Full Games List
Featured Games
New Games
Reviews
Media
Images
Blogs
Game Updates
Images Feedback Summary
Game Design Highlights
Tutorials
Articles
Scripts
Utilities / Plugins
Resources
Engines
Engine Bulletins
What is Makerscore?
Past Events
Achievements
Misaos
Forums
Post History
Chat
New to RMN?
Full Store List
RMN Music Pack (free)
MAKING GAMES? WHAT MOTIVATES YOU?
Posts
BillyX
View playlists
CloseIt's never been a secret how many demos and attempts get left unmade and unfinished.
Completing a full game is hard and time consuming. And yet... it has been done. Plenty of times.
So what motivates you?
Do you plan out your game before you try and create it? Get the majority of the plot planned out before that first tile is laid?
Or do you start with an idea and build on it as you go? Hoping things work out in the end.
I sometimes wonder how many completed games there would be, and awesome ones at that, if the creator simply stuck with, and finished, one project at a time? Instead of getting bored with an idea and starting a second one. Then a third and fourth.
For those that have finished a project, how did you do it? What kept you going until the last hurdle was jumped? Was it the support in the community? Or was it the nay-sayers, that consistently said you couldn't do it?
I'm curious, and feel that anyone who reads these potential hints, ideas and experiences - may be able to put them to good use.
So? What motivates you?
Completing a full game is hard and time consuming. And yet... it has been done. Plenty of times.
So what motivates you?
Do you plan out your game before you try and create it? Get the majority of the plot planned out before that first tile is laid?
Or do you start with an idea and build on it as you go? Hoping things work out in the end.
I sometimes wonder how many completed games there would be, and awesome ones at that, if the creator simply stuck with, and finished, one project at a time? Instead of getting bored with an idea and starting a second one. Then a third and fourth.
For those that have finished a project, how did you do it? What kept you going until the last hurdle was jumped? Was it the support in the community? Or was it the nay-sayers, that consistently said you couldn't do it?
I'm curious, and feel that anyone who reads these potential hints, ideas and experiences - may be able to put them to good use.
So? What motivates you?
For me, making games in rpg maker fills a lot of voids in my life. I'm able to have impact over something, I'm able to tell a story, I'm able to show off the various talents I've cultivated over the years with a wholly unique and flavorful package.
However, the thing that keeps me going is the power of the flow.
I'm at my most productive and satisfied when I have a nice juicy project to work on every night. so often I forget things. so often my experiences fade into the dark recesses of my mind, unable to be recalled unless absolutely relevant.
But here, I need not worry about the frailty of my memory. everything is documented, and as long as I follow my known intent, my time is never wasted.
I'm also extremely lonely at times and using rpg maker fills the void where I would usually rp with friends (time has torn our schedules and interests apart over the years...). instead, I can essentially rp with myself and thanks to the repeated testing of dialogue and action, it doesn't feel as much of a shot in the dark as plain writing. it almost feels like I'm not entirely alone in my work, even when I write all the content myself. the playback is an important factor and keeps me going.
but, when I can manage to get outside encouragement, it really helps. it really means a lot to me and makes my work feel worthwhile when I know somebody is actually looking forward to my games.
As for building style, I tend to build a mental sandbox sort of playground to write within first, then I craft a basic outline, and then I take what I've got and roll with the punches, making whatever I need to continue along the way. My usual freewheeling approach doesn't always work, but when all the factors line up to make it work, it feels the best.
So yeah, that's what keeps me going. it's served me well over the years and I'm sure it'll continue to help me get through tough times in the future.
However, the thing that keeps me going is the power of the flow.
I'm at my most productive and satisfied when I have a nice juicy project to work on every night. so often I forget things. so often my experiences fade into the dark recesses of my mind, unable to be recalled unless absolutely relevant.
But here, I need not worry about the frailty of my memory. everything is documented, and as long as I follow my known intent, my time is never wasted.
I'm also extremely lonely at times and using rpg maker fills the void where I would usually rp with friends (time has torn our schedules and interests apart over the years...). instead, I can essentially rp with myself and thanks to the repeated testing of dialogue and action, it doesn't feel as much of a shot in the dark as plain writing. it almost feels like I'm not entirely alone in my work, even when I write all the content myself. the playback is an important factor and keeps me going.
but, when I can manage to get outside encouragement, it really helps. it really means a lot to me and makes my work feel worthwhile when I know somebody is actually looking forward to my games.
As for building style, I tend to build a mental sandbox sort of playground to write within first, then I craft a basic outline, and then I take what I've got and roll with the punches, making whatever I need to continue along the way. My usual freewheeling approach doesn't always work, but when all the factors line up to make it work, it feels the best.
So yeah, that's what keeps me going. it's served me well over the years and I'm sure it'll continue to help me get through tough times in the future.
