3 Motivation Killers Game Devs should AVOID
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Description: In this video I will share with you 3 important bits of advice that might save you from losing motivation on your game dev journey.
#gamedev #motivation
All Likes and Comments appreciated! Check out my Unity Assets: assetstore.unity.com/publishers/46116
Gotta be honest, you had my like at the *self-slap*
I did all 3 mistakes and stopped my game mid dev, thank you, youve given me motivation to start over...
Same here. Wasting valuable dev time responding to this comment.
learn how to cut out all the work you can and still finish with a good game. thats where all my experience is going in my tired old age...
game Jesus has spoken
Game Jesus lmao
I've been waiting for this comment
😂😂
Haha, I now now never be able to unsee.
my take away from this video is, Dont compare your balls to others
These videos are the antidote for listening to too much Thomas Brush.
How come?
Jajaja! Literally, I was talking to my wife about exactly that right before listening to this video. Thomas tries a little to hard most of the time to sell the idea that "you too can be a full time game dev" and it kinda gets old. Don't get me wrong, o love the guy and I've gotten good stuff from his videos, I'm not trying to spread hate. It's just that he often makes the mistake of saying things that sounds good, but don't always mean that much when you think about it.
John on the other hand always seems to be so straight forward, grounded and down to earth. I love his content! Its a breath of fresh air after listening to grandiose plans, and ideals. Sometimes, something more straight forward is what we need.
@@coobbyo completely agree :)
😅😂
Thomas *actually* publishes games. That are fun. And that sell. I will continue to listen to him, and others, and weigh all advice for its usefulness.
Couple of advices from my current experience:
1-If you were the type to get bored quickly after investing time and energy in a task for 2 to 3 days, make sure to have another activity that complement the previous one. For example, learning programming can be exhausting, so I decided to learn Blender and digital drawing, which is more relaxing than programming and helped me rejuvenate for the next day to continue learning Unity.
2- Make sure to document all your work and code in a word.doc. Document your mistakes, the solutions, how did you fix them and why did they happen, take screenshots if you have to. Make sure it's as detailed as possible, like if someone was not experienced in programming can understand that document, especially if you were a beginner.
2.1- Save it in your dropbox or google drive, so you can read it on your phone or Ipad when ever you have free time, like waiting in a hospital or a Bus.
3-Make sure to iterate over the things you learned by creating a new project and starting over, this is where your word.doc will come in handy.
"Choice Paralysis" is exactly what I was having when into game dev, I was so much into the "is this the best idea for a game? Os this the best Engine? What If I find a better solution after a lot of effort spent?" that made me not progress in months.
I have two major ideas for game, downloaded Unity and Unreal, played around with them, bought a lot of assets and still no progress. I don't know if I should learn more on the engines before doing something or learn by just doing.
Burnout is often my biggest motivational killer. I'll go 0-60 in 2 seconds on a project, making excellent progress, but because I have a full time job and a family I can often only do this late in the evening. Do this for long enough, eventually, inevitably even, I will look at my screen and have no idea what to do with it and can't muster the energy to do anything with it either. Even things I feel like I want to do, won't matter. I just enter "junk food mode" where I want to be a vegetable on the couch and binge a TV show or do nothing but play games for a couple weeks.
It sucks, and this winter was something awful, I was in a blue state like that for 2 solid months 😢
I've found that it's best to relax when in that kind of state. When I say relax, I mean actually relax. TV, videos, video games, social media, anything involving a screen is very mentally stimulating and takes effort. Instead of binging a TV show, read, write, draw, go for a walk, meditate, or literally do nothing. Anything which takes little effort and doesn't involve a screen. That way, you can actually recover from the burnout and eventually continue what you were working on.
i have this issue too, and when it's time my body and mind are just rejecting the computer screen, I take a break. as long as I need to. the process is slow, but eventually I will clear my mind and find something that re ignites my passion and craving to develop. i also am building my project AROUND the things that get me the most excited the most often, and so things that bore me eventually fall off to the way side.
Dont do it because it is a chore! Do it because you really like it. Dont do it everyday either try doing it every other day and ONLY if you feel like it! I do this when I have a burnout.
I've started to take days off from my hobby night time project. I think it has helped me to keep on going, but short term it does slow things down a bit. But if in the long run it means I actually can get the thing finished.. Well I'd say it's a good trade.
