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DRILLING FOR MOTIVATION WHEN THE WELL IS DRY
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pianotm
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Closeauthor=Gourd_Clae
I look at what I've already done. That burst of gam mak did some sweet things and I want revive it~
Music is also wildly important. Music is good for the creative juices in general too.
I have made one disaster, and one bland joke that is at least playable. Yay me.
Writer's block: First, I always recommend Hemingway's method. Whatever you're writing right now, don't finish it. Don't write how a scenario ends, because if you do, you've finished something, and you'll have to start anew, and this is hard. Better to come back the next day, complete it then, and then the gears will be turning. So, failing this, I find that if I go to another project I was working on, I find myself full of fresh ideas for THAT project, and then I begin to develop new ideas for the project I just left. Finally, I find that reading a book gives me a score of new ideas. How would I have written this differently, or what new ideas have I gotten from this story, and there will always be plenty. After all, for every possibility a writer writes, there's a million that he or she doesn't. I often find myself daydreaming what happens next or envisioning how the end will be, often being wrong, and often thinking my idea was cooler.
For work that have to do but just don't want to...well, this is harder, I'm afraid. I don't know what to do about this.
Music is a huge one, of course :D Exercise too. Something about a good workout gets me going and makes it easier to concentrate on stuff for the rest of the day. Also, taking a shower is a great way to just destress and is also where I come up with my best ideas when I'm stuck.
This can be a big one for me, too. I used to see people finish projects (games, art, music, doesn't matter!) and just get really envious, but now it tends to kick me into action. It's a mix of competitiveness and inspiration - seeing someone passionate enough to start and finish something beautiful makes me want to do the same, and I always hope that one day I can make stuff that inspires other people that way :D
Actually, the reason I've been on RMN more and more frequently the past few months is a combination of two things - seeing a bunch of new fantastic work done by devs here, and talking to people here with drive and passion - both inspired me to double down on game making and finishing games. Although... I still get jealous when I see people younger than me make beautiful games >.< I just try to channel it into my own work.
Oh yea, same. I usually go into RMN games as either a studying experience or because I heard something special about it; they're not the kind of games I use to zone out like I do with Hearthstone.
Yea, and this is the crux of the question, the real tricky part... if you just make games to relax and aren't focused on the goal, you can always take a break when you're bored. But if you're determined to be professional and keep deadlines... how do you power through work when you don't want to? Especially when you're already going to school or working full-time? It ain't easy ;^_^
author=Corfaisus
Play someone else's game. I can't tell you how many times during my playthrough of Hero's Realm that I felt the desire to drop everything and go work on my own game. Perhaps seeing and experiencing a completed project might motivate you to do the same.
This can be a big one for me, too. I used to see people finish projects (games, art, music, doesn't matter!) and just get really envious, but now it tends to kick me into action. It's a mix of competitiveness and inspiration - seeing someone passionate enough to start and finish something beautiful makes me want to do the same, and I always hope that one day I can make stuff that inspires other people that way :D
Actually, the reason I've been on RMN more and more frequently the past few months is a combination of two things - seeing a bunch of new fantastic work done by devs here, and talking to people here with drive and passion - both inspired me to double down on game making and finishing games. Although... I still get jealous when I see people younger than me make beautiful games >.< I just try to channel it into my own work.
author=LockeZ
I have the opposite problem - this is actually my avoidance technique. I should be working on my own game, but instead of pulling RPG Maker up I start playing Hammerwatch or Hearthstone or something.
Oh yea, same. I usually go into RMN games as either a studying experience or because I heard something special about it; they're not the kind of games I use to zone out like I do with Hearthstone.
author=pianotm
For work that have to do but just don't want to...well, this is harder, I'm afraid. I don't know what to do about this.
Yea, and this is the crux of the question, the real tricky part... if you just make games to relax and aren't focused on the goal, you can always take a break when you're bored. But if you're determined to be professional and keep deadlines... how do you power through work when you don't want to? Especially when you're already going to school or working full-time? It ain't easy ;^_^
It can be really tricky some days.
I think that dressing up bit has something to it. For me, illustration and writing (especially writing) I cannot be just on the sofa curled up and doing whatever on my lap. I -will- fall asleep watching YouTube.
Never open YouTube! If you set the time aside to do some work, and find yourself drifting to YouTube? Close that shit!
If I need music I will use Songza, Rainymood, or turn on my old ghetto blaster.