Making video games is like being god. I create worlds and people. Then I make them follow my whims and kill them like ants.
I'm interested as games as an art form. Taking my limited resources, and making something cool. Or, at least something I think is cool. Simple, old-fashioned RPGs. The games that made me happy as a kid, the kind I would look forward to playing on friday nights.
Darken
3952
Yeah it's cool to develop a world and have things happen, it's also just a very ambiguous medium that's easy to make your own format within it. So even if it's not the best thing ever it's sometimes fun to come up with interactions.
Just make small games that you aren't proud of. Don't think too much on what the game is for. There's not much of a prevailing reception in the community anymore to discourage or encourage finishing something. So idk I don't think there's really any pressure unless you had a game in development for 5+ years and have a following?
I think the hard part is trying to tackle making a good game and finishing a game which are two very different weird skills. As someone who finished a commercial game in 3 years, it's kind of hellscape of just getting it over with in the last 10% stretch. Putting too much effort and thinking towards the last bit of content is kind of a waste of energy when you have a bunch of extra stuff to worry about when it comes time to Steam publishing. There really isn't a whole lot of "motivation" left per say you just have to get it done and not be a perfectionist near the end.
One weird advice I have is just do the ending to your game like first thing you do after the intro to it. Because you're probably going to want to rush the ending anyway, and if it's some final boss it's probably going to be poorly designed through haste. You see this in so many professional games where the last section feels like an after thought, and it's pretty clear to me why nowadays. I think it's ok for the middle to be the most boring/least polished part of the game, because people really have an impression on the ending to games it feels like. But also mentally/psychologically it's a way to view the game as "complete" when the beggining and end are clearly laid out and all that's left is to fill in the gap. It kind of makes having a lack of motivation easier with that in mind.
author=BillyX
For those that have finished a project, how did you do it? What kept you going until the last hurdle was jumped? Was it the support in the community? Or was it the nay-sayers, that consistently said you couldn't do it?
Just make small games that you aren't proud of. Don't think too much on what the game is for. There's not much of a prevailing reception in the community anymore to discourage or encourage finishing something. So idk I don't think there's really any pressure unless you had a game in development for 5+ years and have a following?
I think the hard part is trying to tackle making a good game and finishing a game which are two very different weird skills. As someone who finished a commercial game in 3 years, it's kind of hellscape of just getting it over with in the last 10% stretch. Putting too much effort and thinking towards the last bit of content is kind of a waste of energy when you have a bunch of extra stuff to worry about when it comes time to Steam publishing. There really isn't a whole lot of "motivation" left per say you just have to get it done and not be a perfectionist near the end.
One weird advice I have is just do the ending to your game like first thing you do after the intro to it. Because you're probably going to want to rush the ending anyway, and if it's some final boss it's probably going to be poorly designed through haste. You see this in so many professional games where the last section feels like an after thought, and it's pretty clear to me why nowadays. I think it's ok for the middle to be the most boring/least polished part of the game, because people really have an impression on the ending to games it feels like. But also mentally/psychologically it's a way to view the game as "complete" when the beggining and end are clearly laid out and all that's left is to fill in the gap. It kind of makes having a lack of motivation easier with that in mind.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
I sometimes wonder how many completed games there would be, and awesome ones at that, if the creator simply stuck with, and finished, one project at a time? Instead of getting bored with an idea and starting a second one. Then a third and fourth.
I'd recommend aiming to complete a prototype of your game and see how you feel by the end of it. Disregard the need for polish, story, or custom assets (unless it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY for your game idea), and gauge how well your idea translates to something playable. Maybe you'll realize that the work required for a full game was more than you initially anticipated, or maybe you got bored while working on the prototype and know for sure that you'll get bored of working on the full game. Or hell, maybe you'll realize that everything looks and feels great and that you're even more motivated to work on it further!
Whether you decide to go through with your idea or not, the prototype is for you, the dev, and you only. Commit to no longer than a 10 minute piece of game with nothing more than the foundation of your idea implemented. With the end goal far closer to you, the feeling of crossing that finish line will come quicker, and you'll start getting into the habit of setting and completing milestones.
Fulfilling even a small commitment is a greater boost to motivation than bailing on a commitment to finish a game in favor of starting another commitment to finish a game. And who knows? Some time in the future, when you have more experience under your belt, you'll come across your old prototype and want to develop it further. What you want to avoid is purposely draining the motivation wells over and over again, because it'll eventually become a self-fulfilling cycle of commitment and bailing. Instead, get into the cycle of COMPLETING things, and then scale your work appropriately from there.
grindalf
3556
Most of the games that I have finished had no planning or thought put into them. I just made levels until I thought, "That feels like enough" When I put planning into my games I tend to never finish.
For reference I have...
20 finished
17 abandoned
2 in Development
3 on Hold
Of those 17 abandoned projects I think I planned to many features or the features were just beyond my skills and made development to stressful.
