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[mirosurabu]

I enjoy making content, if by content we mean music, sounds, graphics and level design.

But writing a storyline is pain in the ass. Especially if storyline is branching.

Things are even worse in my cockpit entry where I have to write storyline and design the interface for each level.

[team_q]

I simply do not have the time right now, I'm at the College for 11-14 hours a day, I just feel drained when I make it home late in the PM. My girlfriend doesn't much like it when I fall asleep playing little big planet, and thats the only time we get to spend with each other. That being said, I am going to have so much free time come May, I will try and get some things done.

That being said, I'm still working away on my game for class, and its going to be swell.

[gunswordfist]

I enjoy making content, if by content we mean music, sounds, graphics and level design.

But writing a storyline is pain in the ass. Especially if storyline is branching.

Things are even worse in my cockpit entry where I have to write storyline and design the interface for each level.

I bet that's a pain. I've barely gotten any story details for projects of mine and I've been trying to think of a good story for a game I just thought of a few days ago.

[Strong]

I'm terrible at making graphics. I can't sprite for my life. Everything else I love doing, but when it comes to making a sprite I cower in fear.

[Kneecaps]

Ooh!  I know another obstacle of mine!

I'll get pretty far on a project, and then I'll run into a big problem that seems to have no source.  Since there's no one to look at my files where I live and telling people on the internet, "My game doesn't work, I don't know why but make it better anyways," is pretty darn rude, projects tend to become abandoned after a few days of frustration.

Oh, and I get VERY lazy when it comes to music.

[Corpus]

I'll get pretty far on a project, and then I'll run into a big problem that seems to have no source.  Since there's no one to look at my files where I live and telling people on the internet, "My game doesn't work, I don't know why but make it better anyways," is pretty darn rude, projects tend to become abandoned after a few days of frustration.

There is a solution to this problem, and it is called #tigIRC.

[michael]

i spend so much time coming up with cool, integrated, profound, consistently motiffed ideas that my games end up baing less fun than than masturbating a homeless leper (solarcade). its not really a problem for me because id rather spend my time making the music and art and design then actually playing it.

[Bones]

I'm an artist.
Spriting and animation comes easy to me.

But my Dyslexia stops me from doing a decent stable game.
Even in like Game Maker. :/

[El Moppo]

Not having the confidence for either coding or animation. Just. Pixel, Digital and Drawing Art Though. :|

[ArmchairArmada]

What a bunch of downers!  Man up!

Ok, I haven't finished anything yet either for many of the same reasons ... but really!  We should be having the time of our lives!  We're creating -- practically playing, even!  When we were kids we simply enjoyed doing things, without worrying about how good what we're making actually is!  Right?

A short time ago I decided that I will not let myself be brought down by the same fears and doubts that once plagued me!  This is a very hard thing to do.

Today I wanted some clarification about why I was getting an error in my C++ code and a guy immediately began tearing me down because my code was not perfect.  It didn't feel good, but now I'm beginning to get over it.

What helps me is that I decided that I want to be an artist who programs, not a programmer who makes art.  There's a difference.  Art has no rules and can be rather liberating.  Anyhow, when it comes to a game the players are not going to notice if your source code is not perfect.  They just want to have fun!  For that matter, graphics also do not need to be perfect!  How many people will notice how pixel-perfect the sprites are when there is engaging gameplay?

I'm beginning to embrace imperfection.  Nothing is perfect.  It is futile to even attempt perfection, as it is an unobtainable goal.  The only thing we can do is have fun and enjoy the things we make.  Does the game feel good when you play it?  Does the graphics make you feel good when you look at them?  If you, the developer, is happy then it will show through in your works!

One thing that we must all keep in mind is that we, being the creators of our games, will always be more discriminating than the average gamer.  We can easily pick out the flaws and see what can be better, but other people will likely never notice.  People are often their own harshest critics.  This must change!

I'm only beginning to embrace this new philosophy of life -- enjoying the process and loving imperfection.  I'm looking forward to what might be possible within the next year.  Purposed play -- work can be fun.  I'm learning not to over think anything, but instead to just go with the flow.  I want to be surprised by what comes out of my creativity -- not knowing what might happen until it comes out right there in front of me.

I'm not saying it will be easy.  Negativity can be spring out of nowhere and attempt to over power you.  Who's stronger, you or the fears?

It's strange.  When people are faced with real life threatening dangers anything is possible -- scrawny weaklings can lift cars -- but yet sitting at a desk and typing on a keyboard can seem overwhelmingly insurmountable!  What are we afraid of?  We have nothing to lose, but yet we are paralyzed with fear.

