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ANYBODY GOT TIPS ON HOW TO STAY FOCUSED ON MAKING PROJECTS?
Posts
XBuster
1385
XBuster
View playlists
CloseWhen your mind is always wondering about new concepts and ways to handle things, it is common and very easy to stray from your game to get another one started, but from experience I can say that doing so is a double-edged sword. You want to stay focused? Don't stray too far from your project's goals and try your absolute best to plan out most (if not all) of the game ahead of time. Don't start too many projects at once, or you'll be hopping from one project to the other and won't finish any as fast or efficiently as you initially wanted.
Right now, I'm currently juggling 3 separate projects. Even if I mentioned that starting too many projects at once can be a bad thing, it can also be a good thing depending on why you're doing it in the first place. The most recent one forced me to do and learn things that I was too inexperienced or lazy to do before and I'm extremely happy with the results. That way, when I return to a previous project, everything learned can be applied to it to improve its overall quality.
I like to think of projects as "kids". Some people don't wait until their first kid is fully grown to have another one right? Sometimes, that kid may get bored and want a sibling. The first few "kids" may be okay, but what happens when you have like 10 of em'? You'll be switching back from each one so much, you won't know how to handle them all and get frustrated and that leads to hiatus' and much,much worse...cancellations. Setting my analogy aside, the point is that if you have more than one project, set a small and strict limit of how many projects you want to jump between and don't go beyond that point until you've finished one. Got a new idea? Either put it in a current project, or save it for later. There will be plenty of opportunity to try out your new ideas in the future.
Right now, I'm currently juggling 3 separate projects. Even if I mentioned that starting too many projects at once can be a bad thing, it can also be a good thing depending on why you're doing it in the first place. The most recent one forced me to do and learn things that I was too inexperienced or lazy to do before and I'm extremely happy with the results. That way, when I return to a previous project, everything learned can be applied to it to improve its overall quality.
I like to think of projects as "kids". Some people don't wait until their first kid is fully grown to have another one right? Sometimes, that kid may get bored and want a sibling. The first few "kids" may be okay, but what happens when you have like 10 of em'? You'll be switching back from each one so much, you won't know how to handle them all and get frustrated and that leads to hiatus' and much,much worse...cancellations. Setting my analogy aside, the point is that if you have more than one project, set a small and strict limit of how many projects you want to jump between and don't go beyond that point until you've finished one. Got a new idea? Either put it in a current project, or save it for later. There will be plenty of opportunity to try out your new ideas in the future.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
If you find yourself getting distracted by a different idea, you can set some time aside to make a short prototype of the idea just to see how it would work. A prototype is the developer equivalent of a doodle or outline. Put together half a dungeon (or even a single room), one or two battles, or whatever you need to get the bare minimum features of the core game idea in a playable state to see how it feels.
It's a prototype meant for the developer's eyes only, so you don't have to make it look good to anyone. Hell, it doesn't even have to run well. You just need to get it to work. Literally nothing else matters.
Sometimes an idea sounds good in your head, but doesn't translate well into a playable game. A prototype will help you get a feel for how your idea will play out. If you realize that the idea won't work for you, whether because it would be more work than you anticipated or the concept itself just isn't as fun as you thought it would be, then you can put it to rest and potentially take some smaller mechanics to use in a better project.
The key to building a successful prototype is to understand that polish is at the bottom of the priority list. Use clashing, shitty sprites made in 10 seconds in GIMP mixed with RTP, throw in any free script you think you may need, and focus on the game itself. If it takes longer than, say, 3 days to make your prototype, then you may want to consider that the idea is not one you should be pursuing right now.
It's a prototype meant for the developer's eyes only, so you don't have to make it look good to anyone. Hell, it doesn't even have to run well. You just need to get it to work. Literally nothing else matters.
Sometimes an idea sounds good in your head, but doesn't translate well into a playable game. A prototype will help you get a feel for how your idea will play out. If you realize that the idea won't work for you, whether because it would be more work than you anticipated or the concept itself just isn't as fun as you thought it would be, then you can put it to rest and potentially take some smaller mechanics to use in a better project.
The key to building a successful prototype is to understand that polish is at the bottom of the priority list. Use clashing, shitty sprites made in 10 seconds in GIMP mixed with RTP, throw in any free script you think you may need, and focus on the game itself. If it takes longer than, say, 3 days to make your prototype, then you may want to consider that the idea is not one you should be pursuing right now.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
I think an important question to ask oneself in the case of doing other projects is, "Am I doing this to take a break and let myself do something different to refresh my brain, or am I just procrastinating because I got to the tedious bit of gam mak and don't like that?"
