[Sheep]

@randomnime
Thank you for your long reply. I'll try to get in the irc channel more often, and I was probably already planning on participating with Ludum Dare :D. You helped me a lot with your post.

@Paul Eres
Although it might get me motivated again, I don't think it's the best solution. Because if I would quit school, it would probably take me two times as long to learn everything. Plus my parents wouldn't like the idea either

@everyone else
Thanks for replying, you helped me a lot :D

I'm just going to try to get inspiration for a game again. I think that's one of the most important things.

[Paul Eres]

"it would probably take me two times as long to learn everything"

that just seems ridiculous to me. you learn fastest by doing. for example, if you wanted to learn a new programming language, it'd take you a year or more of classes, but it'd take about two to three weeks of doing it on your own

[Sheep]

"it would probably take me two times as long to learn everything"

that just seems ridiculous to me. you learn fastest by doing. for example, if you wanted to learn a new programming language, it'd take you a year or more of classes, but it'd take about two to three weeks of doing it on your own

Hmm.. maybe. But for example: I'm using game maker for a long time, but I'm still noob with it

[C.A. Sinner]

"it would probably take me two times as long to learn everything"

that just seems ridiculous to me. you learn fastest by doing. for example, if you wanted to learn a new programming language, it'd take you a year or more of classes, but it'd take about two to three weeks of doing it on your own

Depends. Formal education is usually broader and you discover things you might not have discovered simply learning by yourself. Expanding your horizon and all that jazz.

I stopped studying musicology some time ago because it was pretty much a vanity thing and I wasn't having fun, but I don't think I would be interested in, for instance, African or Chinese music if I'd never studied it.