For the art, I try to avoid music though, music is very great in theory, though I took some advice from one of my animation bibles. I think it was Milt Kahl who said (paraphrasing) "What kind of music do I listen to? I'm not smart enough to listen to music AND draw!"
It is weird, because I feel programmed to jam to some tunes, or crank up some daft punk or epica, but drawing and writing without ambience is something else. You have no influences except for imagination. So you zone right in to what you're doing.
Since I've started living with my girlfriend however, I have to listen to something or suffer teen bopper pop music or Japanese subbed anime, unfortunately.
As a result my productivity has gone through the floor.
I think that dressing up bit has something to it. For me, illustration and writing (especially writing) I cannot be just on the sofa curled up and doing whatever on my lap. I -will- fall asleep watching YouTube.
Never open YouTube! If you set the time aside to do some work, and find yourself drifting to YouTube? Close that shit!
If I need music I will use Songza, Rainymood, or turn on my old ghetto blaster.
For the art, I try to avoid music though, music is very great in theory, though I took some advice from one of my animation bibles. I think it was Milt Kahl who said (paraphrasing) "What kind of music do I listen to? I'm not smart enough to listen to music AND draw!"
It is weird, because I feel programmed to jam to some tunes, or crank up some daft punk or epica, but drawing and writing without ambience is something else. You have no influences except for imagination. So you zone right in to what you're doing.
Since I've started living with my girlfriend however, I have to listen to something or suffer teen bopper pop music or Japanese subbed anime, unfortunately.
As a result my productivity has gone through the floor.
I live with headphones in my ears. The moment I don't have some tunes playing the background, I grow bored. But while visiting RMN and tvtropes.org are time sinks, they do serve as excellent sources of inspiration. Or reading articles over at smps ( even though they are a bit outdated; the FF ones are excellent, as are the Chrono series ).
Ah yea, Socks Make People Sexy's articles are hilarious and really well written!
Oh yea, I heard a quote like that before; I think it was from The Animator's Survival Kit. I'm not sure if I buy it though... typically I try to listen to music that gets me going but kinda falls into my subconscious. If I find myself drum-soloing on the desk though, I know I've gone too far -_-
author=Dudesoft
"What kind of music do I listen to? I'm not smart enough to listen to music AND draw!"
Oh yea, I heard a quote like that before; I think it was from The Animator's Survival Kit. I'm not sure if I buy it though... typically I try to listen to music that gets me going but kinda falls into my subconscious. If I find myself drum-soloing on the desk though, I know I've gone too far -_-
author=GoatBoy
Unlike Gabicho, seeing other people's progress on their games usually makes me feel the need to churn out some work of my own. Maybe I'm secretly competitive? >w>
Nah, I think for me it's more of a getting caught up in comparing myself to others deal. So I guess an issue of confidence?
It's nice to see how music is such a huge motivation for everyone. Though I've never heard of music being counterproductive to art. That's interesting.
And I agree with LockeZ! Working on multiple game projects helps.
Xenomic
1752
I've been trying to get myself motivated to work on my game for quite some time now (past month or two), but haven't had any luck with it. Motivation for me comes and goes whenever it pleases (but the prospect of doing eventing/mapping without any help is probably what puts me off the most...). I don't like working on multiple projects since well...I only want to do this one game and that's it. Probably not going to make another game after this so...any good sound advice other than working on multiple projects or whatnot??
Seeing other people's progress in their game doesn't do it for me either, nor does watching videos of games or whatnot so I dunno what else to do. And "just doing it" doesn't work very well either. : S
Seeing other people's progress in their game doesn't do it for me either, nor does watching videos of games or whatnot so I dunno what else to do. And "just doing it" doesn't work very well either. : S
Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
It's all about feeling good. Take a shower and, when you're freshly clean, crank some oldies music and dance like no one is watching. Listen to The Contours - Do You Love Me and Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing. I just did this and I feel amazing.
Play someone else's game. I can't tell you how many times during my playthrough of Hero's Realm that I felt the desire to drop everything and go work on my own game. Perhaps seeing and experiencing a completed project might motivate you to do the same.
indeed,that's a good advice-i feel myself really motivated after playing someone else's game-seeing other's works really inspires and makes me want to work harder
aside of that,things which helps me are:
1.Not to think about game-making as "work",i think about it as a way to relax and nicely spend some free time,also i'm trying to work when i'm in good mood and high-spirits,this way game-making process comes smoother
2.well,also creating the right mood according to game's genre-since i'm making a comedy-some good laughts give me the right mood,when i was trying to make a horror-i've read as much horror-stories as i could
I took a whole class on this. Essentially it was about flow hacking since we're 5x more productive when we're in flow then when we are not. Flow is what you described in your first post when you are being productive. That feeling of just getting things done and losing sense of time. It's an amazing feeling and one I'm sure most of us creatives wish we could tap into anytime. Of course that's not the case although it is something you could practice.
