Game Dev Focus — How to stay motivated?

How can one stay motivated to keep on making games (Game Dev Focus)?

I was doing my usual thing today when I woke up and was checking my email until I came across an article about a common question that young aspiring game developers often ask about how to stay or keep Motivated with Game Dev Focus while creating games.

While I’m not really a AAA+ professional at game development yet I feel strongly that I have gained a good amount of knowledge over the years to publicly speak about it by saying honestly there really isn’t any sort of simple trick to be blunt.

Think of it this way. If game development was really that easy to do then everyone would be doing it. Yes, there’s thousands of people interested in game developers but, only a handful follow through, fail some, and eventually succeed unless you went to school for it then if anything that would help the most by major leaps and bounds.

Please note that these rules are solely based on my own thoughts and opinion which might differ from one developer to another. So if anyone feels indifferent you are more than welcome to comment to add your own advice for comparison.

Bare with me as this may get a little long but, here’s what I have learned over the years with my own experiences below.

RULE #1 — Kiss aka Keep it Simple Stupid

To be upfront there really isn’t a simple game. If anything it’s more the logic and idea behind it to come up with something simple that you can finish. I say that because we all are victims of this problem at first since it’s too easy to overscope trying to make a gigantic project right away.

The biggest issue with this is that there’s a 99% chance unless you have the actual knowledge to finish it right off the bat, it won’t be finished, and you will fail. Start off with a very quick and easy idea no matter how stupid it is, study and learn, then finish it one way or another!

RULE #2 — The Devil is in the Details

It’s also easy to think of something fun to throw together very quickly and even finish it if you really put your mind to it. If you have no ideas just ask your friends for ideas. There’s usually always some little stupid game that can easily become very successful if done right.

However, you might for instance start that project and the next thing you know you want to add this, then it turns into that, then that turns into another that and this and then that and then this and you see where I am going with it. So point in case your project goes from taking a week suddenly to three years which is a huge problem because it can ultimately kill your motivation very quickly if it becomes impossible to finish due to adding too much.

Start with whatever you think is the very core of the game, make it fun, build around that idea a bit with only with a few things involving the very important game mechanics. You can always release your game and update it to add more if it does well. Doing this will prevent you from getting too carried away in an ocean of ideas which is very likely to happen during development.

The same for this can be said with having multiple projects. Don’t do that either. Start with just one and finish that one. If you have other ideas just write them down or add them to Trello and such and set it aside for later on until you finish what you are working on first.

RULE #3 — Not Another Solo Dungeonist Again

Surround yourself with other Game Developers and join Game Developer Communities. There are many of them on websites and social media and even discord. I am apart of several myself.

This can help you tons! It helps to keep you motivated because you are with other people in the same exact boat as you. Granted some of them have made some games already but, at least you can talk to them and take part or get feedback and help with ideas and advice.

And that within itself is a huge help right there to keep you going since they’re talking Game Dev so it will likely trigger your own thoughts to keep going on your own projects.

RULE #4 — Heart Of Glass

It’s easy to give and even get feedback from anyone and everyone. However, in reality even though sometimes you have no choice but, to often ask other game developers for advice this can actually be the worst thing ever compared to other people you might know. It can turn very problematic very quickly because they have the same exact mentality as you. That can destroy your motive leading you down a path of constantly fixing things forever to the point of no finish.

I mean don’t get me wrong it’s helpful but, just remember your end goal and that ultimately the game design is yours to create. Don’t let anyone else tell you what you can and cannot do with it even though feedback can assist to guide you. Just don’t let the criticizing get you down.

The other important factor of this is that your heart must be into your game project that you are working on 100% otherwise that will drastically harm your end results. It is also good to have a reasonable deadline in set up in your mind of some sort to help. Only you can push your limits.

RULE #5 — Gamer to Game Developer

If you’re a gamer but you want to stay focused on game development there’s nothing wrong with that but, try to play games and burn yourself out on it as much as possible. If you’re too distracted with it the next thing you know you are playing games and it’s a few days later. So it is best to try to nip this in the butt as much as possible so that you are in control and not games.

Some devs don’t play and claim its a bad idea but truthfully that’s a complete that’s a load of horse crap if you ask me. If you think about it they are already playing their own game and regardless that is still playing a game no matter how you slice or dice it. I have seen some game developers who work on game dev and 3d modeling stuff claiming they don’t play games but later on down the road they slip up and talk about a game they last played. So honestly the proof is in the pudding and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

What I do is I will play a game every so often because I have always been a gamer since the Atari days. But, I will play for only a little bit nowadays. This actually helps me to spark my interest more and I have gotten to the point where I often get bored and go back to game development 9 times out of 10 so at least I know I won’t have that as a distraction this way I can focus on what I really want to do.

This was part of the reason I never finished or got into game development in my younger years though better late than never. For a long time I never took it seriously and it was only a pipe dream of mine as I was so distracted with just playing them. You just have to find the will to force yourself to wake up and realize it. And playing games won’t really give you any ideas other than to hinder your true potential aside from making improved clones.

Eventually what will happen is you are having some fun to cool down for a bit so that you can see what someone else was able to create, think hey I wanna make something like this too even though you don’t really want to copy too much especially if there’s lots of clones, then get back on the horse to ride again.

Plus you’re supporting your fellow game developers in the process so there’s absolutely nothing wrong in my opinion. And that my friend makes it all worth while in the long run.

RULE #6 — Like Nike Says, Just Do It

We all have our excuses. I’m tired. I didn’t sleep. I had a doctor appointment. I had to stop a burglar from breaking into my neighbors house. My kid is sick. The house caught fire. My computer sucks. I don’t know how to create a 3d model of a box.

Bottom Line…making games is risk that you have to take and regardless of all the above excuses we as humans have a nature to try to justify anything we do but, truthfully they’re still just flat out excuses no if’s, and’s, or but’s!

Stop making excuses, figure it out, learn what you need, learn modeling, texturing, and a game engine and create something you can achieve! Nobody is going to do it for you unless you’re really lucky and found a good team to work with but, as a word of caution I have tried it on several occasions and never found anyone serious enough yet.

The reason is because everyone has their own ideas they would rather work on. So if you’re working on something else that your glass heart really isn’t into much then chances are you won’t be very serious or motivated to continue it therefore it will eventually fail.

Regardless, ignore the riff-raff and finish your game idea you must find the time to make it happen. Do whatever it takes to learn how to make it. If needed you can always adjust the course you’ve charted despite the storms of headaches that occur, just make it! Spend time learning, there’s fantastic cool courses on YouTube as well as motivational stuff or you can search for the same on a Google Search to learn more or similar with motivation there too as there are hundreds of different helpful topics. Do the research, it’s worth it!