@@infamousXsniper055 hmm that's pretty interesting. I'll try it out. I'm also in this situation. Thanks.
number 1 is definitely the biggest for me! I often tell my friends and family what I'm working on, and in a weird way, it almost gives you the affirmation and satisfaction of making it...without actually making it. Then it also makes you look silly if you don't finish it! Definitely gotta avoid that...
Interesting video!
Mostly, fascinating how differently your mind works from my own. I have, over the years, determined two main motivation killers for myself, and both are very different from the ones you describe.
1. "Nobody else cares about this game". This one does relate to showing too early/ too late. It's the realization that whatever I am making could easily be replaced by a product that already exists, and may be doing it better. With the game only existing in my own world, nobody would miss it if it were never released. Goodbye motivation.
2. "But this is a much better idea!". Around 20-40% into any project, I will come up with a new, different project idea that at least for a short while feels way better and cooler. Why am I wasting my time on game X when I could be building game Y? The reality being, of course, that game Z is lurking just around the corner of my brain...
an artist friend of mine calls the first one "demo-ism" where people show off their early early drafts and lose all motivation.
Your videos are helping me get out of my game dev funk/stasis. Since watching your videos, I'm like a simmering volcano now, getting ready to flow through the middle part of my debut game (in the works on and off since 2013) . . . Thank you and much love from up above!
For me, speaking about my plans helps my motivation, when I speak something out loud, I commit to it. This creates pressure to follow through with it since I always try to stand by my word.
Started my game dev education 18.1.21. I'm 38 and have an entrepreneurial background in an unrelated field. Games have always been close to heart and I have been designing/developing them or related content all my life but not actually programming them. It is scary and exciting at the same time, the best combination I suppose. I relate to a lot of the views you have from my own work experience and I appreciate your videos!
The biggest motivation killer for me is the #1 reason you mentioned, but also playing my game a lot during the dev process to find bugs, makes me get used to it and feel it's not an exciting game anymore :D So I suggest if you finish building the game level that you had in mind, don't use it for the day to day testing, have a separate ugly scene to test your mechanics/changes in.
Wow that actually seems like a really good idea, I'll try it out, thanks!
That's an excellent idea!
Comparing myself to others is often a thing that brings me down. Mostly due to my university classmates being in good jobs in good game dev companies for the past decade. While I stopped game dev for 7-8 years due to life changes and moving to the other side of the planet, suddenly walking a different career path. Only recently I've found myself back, because it never stopped being a passion. Though a lot has changed in the industry, and I feel I've fallen so far behind everyone else now. Unity or Blender weren't even a thing yet back then. It really does bring me down at times, especially when browsing sites like cgsociety or seeing the thousands of indie games that come out nowadays, but I just keep on going, to try and do my best by studying and dev'ing at least a little every day in free time, not to bring a paycheck home for my family, that comes from a totally different line of work now, but to follow my passion and hobby. I hope sticking with it will let me eventually make the games I've always been making notes for and wanting to make. If not today, another step tomorrow. A step forward every day.
There's so many good advices in this short video. They can be applied to alot of things, not just game dev.
The main thing killing my motivation these days is really awful sleep (had a baby 6 months ago and home situation got nuts) and maintaining old community projects where mistakes were made and dwelling on it. Cant just drop the old projects but cant update them either, so staying up all night ruminating bad decisions then trying to push verts in the morning is taking a toll.
Good video, much thanks for the head clearing. It's a good intellectual direction you're talking about -- maybe next time try some practical techniques for focus and mood reset with some breathing exercises and building mood state memories and spontaneous recall devices?
Under many pressures and disruption now, I can value how much you are right. Be in your own execution momentum is everything.
Great stuff. A lot of classic CBT & mindfulness techniques are incredibly valuable to managing thought processes and keeping your productivity and positivity high.
Peaced out at 7:38 cuz you told me to. Really enjoyed the talk, dude. Well put together
Listening to this got me past a small creative block I ran into on a project I'm working on.
Love your philosophy on these topics, keep up the awesome work!
Glad I found your channel! Just to add to the first point; I noticed at least in myself that when I tell people about my projects, it diminishes that fire inside me to create. It's like your 'secret' that only you know about which is going to change the world. Refraining from tell people is hard but a powerful feeling when you do it. Especially when people ask what you're working on and you play it down like it's nothing.