I'd recommend reading Steven Kotler's Rise of Superman if you're interested in Flow. There's apparently 4 phases: The Struggle phase that we're usually in, the Release phase which leads into the Flow phase and then the Recovery phase. It has a lot to do with neurotransmitters like dopamine, seretonin, norepinephrine.
That said I continually find myself in the struggle phase. I haven't even worked in the editor for 2 months although that has more to do with anxiety. Most of the time when we're struggling to work on a project there's some underlying anxiety holding us back. That's why we default to things that instantly make us feel good (social media, video games). Sometimes trying to identify what is making you anxious can help. Although this can also kill a project "stone cold" if you think about it too much. So maybe don't think about it!
Habit forming is probably the best thing you can do. Get into the routine of working on your project a hour or two a day. I find morning hours best. If you don't feel like working on it keep in mind that you might have a streak going and you don't want to break it! You can use the Lift app to track your streaks (check-in when you work on your game). This can help motivate you if you're seriously struggling.
Hope something here is helpful. I've done a lot of research on "productivity hacking" so I think about this topic a lot.
I'd recommend reading Steven Kotler's Rise of Superman if you're interested in Flow. There's apparently 4 phases: The Struggle phase that we're usually in, the Release phase which leads into the Flow phase and then the Recovery phase. It has a lot to do with neurotransmitters like dopamine, seretonin, norepinephrine.
That said I continually find myself in the struggle phase. I haven't even worked in the editor for 2 months although that has more to do with anxiety. Most of the time when we're struggling to work on a project there's some underlying anxiety holding us back. That's why we default to things that instantly make us feel good (social media, video games). Sometimes trying to identify what is making you anxious can help. Although this can also kill a project "stone cold" if you think about it too much. So maybe don't think about it!
Habit forming is probably the best thing you can do. Get into the routine of working on your project a hour or two a day. I find morning hours best. If you don't feel like working on it keep in mind that you might have a streak going and you don't want to break it! You can use the Lift app to track your streaks (check-in when you work on your game). This can help motivate you if you're seriously struggling.
Hope something here is helpful. I've done a lot of research on "productivity hacking" so I think about this topic a lot.
Artbane's Productivity Hacking Tips
Ok I've thought about this topic a bit more. Slash's initial post about struggling to work on a project when you don't feel like it is a timeless tale. So how do you get your game flowing? Here's some tips I've picked up over the last few years of researching "productivity hacking".
Make working on your game a routine! This will be painful at first but is by far the most effective technique. There's conflicting information on how long it takes to form a habit but let's just say it takes about 4 weeks. It gets a lot easier though after the first few days to keep up with it.
Figure out when you're most creative/productive. For some people like me it's the early morning. For others it's the evening. Try to then work on your game at those times. If you have a proper job this might be more difficult but if you're more productive in the morning try to go to sleep a little earlier and wake up earlier. When I was doing this I was amazed how much work I could get done on my game in a week!
Eliminate distractions! Forget about willpower. You need to setup systems to keep your focus in place. Remove distracting sites from your bookmark bar or setup apps like the Chrome Pomodoro app that will block sites for a specific amount of time. This is super important because as soon as you enter the struggle phase working on your project your brain is going to start sweating and want to do something easier. You want to block "the paths of least resistance!"
There is also a Freedom app I have that blocks all internet on your computer but depending on what you're working on this might not be advisable.
Speaking of path of least resistance, make it easier for you to work on your game. Have a shortcut to your project on your desktop and all your files easily accessible. It's like when you want to start running in the morning. You want to have your workout clothes and running shoes ready so you can put them on and hit the road! Or maybe go to sleep with them on!
Reward yourself after you work on your game! A good way to form habits is to reward yourself for keeping them. If you worked on your game a few hours then maybe eat a sweet or play a fun game for a bit.
Another tip is if you are procrastinating DO NOT FEEL GUILTY!! Procrastinating is a perfectly normal part of the struggling phase and if you are aware that you're procrastinating just own it. Sometimes your brain needs a break. Even if this goes for a couple of months (like me) you're probably still having creative thoughts so make sure to capture them so they'll be there when you're ready to get back to work!
