Motivation and its many forms....
by Donald "Yadot" Harris · 02/28/2006 (12:43 pm) · 14 comments
Its funny the things that will get you thinking about your project. Yesterday I was told that I would need to work another hour each day to help make up the difference in my sales goals for the quater. This usually doesn't bother me this bad. But seeing as how I have been trying to get out of sales and back into the game industry it really started to get under my skin. So on the LATE drive home I quickly came to this conclusion. Scale down my project to something that is more managable and a lot easier for a first time game maker to make. So I called my team mate asked what he thought. Once he said yes then my gray matter really started going.... My new plan is this:
Create a simple game something that I am not really interested in but something I can actually complete sometime this year :) So I thought a 3d Pac Man game. I know its been done but this will give me a game with start middle and end.
Then step up to something that is more closley related to our project. A space shooter. Something in the range of Life Force or Gradius. From there perhaps throw in network multiplayer.
I am sure as things Motivate me at work my projects may even get smaller....
Well anyways its off to work...
Create a simple game something that I am not really interested in but something I can actually complete sometime this year :) So I thought a 3d Pac Man game. I know its been done but this will give me a game with start middle and end.
Then step up to something that is more closley related to our project. A space shooter. Something in the range of Life Force or Gradius. From there perhaps throw in network multiplayer.
I am sure as things Motivate me at work my projects may even get smaller....
Well anyways its off to work...
#2
02/28/2006 (1:28 pm)
Thanks for making me laugh at work!! 
#3
02/28/2006 (1:48 pm)
you can put many a spin on a game to make it different, I once saw a game called Pac Fish, set in the deep ocean, it looked very good
#4
02/28/2006 (2:34 pm)
Nah I think I will Keep Is Simple Sir.... also known as KISS
#5
When I suggested to you to do just what you're doing now.... You told me no way, not in a million years.
02/28/2006 (5:46 pm)
:|When I suggested to you to do just what you're doing now.... You told me no way, not in a million years.
#6
Donald was kind enough to forward me your suggestions, and I have to say, they were pretty harsh. I understand you're coming at this with probably a more real-world point-of-view than we are, and while I agree that our idea is really a massive undertaking, telling somebody to forego their dream game in favor of simple games that they're really not interested in making is a bit pessimistic. We both enjoy a challenge, and we're not afraid to see our efforts fail (if, indeed, they do). After all, what's the point of making a game if you're not going to be happy with it?
Based on your suggestions, we talked it over and decided that maybe making a smaller, easier game would be a good idea to at least get our feet wet before we tackled our dream game head-on.
So, no, we didn't blow off your suggestions. I apologize if I (or Donald) misunderstood your intentions, but it really looked like you were suggesting we just drop our entire reason for wanting to join the game industry.
02/28/2006 (7:17 pm)
Chris,Donald was kind enough to forward me your suggestions, and I have to say, they were pretty harsh. I understand you're coming at this with probably a more real-world point-of-view than we are, and while I agree that our idea is really a massive undertaking, telling somebody to forego their dream game in favor of simple games that they're really not interested in making is a bit pessimistic. We both enjoy a challenge, and we're not afraid to see our efforts fail (if, indeed, they do). After all, what's the point of making a game if you're not going to be happy with it?
Based on your suggestions, we talked it over and decided that maybe making a smaller, easier game would be a good idea to at least get our feet wet before we tackled our dream game head-on.
So, no, we didn't blow off your suggestions. I apologize if I (or Donald) misunderstood your intentions, but it really looked like you were suggesting we just drop our entire reason for wanting to join the game industry.
#7
I would never suggest to anyone to work on a game they didnt like. If you want to build your dream game that's fine, I have my own dream game as well... but I know better then to start on it before I have the resources.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with suggesting to someone to wait before starting their dream game, so they can gain some knowledge.
02/28/2006 (7:25 pm)
Jason - I didn't mean to sound harsh. I'm blunt, and I gave it to you straight up. I would never suggest to anyone to work on a game they didnt like. If you want to build your dream game that's fine, I have my own dream game as well... but I know better then to start on it before I have the resources.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with suggesting to someone to wait before starting their dream game, so they can gain some knowledge.
#8
It's true, we are in need of resources to build the game we want to build, and we're working on that as best we can. Our two biggest obstacles at this point are knowledge and time: the knowledge to write the code we need to write, and the time to learn it and write it. It may take us years to make our game, or we may never make it, but we want to give it a shot before we give up on it. So we've decided to make something simple, with goals that we can realistically accomplish in a shorter time frame. It may be a ridiculously watered down version of our dream game, or it may be something completely different (i.e. a 3D Pac Man).
Whatever we decide, though, we hope to go into it with the resources and the drive to complete it.
