GSDC 2011: Failed

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ID:113865
 
May 29 2011, 4:07 pm (Edited on May 29 2011, 4:38 pm)
Keywords: gsdc2011, motivation
I can mention several reasons why I'm pulling out of the GSDC2011:
  • The GSDC2011 caught me flat-footed, it was 2-weeks over before I even begun.
  • I've been distracted with helping friends and family members and this has been disruptive to my attempts to self-motivate.
  • My GSDC2011 was my GSDC2010. My GSDC2010 was largely failed because I decided this was not the kind of game I wanted to make. I had forgotten that, and it still hasn't changed. I basically was trying to eliminate design as a factor by emulating an existing game, Leftley's Lode Wars, but the trouble emerged that this was his Own Net Dream, not mine.
  • The only real incentive to complete the GSDC2011 was my own satisfaction anyway.
But, in all honesty, I think the real reason was this: I'm a chronic procrastinator. There's not a single problem on the above list that couldn't be solved by simply sitting down and applying "Just Do It." However, it's really not so simple: I've been trying just do it, right now, but failing.


This kind of procrastination is a psychological problem, and the causes will vary from individual to individual. In many cases, procrastination is driven by a fear of failure or social stigma. I don't particularly give a damn about either. I could believe that I'm a perfectionist - it would certainly explain my desire to keep tweaking instead of releasing. However, even there, it's rather tricky, because I can logically fathom and subscribe to the fact that perfection is a fairy tale. So the trouble remains that I've yet to completely isolate what it is that makes my particular brand of procrastination tick.

It's such a damn tough nut to crack that lately I've turned to seeking professional help about it. I've even attempted "better living through chemistry" via having prescribed for me Wellbutrin but, thus far, the stuff hasn't changed anything for me. It might have had a day or two of effectiveness, but that was it. It might kick in later (it can take up to 6 weeks sometimes) but if not I guess that's simply not addressing whatever the cause is.

This much is certain: my GSDC'11 has not received any serious attention since about May 18th, it's just been several days of failing to get back to it and, with only two days left, I'm not going to stop lying to myself and (through extension) everybody else and simply drop out this year.
May 29 2011, 4:21 pm
boo.
May 29 2011, 4:26 pm
Keep it up. Maybe if the disapproval is laid on thick enough I'll learn my lesson.
May 29 2011, 4:40 pm
Geldonyetich wrote:
Keep it up. Maybe if the disapproval is laid on thick enough I'll learn my lesson.

I think he meant it in more of an "Aw darn" than a "you fail" kind of way, but that's just a guess.

Anyways, is anyone on track to finish their GSD? I keep hitting unexpected roadblocks on mine.
May 29 2011, 4:47 pm
Host has a surprisingly good voice and charisma. Riz Khan. Fun name. Theme music is funny. His guests are sub-par.

Good thought...
Overvaluing the short term future.

Funny...
"Medicine for procrastination."

My own definition...
"Procrastination is facing a complexity you can't see yourself getting past."

Thanks for sharing. I'm right there with you on such things. If depression is a growing factor, I recommend ripping yourself up and changing the scenery.

Doing stuff like games, browsing, and blogging is done because it's easier than doing the hard stuff.

Procrastination in our game development world is when the hardship outweighs the feel good end result.

We need to figure out a system for renewing our feel good batteries. When I played around with my PM project after 1-2 months of no effort, I found myself recharged and excited. After just weeks, I ran into complexity which drained the positive energy really fast. The doubts just flood back in and you start to distract yourself with easier stuff. If I'm going to get this PM done, I will need to maintain lists of micro tasks and force myself through the hardship. Micro-tasks are easy and show positive progress. Ignore the big picture if it has negative complexity that is bringing you down.

and again, I recommend trying Dextroamp-Amphet if this other thing doesn't work out.

ts
May 29 2011, 4:55 pm
DarkCampainger wrote:
Geldonyetich wrote:
Keep it up. Maybe if the disapproval is laid on thick enough I'll learn my lesson.

I think he meant it in more of an "Aw darn" than a "you fail" kind of way, but that's just a guess.

Anyways, is anyone on track to finish their GSD? I keep hitting unexpected roadblocks on mine.

My project should be done by tomorrow, or tonight if I can remain awake. I'll try to make some sort of progress video.

At the rate this is going though, it doesn't seem like there are going to be too many completed entries.
May 29 2011, 5:03 pm
Anyways, is anyone on track to finish their GSD? I keep hitting unexpected roadblocks on mine.

Chris and I are still on track,just a few kinks to work out with the 360 degree rotation of sprites

May 29 2011, 5:06 pm
Ah, good to know we'll get a few cool games. Good luck, guys!
May 29 2011, 5:07 pm
Outside of a work/class environment I procrastinate too. Last semester I put off writing papers until literally the night before and I even waited to write speeches until 2-3 days before which left very little time for practice. I do fine with my current major, but I had to leave a pre-med program because of my procrastination. I don't think my heart was really into becoming a doctor anyways.
May 29 2011, 6:15 pm
If this pill for +7 motivation works for you, kindly let me know. I totally want that.
May 29 2011, 6:21 pm
Murrawhip wrote:
If this pill for +7 motivation works for you, kindly let me know. I totally want that.

