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)
THE CURSE OF THE WRITERS BLOCK??
Posts
Pages:
1
thedarkdreamer
1198
thedarkdreamer
View playlists
CloseI dunno if anyone has this problem I'm having in terms of making games or not, but whatever here goes:
I'll start making a game, and then I'll get a decent amount of progress, then I start to get stuck on things I want to do or get done. Though I don't seem to finish a fleshed out whole game. I have made short games, but not 'a' full length, quasi serious, or serious game. I do have ASD but I dunno if it's that has anything to do with that. Then I'll go and make another, and the same thing keeps happening.
To me it sounds like writer's block in a way. Meh??
I'll start making a game, and then I'll get a decent amount of progress, then I start to get stuck on things I want to do or get done. Though I don't seem to finish a fleshed out whole game. I have made short games, but not 'a' full length, quasi serious, or serious game. I do have ASD but I dunno if it's that has anything to do with that. Then I'll go and make another, and the same thing keeps happening.
To me it sounds like writer's block in a way. Meh??
Darken
3952
Almost everyone has this problem, even people that do end up finishing games. As someone with (undiagnosed) ADHD my only homemade remedy (for me anyway) is to just keep engaged on sideprojects whenever I feel myself waning and hopefully I loop around to finding the project I made the most progress on interesting again. The fact that I've committed the project and have it on Steam keeps me reminded that I have people waiting on it. It also helps to pivot to different features or ideas without erasing any progress made (productive pivot? I suppose) not due to scope creep but to keep your mind engaged. Everything seems exciting when you're not sure how the project is going to turn out yet, but once things iron out it's easy to see it for what it is and get bored.
The nuclear option I would like to get around to is getting medication to regulate it, healthcare in my country is free (to an extent, meds aren't) but there's so much red tape to go through that would make someone like me put it off for too long. It won't solve everything, at best it's like walking cane. But that's a question if it's a problem to be solved to begin with. It's worth accepting that peoples brains just work differently and maybe society could be more accepting of that. Regardless of acceptance it would be nice to get projects finished either way...
The nuclear option I would like to get around to is getting medication to regulate it, healthcare in my country is free (to an extent, meds aren't) but there's so much red tape to go through that would make someone like me put it off for too long. It won't solve everything, at best it's like walking cane. But that's a question if it's a problem to be solved to begin with. It's worth accepting that peoples brains just work differently and maybe society could be more accepting of that. Regardless of acceptance it would be nice to get projects finished either way...
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Like Darken said, this is a super common problem that almost every has. Unfortunately, it's a super common problem because the causes are incredibly diverse. You have to look inside yourself and figure out WHY your well of inspiration is running dry. It could be a loss of interest, burnout, or uncertainty of where to go with the story. Each cause has different remedies, and there is no one catch-all solution.
I have ADHD and take meds for it, and I have the exact opposite problem. Once I get serious on a project, tearing away from it mentally is incredibly difficult (hence why I worked on Prayer of the Faithless for 7 years). Even when I do suffer from writer's block, I can't just step away and do something else. Like scuba diving and not realizing that your oxygen tank has been empty for a long time.
For me, it helps to have a goal. I usually start a project by setting up the beginning of the story and laying out one or two key moments that "define" the story's purpose. The struggle then comes from trying to connect the dots, but it at least gives me direction so that I always have something to work towards. Whenever I got stuck in a rut in PotF, I took a step back and examined why I got in the rut to begin with. Sometimes it was because I was burnt out, other times it was because I accidentally wrote myself into a corner and didn't know how to properly escape from the situation. To fix the latter actually required scrapping themes, plot threads, and even entire areas to fit the narrative pacing better.
Sometimes when you just don't have the creative drive, it can actually help to consume a bunch of media instead of trying to force your way through it. Seeing the products of other's inspirations might just give your own inspiration a kick start. There are some cool games here on this site that you might want to try out, especially if they're using the same engine, concept as your current project.
I have ADHD and take meds for it, and I have the exact opposite problem. Once I get serious on a project, tearing away from it mentally is incredibly difficult (hence why I worked on Prayer of the Faithless for 7 years). Even when I do suffer from writer's block, I can't just step away and do something else. Like scuba diving and not realizing that your oxygen tank has been empty for a long time.
For me, it helps to have a goal. I usually start a project by setting up the beginning of the story and laying out one or two key moments that "define" the story's purpose. The struggle then comes from trying to connect the dots, but it at least gives me direction so that I always have something to work towards. Whenever I got stuck in a rut in PotF, I took a step back and examined why I got in the rut to begin with. Sometimes it was because I was burnt out, other times it was because I accidentally wrote myself into a corner and didn't know how to properly escape from the situation. To fix the latter actually required scrapping themes, plot threads, and even entire areas to fit the narrative pacing better.
Sometimes when you just don't have the creative drive, it can actually help to consume a bunch of media instead of trying to force your way through it. Seeing the products of other's inspirations might just give your own inspiration a kick start. There are some cool games here on this site that you might want to try out, especially if they're using the same engine, concept as your current project.
thedarkdreamer
1198
It seems like too, when I see games that I find can be better, I make copies and mod them and I have my own edits. So there's (theirs) and then my edit. :/ This does keep happening though. I like that goal idea, because as a job, I do portraits and I have a degree in Illustration, which are good, though the game thing is a side thing I've been doing since middle school. "Twisted Fate" would have been my first "actual game" though then I was doing a bunch of different things at the same time till now - and it is biblical in proportion. o_o
I was sometime, somewhere in threads looking for older games from the RPG Maker 2000 era and 2003 that are playable and not...that bad. Bc a lot of games that random people even tried to do were...unbearably bad. Even from attempting to make them better didn't work. That sometimes helps too for me is playing a game that is eh and just telling yourself, I am so much better than this hahahah
I was sometime, somewhere in threads looking for older games from the RPG Maker 2000 era and 2003 that are playable and not...that bad. Bc a lot of games that random people even tried to do were...unbearably bad. Even from attempting to make them better didn't work. That sometimes helps too for me is playing a game that is eh and just telling yourself, I am so much better than this hahahah
Pages:
1
