Never be bored

The secret to finishing that game

“I have never finished a game”

I have heard this countless times, and I will hear it countless times more. This is a global problem, and one that may never go away. It is one I struggle with constantly while developing games. Indeed, I still have not finished a game I am satisfied with. However, I have finished some, albeit, horrible, games, and I know why I’ve finished them, or, at least gotten them to a playable state, where they have become popular.

The key is to never be bored. The key is to never be bored with your game, to never stop having fun making it, to never find yourself in a tedious task, to never be bored.

You make because it is fun, we all do. So when you are building your game, if you’re not having fun, if you are not being inspired, developing, imagining, thinking of new ideas, then you will probably not finish your game, or in the case that you do, it will not be nearly as fun or awesome as it could have been. If you ever find yourself copying code, or thinking about quitting, rethink your design, rethink your game. Ask yourself if you want to be placing 2,500 trees manually, or if perhaps, you could make each tree interesting, something new. Sure, it may take some more work, but you’ll be having fun creating those trees. Or what if you get tired of making trees? Why limit yourself? Make rocks, cliffs, heck, even a flying unicorn.

And having fun should not just be limited to making your game, but also to playing it, testing it, exploring it. Invite a few friends and have a blast, run around and break the rules of your own game. When you do this, you create a new possibility, a new element. You create something new. It’s not boring, it’s fun.

So when you start working on your next game, filled with passion, filled with ideas, don’t ever be bored with your game, with your ideas. If working on part of your game is boring, or it becomes a drag, redesign it, remake it, and make it better. Never stop thinking, building, and creating, never be bored, and you’ll never stop working on your game.

Never be bored. It’s why we make games, and it’s why we play games.