02/28/2006 (8:58 pm)
Chris, you're absolutely right and I appreciate your response. We're coming into this with as few expectations as possible, but obviously our goals are pretty lofty. I'm usually the voice of reason and rationality in our partnership, but sometimes an outside voice is what we need.It's true, we are in need of resources to build the game we want to build, and we're working on that as best we can. Our two biggest obstacles at this point are knowledge and time: the knowledge to write the code we need to write, and the time to learn it and write it. It may take us years to make our game, or we may never make it, but we want to give it a shot before we give up on it. So we've decided to make something simple, with goals that we can realistically accomplish in a shorter time frame. It may be a ridiculously watered down version of our dream game, or it may be something completely different (i.e. a 3D Pac Man).
Whatever we decide, though, we hope to go into it with the resources and the drive to complete it.
#9
I wish you luck. Let me know if I can help you out in any way. Donald has my MSN email.
02/28/2006 (9:03 pm)
Youve made a very smart decision. :)I wish you luck. Let me know if I can help you out in any way. Donald has my MSN email.
#10
02/28/2006 (9:07 pm)
Wait wait wait... did i just get dissed by my own partner? "voice of reason and rationality in our partnership" Chump... I label myself as being uh anxious...
#11
And Donald, you know I meant that in the nicest way possible.....sorta... :D
02/28/2006 (10:20 pm)
Thanks Chris.And Donald, you know I meant that in the nicest way possible.....sorta... :D
#12
I mean, you could create 3D Pac Man, but would you really want to? With the limited amount of time you had, chances are you would lose motivation because in the back of your mind, you're still focussed on your dream game. You have no psychological attachment to what you're currently creating beyond, 'This is a game I know I'm not interested in.'
Instead, why not make some time to brainstorm a small game design that is easy to complete, yet has a unique twist that really makes you want to complete it so you can play it again and again? You don't need to look any further than Chris Labombard's oeuvre for inspiration. Perhaps it's a strange character with stranger powers that elicits all kinds of gameplay, perhaps it's a game mechanic based on an unusual idea, perhaps it's a small simulation of a topic no-one's thought about. If you spend a little time on the design, you'll find something you like, and once the ideas begin flowing you will no doubt hit upon a design that will be simple yet unique.
As time goes on, you'll add to the design, feeding back into the psychological attachment you have with your creation, and ultimately keeping you a whole lot more motivated and focussed. You'll need to invest a little time to brainstorm a design, but the investment is worth every second you put into it. Have a talk to Chris, I'm sure he can help you out in the weird ideas department too.
03/01/2006 (2:14 am)
This suggestion might be a little late in the game, but why don't Jason and yourself think about making a small game that you'd _really_ want to make?I mean, you could create 3D Pac Man, but would you really want to? With the limited amount of time you had, chances are you would lose motivation because in the back of your mind, you're still focussed on your dream game. You have no psychological attachment to what you're currently creating beyond, 'This is a game I know I'm not interested in.'
Instead, why not make some time to brainstorm a small game design that is easy to complete, yet has a unique twist that really makes you want to complete it so you can play it again and again? You don't need to look any further than Chris Labombard's oeuvre for inspiration. Perhaps it's a strange character with stranger powers that elicits all kinds of gameplay, perhaps it's a game mechanic based on an unusual idea, perhaps it's a small simulation of a topic no-one's thought about. If you spend a little time on the design, you'll find something you like, and once the ideas begin flowing you will no doubt hit upon a design that will be simple yet unique.
As time goes on, you'll add to the design, feeding back into the psychological attachment you have with your creation, and ultimately keeping you a whole lot more motivated and focussed. You'll need to invest a little time to brainstorm a design, but the investment is worth every second you put into it. Have a talk to Chris, I'm sure he can help you out in the weird ideas department too.
#13
03/01/2006 (2:58 am)
For the record, not all of my ideas are weird. I have regular ideas too... They just all suck compared to my wonky ones :)
#14
And you're right too, Paul. As we move forward in the development of a game idea, we'll feel more and more enthusiastic about it, and if we don't, then that's probably not the right game idea for us and we'll move to something else.
03/01/2006 (3:40 pm)
I can't figure out exactly how to word what I'm trying to say, but I'll try anyway: it's not that we're not trying to brainstorm less complex game ideas, it was just that our initial impression of Chris' advice was that we should forego our "dream game" and instead just make some simpler games just for the sake of making them. We've realized that that was not Chris' intentions, and that he's right: we need to look at something simpler to get our feet wet, so we're tossing around ideas for a game that's much smaller and simpler in scope.And you're right too, Paul. As we move forward in the development of a game idea, we'll feel more and more enthusiastic about it, and if we don't, then that's probably not the right game idea for us and we'll move to something else.
Torque Owner Tim Muenstermann
-Tim