There wouldn't be a pill for +7 motivation, but there there might be a pill that helps address a brain chemical imbalance that is undermining your motivation. Depression, for example, is a rather formidable killer of motivation.
May 29 2011, 6:47 pm
Geldonyetich wrote:
Murrawhip wrote:
If this pill for +7 motivation works for you, kindly let me know. I totally want that.

There wouldn't be a pill for +7 motivation, but there there might be a pill that helps address a brain chemical imbalance that is undermining your motivation. Depression, for example, is a rather formidable killer of motivation.

Regardless, let me know how it goes. There HAS to be a reason for my lack of motivation in doing things I love and so far, I've only seen similar behavior in you.
May 29 2011, 11:59 pm (Edited on May 30 2011, 12:11 am)
DarkCampainger wrote:
I think he meant it in more of an "Aw darn" than a "you fail" kind of way, but that's just a guess.

Not quite. Geldonyetech has been blogging about brilliant game concepts and ideas and even development of some really great stuff, but then in the end somehow pathetically admits defeat and seemingly from the first obstacle.

I think it's damned disappointing and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I was looking forward to seeing the things he's been cooking up in a release-ready state.

So, for the past year or so, I've been doing pretty much the only thing I can do about Geldonyetech's condition. I bitch and I bitch in hopes that maybe eventually Geldonyetech will have the willpower to finish something.
May 30 2011, 1:46 am
Geldonyetich wrote:
In many cases, procrastination is driven by a fear of failure or social stigma. I don't particularly give a damn about either. I could believe that I'm a perfectionist - it would certainly explain my desire to keep tweaking instead of releasing. However, even there, it's rather tricky, because I can logically fathom and subscribe to the fact that perfection is a fairy tale.

It seems like you just enjoy designing your games more than you'd enjoy playing them or seeing them released. So it's not really procrastination or a lack of motivation, you're just doing the part of the work that you enjoy.
May 30 2011, 7:33 am
TsFreaks wrote:
Procrastination in our game development world is when the hardship outweighs the feel good end result.

We need to figure out a system for renewing our feel good batteries. When I played around with my PM project after 1-2 months of no effort, I found myself recharged and excited. After just weeks, I ran into complexity which drained the positive energy really fast. The doubts just flood back in and you start to distract yourself with easier stuff. If I'm going to get this PM done, I will need to maintain lists of micro tasks and force myself through the hardship. Micro-tasks are easy and show positive progress. Ignore the big picture if it has negative complexity that is bringing you down.

This sure sounds familiar, hmm. This is something I should try and learn to do.

DarkCampainger wrote:
I think it's damned disappointing and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I was looking forward to seeing the things he's been cooking up in a release-ready state.

It's been pretty disappointing for you and me both. Really, I deserve worse critiquing. I've been on the other end, clamoring for game developers to release things, and I learned at least one good lesson from that: never set the expectations of your audience where you can't reliably deliver. Look throughout the entire professional entertainment community and you'll notice developers are tight-lipped for this and many other reasons (including not aiding competitors).

On the other hand, I was sort of hoping that talking about what I was doing would help establish flow, would commit me to getting to work. Funny enough, talking about it seems to reduce motivation. The old BYOND tip about "NEVER announce what you're going to do, or else it'll rob you of motivation" seems to apply for reasons I cannot logically fathom.

Forum Account wrote:
It seems like you just enjoy designing your games more than you'd enjoy playing them or seeing them released. So it's not really procrastination or a lack of motivation, you're just doing the part of the work that you enjoy.

Hmm, you could be on to something there.
May 30 2011, 8:35 am
1.) You need to take a hard look at yourself and decide what it is you truly want to do - game design, blogging, blogging about game design, whatever. Clearly identify what your overall goal is, and why it is you want to achieve that goal.

2.) Accept the fact that you're not always going to have fun working on the things that you have legitimate interest in. Every job, hobby, etc. sometimes involves tedious work.

3.) Understand that seeking external motivation never works, and can actually be counter-productive (hence BYOND's message of the day). The "Get Something Done" contest fails year after year for a reason. Your eventual goal can be external gratification, but without being self motivated you'll never reach it.


My personal struggle with procrastination begins when I start to dwell on how big my to-do list is and then get so stressed out about it that I don't get anything done. This technique is a major help with that: http://zenhabits.net/simple-work/
May 30 2011, 8:48 am
I still believe the epidemic of 'failure to finish' that we see on BYOND is caused by incomplete design. When developers dive into code, they are doing so with vague, half finished, and contradictory designs.

People think that the problem is writing the code - that the remedy to a seemingly unsolvable problem is elite programming skill. There's this thought that when you get to a problem, any problem, the solution is always to power through it. The truth is that unsolvable problems are often unsolvable.