For reference I have...
20 finished
17 abandoned
2 in Development
3 on Hold
Of those 17 abandoned projects I think I planned to many features or the features were just beyond my skills and made development to stressful.
Not gonna lie, attention gets me motivated a lot. Comes with the unfortunate package of being a vain individual. I used to keep it to myself though because lets face it, nobody wants to be seen as an attention whore.
But after a long time of thinking on it, I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing if people cheering you on inspires you to put forth that extra bit of effort to make a game awesome for your audience. That's what I tell myself to get up and going, I'm going to make games as cool as I can for my audience.
But after a long time of thinking on it, I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing if people cheering you on inspires you to put forth that extra bit of effort to make a game awesome for your audience. That's what I tell myself to get up and going, I'm going to make games as cool as I can for my audience.
Watching/playing/reading other media and playing other people's RPGM games tends to motivate me the most. I absorb ways to present my story and characters, how other authors do it, and it's fascinating to see how my efforts compare.
It's, of course, also satisfying to see how people interpret my work, and their thoughts and criticism.
It's, of course, also satisfying to see how people interpret my work, and their thoughts and criticism.
TheNecromancer
3160
For me, working with other people keeps me motivated. When it's just me, I don't have to answer to anyone for slacking off. I don't want to leave someone else high and dry, plus when you don't have to do everything yourself it just feels...lighter. You don't have that heavy monkey on your back of "i still have to find/make chipsets, and charsets, and add music, and code this, and balance that...".
author=Link_2112
For me, working with other people keeps me motivated. When it's just me, I don't have to answer to anyone for slacking off. I don't want to leave someone else high and dry, plus when you don't have to do everything yourself it just feels...lighter. You don't have that heavy monkey on your back of "i still have to find/make chipsets, and charsets, and add music, and code this, and balance that...".
This is a big thing too. I can't even imagine how much further back I would be if Ocean wasn't helping me with FF:SW!
i start games to tell stories about stupid boys. i finish games when i can schedule a week or month to push everything else in my life aside to focus whatever motivation i have on one project. XD
where the motivation comes from....... attention, mostly, like others have said.
where the motivation comes from....... attention, mostly, like others have said.
MoonWolfV
2996
My motivation comes from the first project I actually saw through to completion. That being the first one I uploaded on here.
Prior to that, most of my games started off with a burst of enthusiasm which quickly petered out.
Each game I work on now, I've managed to see through to completion, because of the satisfaction of actually seeing it having been finished.
Prior to that, most of my games started off with a burst of enthusiasm which quickly petered out.
Each game I work on now, I've managed to see through to completion, because of the satisfaction of actually seeing it having been finished.
Healy
5945
I make games because I like playing games, and often the games I want to play don't exist yet.
Tw0Face
5579
author=Healy
I make games because I like playing games, and often the games I want to play don't exist yet.
That's exactly what I think.
MoonWolfV
My motivation comes from the first project I actually saw through to completion. That being the first one I uploaded on here.
Prior to that, most of my games started off with a burst of enthusiasm which quickly petered out.
Each game I work on now, I've managed to see through to completion, because of the satisfaction of actually seeing it having been finished.
#goals
I yet need to create a polished finished product, but I think that attention is only any good as motivation, when you're working on something you know is good. For example I like showing off my screenshots (they're not that good and usually no one reacts).
But when I work on a project, I'm usually motivated as long as I enjoy working on it. I need to see the progress. That's why I usually struggle with database. It's not a visible progress.
My released games are all very messy and I don't want people to pay attention to them, because it could harm me, if I ever manage to release a decent game. So, showing that I can do better is another motivation, which stops me from starting new projects and getting sidelined.
But when I work on a project, I'm usually motivated as long as I enjoy working on it. I need to see the progress. That's why I usually struggle with database. It's not a visible progress.
My released games are all very messy and I don't want people to pay attention to them, because it could harm me, if I ever manage to release a decent game. So, showing that I can do better is another motivation, which stops me from starting new projects and getting sidelined.
I guess I just wanted to make something when, for a very long time, I did very little creatively. I wanted to tell stories, and that's why I started making games six years ago.
But I never really saw it as resume or portfolio-building, or building up clout or some big audience; I just make games to tell stories and make people happy. I never thought of developing games as "work" and even with my second commercial project launching in a few days, I'll always be a hobbyist at heart. I don't aspire to be anything more than that, and that is what I am comfortable with.
I'm glad I was able to do that and make a difference to someone.
But I never really saw it as resume or portfolio-building, or building up clout or some big audience; I just make games to tell stories and make people happy. I never thought of developing games as "work" and even with my second commercial project launching in a few days, I'll always be a hobbyist at heart. I don't aspire to be anything more than that, and that is what I am comfortable with.
I'm glad I was able to do that and make a difference to someone.