Also don't underestimate the power of meditation and walking. Meditation is great for quieting down your mind allowing you to focus on your work and also reducing stress. Walking also lights your brain on fire and is great paired with inspirational music for coming up with ideas since there are less distractions on walks. It's good exercise too.
I try to meditate every morning and go for at least one 30minute walk per day. Does wonders when I can keep it up.
Ok I've thought about this topic a bit more. Slash's initial post about struggling to work on a project when you don't feel like it is a timeless tale. So how do you get your game flowing? Here's some tips I've picked up over the last few years of researching "productivity hacking".
Make working on your game a routine! This will be painful at first but is by far the most effective technique. There's conflicting information on how long it takes to form a habit but let's just say it takes about 4 weeks. It gets a lot easier though after the first few days to keep up with it.
Figure out when you're most creative/productive. For some people like me it's the early morning. For others it's the evening. Try to then work on your game at those times. If you have a proper job this might be more difficult but if you're more productive in the morning try to go to sleep a little earlier and wake up earlier. When I was doing this I was amazed how much work I could get done on my game in a week!
Eliminate distractions! Forget about willpower. You need to setup systems to keep your focus in place. Remove distracting sites from your bookmark bar or setup apps like the Chrome Pomodoro app that will block sites for a specific amount of time. This is super important because as soon as you enter the struggle phase working on your project your brain is going to start sweating and want to do something easier. You want to block "the paths of least resistance!"
There is also a Freedom app I have that blocks all internet on your computer but depending on what you're working on this might not be advisable.
Speaking of path of least resistance, make it easier for you to work on your game. Have a shortcut to your project on your desktop and all your files easily accessible. It's like when you want to start running in the morning. You want to have your workout clothes and running shoes ready so you can put them on and hit the road! Or maybe go to sleep with them on!
Reward yourself after you work on your game! A good way to form habits is to reward yourself for keeping them. If you worked on your game a few hours then maybe eat a sweet or play a fun game for a bit.
Another tip is if you are procrastinating DO NOT FEEL GUILTY!! Procrastinating is a perfectly normal part of the struggling phase and if you are aware that you're procrastinating just own it. Sometimes your brain needs a break. Even if this goes for a couple of months (like me) you're probably still having creative thoughts so make sure to capture them so they'll be there when you're ready to get back to work!
Also don't underestimate the power of meditation and walking. Meditation is great for quieting down your mind allowing you to focus on your work and also reducing stress. Walking also lights your brain on fire and is great paired with inspirational music for coming up with ideas since there are less distractions on walks. It's good exercise too.
I try to meditate every morning and go for at least one 30minute walk per day. Does wonders when I can keep it up.
author=pianotmauthor=Gourd_ClaeI have made one disaster, and one bland joke that is at least playable. Yay me.
I look at what I've already done. That burst of gam mak did some sweet things and I want revive it~
Music is also wildly important. Music is good for the creative juices in general too.
Okay, now look at it again, and be positive. Seriously, you finished two games do you know how hard it is to see a game to its end? Yes, you do, because you lived it. Twice, even. At least one of those games is bug-free enough that you can finish it - presumably both of them are. My game had to be fixed a few times before I even realized it couldn't be finished. There are definitely interesting ideas in both. I just read Risen's description and I can see you had an interesting idea in your head when you were making it and fourth wall breaking humor is great.
Now, I've played neither of your games and I could come up with that. When you look at what you've done, the factor that determines if you get more motivated isn't if what you have is any good, it's how you look at it.
Davenport
5200
Inspiration is a good motivator. There are countless ways
to perceive an event like riding a bus.
to perceive an event like riding a bus.
Kiana
50
author=Davenport
There are countless ways to perceive an event like riding a bus.
A Dante-esque journey through the land of the dead and damned, for example.
author=ArtBane
Reward yourself after you work on your game!A good way to form habits is to reward yourself for keeping them. If you worked on your game a few hours then maybe eat a sweet or play a fun game for a bit.
My problem is that I end up rewarding myself when something is a quarter of the way done.
author=ArtBane
Another tip is if you are procrastinating DO NOT FEEL GUILTY!!
This is still something I have to actively tell myself.
Sonic51
0
Agreed with the not-feeling-guilty-for-procrastinationg guy, probably the best tip ever! Take breaks, make a coffee, go for a run, anything, but don't try to finish your work when you have been working for hours and starting to struggle. Fresh head makes miracles!
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
Um am I still supposed to not feel guilty if it's been several months