I'm also kind of leery about the advice to just constantly start projects and never finish them, because it deprives a person of the immensely satisfying feeling of getting a thing Done. (Which is also psychologically healthy and leads to better productivity in general.)
Also, if you're not really that serious about finishing your game, why are you doing gam mak as a hobby? It... it doesn't seem like it's that fun for you, and that's time you could be spending like playing cool games or watching movies or playing fetch with a cute dog. I mean, if your bliss is futzing around with no goal, that's cool, but you should definitely decide whether this is actually what you want to do with your time, or whether you just got into a habit that isn't that great for you.
I'm also kind of leery about the advice to just constantly start projects and never finish them, because it deprives a person of the immensely satisfying feeling of getting a thing Done. (Which is also psychologically healthy and leads to better productivity in general.)
Also, if you're not really that serious about finishing your game, why are you doing gam mak as a hobby? It... it doesn't seem like it's that fun for you, and that's time you could be spending like playing cool games or watching movies or playing fetch with a cute dog. I mean, if your bliss is futzing around with no goal, that's cool, but you should definitely decide whether this is actually what you want to do with your time, or whether you just got into a habit that isn't that great for you.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
IF the topic is not "How to be one of the cool kids."
Don't compare yourself to others.
The age old idealism. Easier said than done, right?
Turn off twitter.
Turn off tumblr.
Turn off Facebook.
Turn off every other social media site and then turn off your internet adapter.
And don't turn them back on until you're done devvin' for the day.
That way you can't.
The age old idealism. Easier said than done, right?
Turn off twitter.
Turn off tumblr.
Turn off Facebook.
Turn off every other social media site and then turn off your internet adapter.
And don't turn them back on until you're done devvin' for the day.
That way you can't.
BadLuck
2270
All of this can be boiled down to one word. Discipline.
Discipline in planning your project. Discipline in sticking to that plane. Discipline on working on a set schedule.
I think what most RPG Maker users don't understand about GAMEMAEK is that making that magnum opus is mostly not fun. It's hard work. It's long hours. It's constant frustration. I just spent a fucking week on a 7 minute cutscene that I'm not even sure is that good... I spend 4-10 hours a day, every day, on my work, mostly doing tedious shit. I am so goddamn tired of writing NPCs. But it has to get done.
Discipline is how you get through this crap. Being disciplined is the most valuable skill you'll ever have. And it is a bitch to improve, because the only time you need discipline is when you have to do things you don't want to do.
There's no good answer to how to do this, but the first step is accepting it's true. A big part of making games is doing stuff you don't like, and working when you'd rather not. So the next time you sit down with a task in front of you thinking to yourself "fuuuuuuck I don't want to do this" remember that this is the mindset holding you back, and the only way to overcome it is to push through it and work anyway.
Set a schedule. Set realistic goals. Stick to them whenever possible. Never make excuses.
Discipline in planning your project. Discipline in sticking to that plane. Discipline on working on a set schedule.
I think what most RPG Maker users don't understand about GAMEMAEK is that making that magnum opus is mostly not fun. It's hard work. It's long hours. It's constant frustration. I just spent a fucking week on a 7 minute cutscene that I'm not even sure is that good... I spend 4-10 hours a day, every day, on my work, mostly doing tedious shit. I am so goddamn tired of writing NPCs. But it has to get done.
Discipline is how you get through this crap. Being disciplined is the most valuable skill you'll ever have. And it is a bitch to improve, because the only time you need discipline is when you have to do things you don't want to do.
There's no good answer to how to do this, but the first step is accepting it's true. A big part of making games is doing stuff you don't like, and working when you'd rather not. So the next time you sit down with a task in front of you thinking to yourself "fuuuuuuck I don't want to do this" remember that this is the mindset holding you back, and the only way to overcome it is to push through it and work anyway.
Set a schedule. Set realistic goals. Stick to them whenever possible. Never make excuses.
Sooz
They told me I was mad when I said I was going to create a spidertable. Who’s laughing now!!!
5354
Discipline is deciding you want a thing to be done more than you want to not do it.
Pancaek
1307
author=Sooz
Discipline is deciding you want a thing to be done more than you want to not do it.
I want life to be done more than I want to not do it