A solid design that lays out a plan for absolutely everything will prevent almost all of these problems by identifying contradictory and mutually exclusive features.
May 30 2011, 9:13 am (Edited on May 30 2011, 9:20 am)
I wasn't going to write a comment about your motivation problems, but Silk's comments echo my thoughts closely. In the world of amateur writers there's a whole group of people who have no hope of publishing. These are the people who don't want to write; they want to be writers.

To restate what Silk said, you have to identify what it is that you actually want. If it is to succeed at making a game, then you have to take positive concrete steps toward that goal, regardless of how you feel.

I believe it is important to also mention scheduling. You need to be clear about what your goal is, but you also have to be honest about how long it will take you. When you begin to go over-schedule, you reevaluate your goals. You start to ask questions like "Is this project worth all this time and effort?". If a project is stagnant, eventually the answer will be "no" and you'll move on to something else.

The "Get Something Done" contest fails year after year for a reason.

This statement pretty much sums up why the GSD challenge is important: Every year, most everyone fails. We have a culture of procrastination on BYOND, a fact that must be recognized and addressed. And maybe it is finally making a visible impact. This year I have seen promising results from many participants, and we even have an addictive new game: Gnomeheim.

When BYOND has a healthy and steady turn-out of new games every year, the GSD will be useless. Until then, we need to challenge ourselves to be actual game makers.
May 30 2011, 9:17 am
Forum Account wrote:
It seems like you just enjoy designing your games more than you'd enjoy playing them or seeing them released. So it's not really procrastination or a lack of motivation, you're just doing the part of the work that you enjoy.

Hmm, you could be on to something there.

Designing games is not the same as making games but we have to wear multiple hats as solo devs. There's obvious reasons why software projects usually have a 1 to many relationship between designers and developers.

I think designers love to toil and prototype and so naturally, they don't mind diving into a little code. Go beyond that and I suspect most designers will experience higher levels of fatigue.

If game design complexity grew exponentially based off the initial design, you might be able to predict the overall cost relative to other predictions.

An attempt at costing where sessions are 2 hours each. Features are things like battle systems, generation systems, character systems, and etc.

Low quality prototype: 2 sessions
Medium quality prototype: 4 sessions
High quality prototype: 8 sessions

Assume all your features need to be High quality prototypes.

A high quality prototype is two full days of work but total days isn't as valuable as session count when nobody is paying the bills.

What if we took a tower defense game and broke it down.
- PathFinding
- Level Progression & Spawn Logic
- Monster Functions
- Tower Functions
- Tower Placement
- Monster Art
- Tower Art
- Medals & Highscores
- Core Interface
- Audio

10 features * 8 sessions would be 80 sessions or, 80 days of toiling which is 2.5 dedicated months.

- Looking at that big picture is daunting because you know it will take longer but exactly how much longer is hard to say.

Break it down into prototypes and forget about the big dream for now. Start with just one thing.

#1. PathFinding Prototype

In 8 sessions or so, you will be done with 10% of your dream project and fatigue really never comes into play.

Anyway, I'm a HUGE fan of prototypes. :) They're fun, always changing, and there's that whole finishing part that I'm so fond of. Perhaps A.D.D. is a factor here.
May 30 2011, 9:20 am
IainPeregrine wrote:
I still believe the epidemic of failure to finish that we see on BYOND is caused by an incomplete design.

Most failures are from an inability to design, not from the lack of a "complete" design. You can clearly define what you intend to make, plan out how you're going to make it, execute that plan to perfection, and still end up with something useless (a library/demo that nobody needs or a game that nobody will play).

I think people just tend to get ideas that sound fun but as they start to implement things, they begin to realize that reality isn't living up to their vision. It's not that people come to the unfortunate realization that two features are contradictory. People realize that a feature just isn't fun (and they can't figure out why) so they begin to lose interest. Gameplay is always more fun and interesting in your head. People wanted an isometric mode for BYOND and now that they have it, they hardly use it. It's not as awesome as people imagined. There's nothing wrong with the feature, these things just seem better in your imagination.

Geldonyetich wrote:
Forum Account wrote:
It seems like you just enjoy designing your games more than you'd enjoy playing them or seeing them released. So it's not really procrastination or a lack of motivation, you're just doing the part of the work that you enjoy.

Hmm, you could be on to something there.

That's what my problem tends to be. I favor working on my libraries more than working on my games because I just find them more fun to work on.

If you're a problem solver, when you work on a game you'll probably tackle the biggest problems first (because they're the most satisfying to solve). The little details are easy to solve so they're less appealing to work on but they're time-consuming to implement. If you ignore them, you'll have the big problems taken care of but you'll still be a long way from having a complete game.

That's how I work. If every detail of a project can be classified as "big" or "small", I try to make the big/small split be closer to 50/50 than 20/80. Part of this depends on the type of game you're making, some just have lots of little details. I try to minimize the small details by using my libraries and having simple interfaces (because interfaces can easily be the single most time-consuming development task and they don't add to the gameplay, they just make it accessible).
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