Maybe if game development actually was life saving work there would be a greater incentive to push through to completion.  Let's face it, games are not a necessity of life.  It's easy to feel like what we are doing is not really needed -- that thousands of hours of work might all be for nothing.  If this is how we feel, then maybe we should try to get involved with something a little more important.  Video games are not everything.  If making games does not feel important than maybe it's good to find something that does.  That's ok.

Another thing that holds people back is the fact that people are social beings.  Game development, however, is often a solitary activity.  Reading words on a screen is not the same as physically being in the same room as other creative like-minded individuals.  People need to feed off of each other's energy.  Unfortunately, it's not always easy to find people in the area who we can spend time with and work along side.  I, for example, live in a very tiny, very rural, back woods little town.  When working alone it's easy to feel that nobody really cares whether you fail or succeed -- especially if nobody even knows your working on something.  There needs to be support groups for creative -- encouraging progress.

Anyhow.  We should all just try to have fun.  Why should making a game be any different than playing one?  Nobody is going to die if it's not perfect.

[Lynx]

Look at it this way, identifying your obstacles is the first step to overcoming them.  And sometimes you don't even realize what the obstacle is, you're too close to the problem, until someone shares a similar experience and you realize, "Hey, that's what I'm doing wrong!"

I don't think this is a negative thread, so much as an 'Obstacles Anonymous' gathering where we group hug and tell each other it's all right, other people have the same problems too.

[ArmchairArmada]

Yeah.  I was joking.  I was hoping my post might pump people up a little.

[Lynx]

My view is, anyone who's still on here and posting can't have given up on making games.

Good post nevertheless, very true that striving to make something too perfect too early kills a lot of would-be artists and game developers!

[Don Andy]

My biggest problem is that I worry too much about everything. Like, what are the limitations of this, can everybody really play this, is it system independent yadda yadda yadda. I spent so much time worrying about everything that I don't actually get around to make the game.

For my latest project I've just picked up Construct and am going to make this from start to finish without caring about a single thing. I'll just make the game. If I can't do something (engine limitations) then I won't try to spent weeks trying to find a way around it, but just drop it and include something else that I CAN do instead.

[rogerlevy]

coming up with too many ideas at once and being too lazy or busy with work etc to draw actual mockups and flesh them out carefully.

also my hand tends to hurt when i draw. it starts to hurt after about 5 minutes and i constantly have to take a break and flap my hand up and down to get it to "loosen up" and stop hurting. this happen to anyone else? i wonder if it has anything to do with the way i hold the pencil...

[Gravious]

I'll get pretty far on a project, and then I'll run into a big problem that seems to have no source.  Since there's no one to look at my files where I live and telling people on the internet, "My game doesn't work, I don't know why but make it better anyways," is pretty darn rude, projects tend to become abandoned after a few days of frustration.

There is a solution to this problem, and it is called #tigIRC.

#tigIRC is the solution to everything

well, that and fukung.net   

[Spelllman]

My biggest obstacle is that traditional project management styles are not fit for the game design world.  If there is one sure fire way to piss a gamer off, its by trying to control how they do something.  Unfortunately to have any type of project where members are left to accomplish work on their own, you need to keep them motivated.  Pairing another team member or two up with them helps sometimes, but there is always the risk that one person will try to take control and the whole thing will fall apart.

[Chris Z]

My biggest obstacle is that traditional project management styles are not fit for the game design world.  If there is one sure fire way to piss a gamer off, its by trying to control how they do something.  Unfortunately to have any type of project where members are left to accomplish work on their own, you need to keep them motivated.  Pairing another team member or two up with them helps sometimes, but there is always the risk that one person will try to take control and the whole thing will fall apart.

I know people might roll their eyes at this, but I found that Scrum works really well for game development projects.  I have taken this approach when I work with others (for games and other projects) and the small consumable tasks and iterative process are very friendly to this type of work.  It hasn't failed me yet.

[raiten]

the ebb of time.

[ArmchairArmada]

Currently my biggest obstacles are:

• Being stuck with only a nearly ten year old laptop.  Hopefully I will be getting REAL computer within a few months.
• An unwillingness to create a game that looks a decade out of date the moment it's finished.
• Not being able to use Ogre or Bullet because of how under-powered my machine is.
• Not being able to use some of Blender's cooler tools, such at the sculpt brush because of performance limitations.  A graphics workflow of sculpt brush and retopo would be great.
• Linux.  I love the operating system, but I need to be able to develop for the general public.
• Although I'm sure I could overcome the technical and graphical challenges of game making, I have a strong fear that my games simply will not be fun -- as none of my small game prototypes I've made have yet to be very fun to play.
• Story writing is very challenging because of how abstract and arbitrary it is.  There is a near infinite number of possibilities for characters and a near infinite number of ways in which they could interact!