Withdrawls from Workaholism

[Kain Nobel]

Hello and good day!

I'll admit just posting this topic is hard, but I've got to come clean with this... I'm a workaholic with my project! The overall development, regardless of the usual speed bumps here and there, has always been very upbeat. Everything prior to 2011 was just preliminary exercises and preparation, but once the next year rolled in then shit got real! Matter of fact, my New Years resolution was to have a project finished in two years. Since then, I've been working like a mad man to make things come to light and, to this day, I'm still willing to do the grind until I eventually find the fun!

That's not what's bothering me though, my problems started around December 15th, 2011; the time I decided to say "alright, two week vacation, enjoy the holidays with your family, DON'T TOUCH YOUR PROJECT!" Holidays or no holidays, I feel I've made a mistake by pumping my brakes like that, especially with how fast I was flying through things. Certainly I came back to it January 1st of 2012 as scheduled, but then I realized that "Oh man... picking back up from where I left off is going to be tough."

Well... one week passed that sucked, no big deal, not trying to force it. Now I'm looking at my calendar and week two is already finished. Now the third week is here and I've got nothing, this is not a good start at all! Not even comparing it to my 'peak months', it feels like my creativity crapped the bed and had a heart attack. What do I do?! I need to revive it QUICK, I have a deadline to meet! Any advice?

[yamina-chan]

Usually if you're forced to do something or feel yourself as if you are, creativity and enthusiasm simply shuts down.
At least it's like that with me and I can give you tips on what I do, whether or not they'll work for you I don't know but it doesn't hurt to try =)

a) Reminding yourself about why you are doing this. Leave the computer and ho sit (or lie) somewhere where you can get comfortable. Shut your eyes and let your fantasy take over.m Think about your project in total. About aspects that you like, things that you want to do and reactions you hope people will have. Remind yourself why you enjoy doing what you are doing. Look at what you already have, make mental notes on things you want to do, try to come up with ideas for events or plot points, etc.
b) Putting on the right music. The trick here is finding the right one. Once you have it, put it on repeat endlessly and get to work. (One that works for some reason really well for me would be this one.)
c) Working on it - but on a different thing. This is also something that can do the trick. Say your thoughts go somewhat like this: "I really need to map this town. But I really don't feel like placing houses and objects and characters and stuff there right now..." In this case leave that map just alone, you will come back to it when you're ready. Instead look on other things you can do in the meantime. Selecting the Audio, working on the database, eventing a cut-scene, adjusting a script, fixing a bug, whatever. Just pick something else and continue from there.
d) Work with the maker, but not on your Project. Having two projects to chose from can be relaxing. You can still accomplish something an while working with one thing get the ideas or motivation for the other. The second thing does not need to be something huge or complex, just something that you can work on to pass some time. Even a short Demo of some kind would be enough. Simply because you don't have the pressure from your main idea and when you started first working you'll get into the mood for the other one easier ^^

[MetalRenard]

I listen to this when I lack motivation.



Followed by this:


I try to control my mood through music, maybe you could try.

[Kain Nobel]

I shall not underestimate B, a little Desire got me back on my feet!

So far I've managed to break open some old scenario notes and re-wrote my introductory scene. Its the same ol' beginning, but instead this time I pretended I was the player describing what I had just played, instead of the 3rd person narrator. There are so many things that can be done when starting the player out as a soldier in basic training, going from 'tutorial of basic game mechanics' to 'now you have to survive through some minor but deadly hazards'.

I hand drew much of the layout of the different maps I want to create for my 'basic training' course. First, I've got the layout map which is just a little shape of the bigger picture's path, then I detailed four of the various map scenes themselves and wrote some footnotes on the back. My kids will probably find this paper and tear it up, but at least its fresh in my mind again.

I'm burning midnight oil but this is a good start so I really don't care. Thank you dearly for the advice, you got me back on my feet :D

[KasperKalamity]

just gotta ease yourself back into it. i haven't touched my project in about 2 months. to get back into it, i've been drawing the tilesets for it. it's a little step, but then i want to work on my game so i can use them and see how it looks.