Your Discord has leveled up! Maturity, intelligence and dexterity stat points earned. But seriously, I feel better about community engagement watching this.
I rarely comment on youtube videos but yours always help me a lot with staying focused. thanks and good luck on your journey
The way you talk is really comforting, it's like a long time friend giving me a much needed advice. I've just found your channel last night and I've already received a lot of motivation from your videos. Thanks, man.
I am really grateful for these motivation video's they are helping me a lot Thank you ! 😊
I think this is my 3rd time ever posting on youtube in like 9 years. I like your mindset when it comes to how to progress not just with game development, but as a human being with ambitions. Cheers man.
Hey Chrispien, nice to hear from you. All be best to you man
I want to add a point
Don't polish early
If you polish early you will get unmotivated like what happened to me
Polish when you are almost done the game or the stage (level - course)
oh yeah, no, youre right stranger.
I am specifically keeping my unity game ugly with no post processing effects, because pretty visuals can TRICK you into thinking a game is compelling - at least for a little while. this way, when my ugly game is fun enough on its own, making it pretty will push it over the top. occasionally though i will take an asset or something and make it awesome just for practice and to remind myself what I CAN make it all look like later. and of course my method makes it hard to have striking visuals for marketing materials.
@@westingtyler2 this technique is so good
Thanks
thank you!! im new to game dev, and thats the one thing i keep second guessing myself on! i needed that affirmation
I really enjoy these game dev journey talks! Great Video as always :)
Good advice. I certainly agree that sharing too much can kill motivation so much. This is something I'm going to be wary of whenever I start a new project, which should hopefully be happening in the near future.
Love this, you're speaking truth. This advise goes way beyond game dev. This advise is applicable to just about everything.
Thank you for your words and inspiration. As another dev in the trenches it feels good to know that I’m not the only one who feels this way.
This channel is so unique. Game dev for one video, then amazingly spoken life advice in the next. So fantastic.
These tips are really good, I tend to keep grinding and continue doing stuff with my game dev and youtube channel to progress it! Good tips video! 😁
One of the biggest motivation killer for me is the possibility/choices hell. When I know I can do so many different kind of games - a strategy, an adventure, a sandbox, etc. And I want to do them all but I have to chose one direction.
Excellent TH-cam videos are not so much motivation killers, but somewhat time killers... Worth it though for these golden nuggets!
Jeez I paused after point 1 to say this... I was the rambler. I always talked and thought about my next project a little more than working on it, whatever it may be. I am so glad you put this into words. I decided after my last little project that I'm just going to shut up and work, rather than try to build hype that ultimately can't be matched.
that second one really hit me, I really didn't think anyone experienced that
Love this video! There is only 1 person you must compare yourself too and that is you. Be a better person than you were yesterday.👍
Thanks Mate ! this video hit me on a multitude of levels not just towards Game dev 👍
As a dev who's struggled with this plenty, i have to admit. You are spot on!
This was a very helpful and informative video, thank you so much for making it
Very inspirational as usual. Thank you for your work!
Don't blabber about your budding project... Ehm, I think the cat is out of the bag on that one xD
Hey man, you have great content in your channel! Congratulations! I've already subscribed.
This speech should being my introduction video for my year, remind me to watch this next year.
I really enjoy watching content like this, keep it up man
Very common mistakes to remember and prevent them. thanks for sharing man!!! Saved
Another thing related to the first point is that whenever you talk about stuff you are going to do, you start feeling like you've already done it. It's like sitting around telling your friends all about the workout schedule you've planned out. Eventually you start feeling accomplished just by saying things, so you never get around to actually doing them.
very helpful! thanks for cheering up!
Loved the video. Regarding the babbling, it's a fine line between that, and also putting it out there, so you have some accountability. And regarding getting demotivated around youtube / sub-count /etc, jeez, struggling with that :/
Keep em coming!
good video, thanks! I must admit I notice myself comparing my game's sales numbers to that of others lately, and it is hurting me. I'll try to let it go :)
I can relate to all three! They can all be extrapolated into everyday life too. These habits, if ignored, can lead to poor mental health, in one form or another, so catching bad habits early and learning your way around them can play a huge part in improving ones wellbeing and productivity. Speaking from experience as someone who didn't take this advice. Great video! Thank you.
Welp, I literally fall into all 3 of those. Third one in particular.
Time for me to change up my approach to things. Thanks for the video, John. Always helpful and helps motivation.
You are welcome mate, it's been great to watch you progress on discord over the year. You have a strong creative spirit. Often we fall into these traps without even knowing we have, I did and still do. We must remain vigilant, recognise when we are near the trip wires and step back before they take hold.
A real "time" killer for me, is when a new super hot game comes out, and i just have to play it, wont say it kills my motivation, but it for sure has a negative impact on my own creativity until it gets boring, then im right back on track :)
Any hu, keeps up the positive vibes, love your channel.
i always have a new text document open when I play a new game because I will INEVITABLY get frustrated and disappointed at the game, and i can immediately dump my ideas for how I'd do it better into the text document and save it to evolve in my head. my current game is a distillate of all the things I WISH other games did, solving one mistake they made (even AAA games) at a time.
You’re are spot on John. Talk is cheap....but this talk was very valuable. Thanks for that.
nailed it on every point. thanks, this helps!
Funny thing: I had this list written after I watched the video, several months later I struggled to read what I written and searched for the video and failed to find it. Eventually I managed to understand the notes, and now I see the video :D
Wise words, as usual. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the therapy session. Very appreciated!
Looking at what others have done can also be demotivating the other way around! When you see indie game after indie game that seems to not have been financially successful. Usually you don't get hard numbers on this, but you can somewhat tell by the number of reviews, number of gameplay videos on TH-cam, or similar.
When I see those games, most of the times I have the confidence to think: my game will not be like theirs. My game will be special and stand out and be more successful. But sometimes the doubt creeps in and says "they probably thought so too"
About 1. I think I read about research, that said people who tell someone about what they do/ intend to do, the brain treats it as a progress, so it feels like you already done something. And because of that, people loose motivation, because they already got the reward in advance. So to get to the next reward from your brain, you need to work more, so it becomes risky.
I have tended to be that guy who has ideas that I get excited about, but I don't follow through on it. Often, I realized how much money it would take to make the idea into reality, and it would die on the vine.
I've been kicking game ideas around for many years, and I finally have started on the road to actual development. I've spent hundreds of hours working on learning projects, and I have a serious prototype project that has been making steady progress for about 2 months. I feel that I have finally started the career that I have always planned to embark on but never thought it was viable until now.
The description is great. I want to know advice for how to get good at my passion, DameDev! (Just telling John he made a spelling mistake)
Also, HOW IS THERE A DISLIKE ON THIS VIDEO IT IS SO GOOD!
Great video man. Ive recently lost motivation and confidence that I can become good at game dev, but I really want to get back to it, especially since Im unemployed and want to do something productive :)
Trust the learning process, we all feel this way in the early phase. Just keep pushing on with small steps, with enough of them you will cover great distances! Wishing you the best mate, you will be fine.
To avoid losing motivation, you have to stop watching videos that tell you how not to lose motivation and keep working.
thank you sir. I agree with these words. these words matter most than how to use "functions" in any engines. too bad that not many people mention about these.
Thx dude, just like everything else, being good at anythings demands you of being a good person instead of a troll.
My motivation killer is burnout. It can take a few weeks even for me to come back and then forget how stuff in code works to then relearn some stuff and get burned out sometimes. I've been working on a horror game for a year and I'm planning on redoing everything because it is messy and I don't like where it's at right now. There's 2gb of game files that mostly is junk I think. I wanna do this but don't know where to start anymore, I started my game last year as a prototype thingy with something I just played around with to then kinda liking it and working on it more and more. I love motivation because motivation for me is when people actually like what I do. Thanks for making this video! :)
Thanks a lot for your valuable information
Great video as always!
Gold Gold Gold.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom 👍🏼
On point 2, memory. I know there is a psychology concept known as updating a memory. It means different things but here it could mean. "That mistake was what I had to pay to learn this. That was the cost." I also saw a TED talk about silencing your mind from negative thoughts, Anthony I think it was.
Good Stuff Bro!
Nr1 is a good tip because a common advice for anti-procrastination is "Tell people about your plans" - but that should be done in moderation
you look like the musician Joe Duplantier, great videos btw, subscribed; im not sure whether i want to get back into game dev or not
bro i love you i wish you get alot more recognition
I saw a few of your videos tonight, and it made me realize a lot about myself. I'm working 2 jobs, one for bills, one for better equipment to make games, and I'm still spending sleep time to make games. I'm not grinding to get rich, I'm not grinding for praise, I'm just grinding so I can have more time and better abilities to make games for one simple reason. Man I love making games, so much fun, and so rewarding to overcome the challenges. I want to do X, but I try and try and try, can't figure it out for so long, but the moment I figure it out, no matter how small or simple it is, it's SO rewarding.
I know that feeling well, one of the rewards of the engineer/creative life, contant little wins as we make new cogs turn. All the best to you 👍
Thanks for the video !
Be careful, in the description there is a typo that breaks the steam link for your game (/steaam) :D
Thank you! Damn typos! :)
great advice, cheers ! - making my own FPS game on old engine (dont ask why)...Saturn 7
Thank you, you've really helped me, sire!
This video is a huge help for someone who is just starting out (new to programming, pixel art etc). Another thing I'd add is to not push yourself too hard in the beginning while you're learning. It's supposed to be an experience, a journey, but if you rush it, you won't get to enjoy it.
Oh, and don't put monetary value on any of your creativity as that's a fast way to put too much pressure on your project, possibly causing it to fail/not do as well as you'd hoped.
I've been making indie games for over a decade under Harvester Games banner and honestly whenever I play an indie game I feel this sudden urge to turn it off and start working on my own game (even if it's late at night) so... comparing yourself to your competition can also have a positive effect that way ;)
You are such an underrated TH-camr. Your coding tutorials have helped me out a lot
I'm glad to hear that Dakky! More dev tutorials on the way :)
amazing video dude, very wise words
I absolutely agree. It is the reason y I haven't revealed my game to the public yet.
Great video as usual, for me the biggest mistake is that I haven't made a habit from game dev, even effing 5 min a day would work, but I rather end up playing games which doesn't really fulfil me... So I would also say another mistake is failing to build up some discipline that keeps you working even you don't want to
I was working on a prototype, that I showed off in a competition with other devs, where publishers and press were judging the game and giving feedback. While on one hand it was an interesting experience, I started to try to implement all of the feedback, which led to feature creep and I started to lose a sense of direction and focus, got demotivated and finally quit.
@Jomoho "... which led to feature creep..."
1) A programs should do one thing, and do it well - Define your game as narrowly as possible.
2) A program isn't complete when there is nothing more to add, but nothing more to remove. - Constantly look to remove, refactor, and cull code. And remove 'features' that aren't essential to game play.
3) Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) - Don't overthink the design, code, and let Unity do as much as possible.
4) Write once, run everywhere - Don't duplicate code, create classes, objects, components, and functions, instead.
The feedback serves two purposes:
1) It tells you what you don't understand about the program (game dynamics)
2) It tells you what the user doesn't understand about the game
Where the user provides game feedback, you shouldn't always implement that feature, but perhaps educate the user through better scene layout that requires the expected game play. Once the user's gets their 'aha!' moment, they should be comfortable with the game.
great points im adding this to good talks
This is in regards to the dynamic grid value a while back. Is there anyway to make the a 2d array grid with your own object type? I have a class called Cell which holds values as well as a png image.
I mean I have posted some early screenshots but that is it. The slight of hand trick comes in play a lot.
Your wisdom is amazing THANK YOU
"Telling everyone too much, too soon" applies to life in general to a major extent imo. Ideas are easy, execution is everything but when you are all vocal ideas with no substance to show for them, all around lose faith that you are going to produce anything.
What an amazing vid. 100% accerted thanks
very happy to find this video. i was doing a lot of things wrongly but now i am going to correct it. Thanks very much and i just subscribed
Hey, I'm wondering will you ever make a redone full unity 2d tutorial like punches kicks platforming etc?? I'm really struggling to learn unity rn and just wondering
Ironically that was a really motivating video
2. and 3. are my biggest issues
But hopefully once I move out I'll be in a better state of mind to continue focusing on Game Dev again :)
Not to say I'm not since I'm making a game with 2 other people atm but I had a ton of fun on my own game and want to continue.
1. Don't reveal too much too soon.
2. Don't dwell on the past.
3. Don't compare yourself to others.
Yes Master Jedi! Never reveal your true power until you are on the battlefield! Thank you master!
Thannkk you, this applies to much more than game dev