AuroDev | How to GET MOTIVATED for game development & STAY MOTIVATED to make games @AuroDev | Uploaded December 2020 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
How to get motivated for game development? How to stay motivated to make games?
⚔️ Mortal Glory 2: store.steampowered.com/app/2216660?utm_source=yt
➤ Chambers of Devious Design: store.steampowered.com/app/1650860?utm_source=yt
➤ Mortal Glory: store.steampowered.com/app/1097530?utm_source=yt
➤ Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/RedbeakGames
➤ Patreon - Support to gain perks: patreon.com/redbeakgames
I am often asked about motivation: How do I stay motivated to make games? Where do I get all my motivation from? Motivation is seen as this mysterious source of productivity that only the lucky have been blessed with. But I would say that motivation is not needed at all to make games.
Game Development with Full Time Job: youtube.com/watch?v=OgLM1ZTVVEY
0:00 Intro
0:24 How to get motivated
Motivation is personal and comes from within yourself. I think the best way to get motivated is to think about the future. Where do you want to be in 5 years? Maybe you want to be a successful indie game developer that can feed his or her family by making games? Sounds good! Everytime you are about to lose your motivation, vision yourself in 5 years doing what you love. But maybe that 5 years seems too far off? That is why it's good to have smaller subgoals that eventually lead to your bigger grander goal. Make a roadmap out of your goals: Year 1, release first game. Year 2, release 2nd & 3rd game etc... Constantly remind yourself of your goals!
2:19 What is motivation good for
Starting a project motivated is great! You just get so much stuff done and everything feels so fun. But 2 weeks into your project you run into an obstacle. Maybe it's a hard coding problem that you do not feel equipped to deal with or maybe it's something else. Suddenly all that motivation you had before disappears.
Motivation is a great boost for starting game projects but you can not rely on it to finish your game. Motivation in Game Development can actually be a trap if you try to rely on it too much. In my opinion, you don't need motivation at all.
You don't need motivation, you need discipline.
3:43 What is discipline and how do you get it
Discipline enables you to push through and make progress, even if it feels uncomfortable. How to get discipline is personal, but I think a good start for that is just acknowledging the fact that you can not finish your game without it. You do not have time to wait for motivation if you want to make your dreams a reality. You need discipline to accomplish your goals and make your dreams come true.
It's also good to realize that practicing discipline feels uncomfortable because your brain likes when things are easy. Your brain doesn't want to spend a year to finish a game and feel accomplishment from that. Your brain wants to just spend a few minutes to open a lootbox and get a sense of accomplishment for that. It does not realize that what you are aiming for is much more valuable. That is why you need to practice discipline and retrain your brain. Once you retrain your brain, making progress and accomplishing actual things will feel fun and addicting!
6:55 My 3 tricks to activate your work mode
5 minute rule - Force yourself to do something for just 5 minutes. You can stop after that. But the trick is that usually after 5 minutes, you won't mind continuing. It' just the starting that is the hardest part.
Split your tasks - Sometimes you have busy days and days when you are not really feeling it. On these days it's good to have tasks that are small and easy to do so you can still make some progress that day. That is why I recommend splitting your tasks into big & hard and then small & easy. Tackle the hard tasks when you have plenty of time and the easy ones when you have no time for anything else.
Create mini-rituals - Your brain is good at connecting things. For many people, driving to work or getting that first cup of coffee from the vending machine tells your brains that work mode is now activated. You want to create similar connections for your game development mode. For me, I drink tea and listen to a specific genre of music pretty much only when I'm working. So subconsciously those things tell my brain that it's now time to work - making it easier for me to become productive.
9:11 Wrapping it up
Motivation helps, but it is not needed. Do not rely on motivation, but adopt a mindset and routine of disciplined work. You don't need motivation, you need discipline.
But of course remember that you are only human. You don't need to have discipline in everything every time. Most of the time is good enough.
How to get motivated for game development? How to stay motivated to make games?
⚔️ Mortal Glory 2: store.steampowered.com/app/2216660?utm_source=yt
➤ Chambers of Devious Design: store.steampowered.com/app/1650860?utm_source=yt
➤ Mortal Glory: store.steampowered.com/app/1097530?utm_source=yt
➤ Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/RedbeakGames
➤ Patreon - Support to gain perks: patreon.com/redbeakgames
I am often asked about motivation: How do I stay motivated to make games? Where do I get all my motivation from? Motivation is seen as this mysterious source of productivity that only the lucky have been blessed with. But I would say that motivation is not needed at all to make games.
Game Development with Full Time Job: youtube.com/watch?v=OgLM1ZTVVEY
0:00 Intro
0:24 How to get motivated
Motivation is personal and comes from within yourself. I think the best way to get motivated is to think about the future. Where do you want to be in 5 years? Maybe you want to be a successful indie game developer that can feed his or her family by making games? Sounds good! Everytime you are about to lose your motivation, vision yourself in 5 years doing what you love. But maybe that 5 years seems too far off? That is why it's good to have smaller subgoals that eventually lead to your bigger grander goal. Make a roadmap out of your goals: Year 1, release first game. Year 2, release 2nd & 3rd game etc... Constantly remind yourself of your goals!
2:19 What is motivation good for
Starting a project motivated is great! You just get so much stuff done and everything feels so fun. But 2 weeks into your project you run into an obstacle. Maybe it's a hard coding problem that you do not feel equipped to deal with or maybe it's something else. Suddenly all that motivation you had before disappears.
Motivation is a great boost for starting game projects but you can not rely on it to finish your game. Motivation in Game Development can actually be a trap if you try to rely on it too much. In my opinion, you don't need motivation at all.
You don't need motivation, you need discipline.
3:43 What is discipline and how do you get it
Discipline enables you to push through and make progress, even if it feels uncomfortable. How to get discipline is personal, but I think a good start for that is just acknowledging the fact that you can not finish your game without it. You do not have time to wait for motivation if you want to make your dreams a reality. You need discipline to accomplish your goals and make your dreams come true.
It's also good to realize that practicing discipline feels uncomfortable because your brain likes when things are easy. Your brain doesn't want to spend a year to finish a game and feel accomplishment from that. Your brain wants to just spend a few minutes to open a lootbox and get a sense of accomplishment for that. It does not realize that what you are aiming for is much more valuable. That is why you need to practice discipline and retrain your brain. Once you retrain your brain, making progress and accomplishing actual things will feel fun and addicting!
6:55 My 3 tricks to activate your work mode
5 minute rule - Force yourself to do something for just 5 minutes. You can stop after that. But the trick is that usually after 5 minutes, you won't mind continuing. It' just the starting that is the hardest part.
Split your tasks - Sometimes you have busy days and days when you are not really feeling it. On these days it's good to have tasks that are small and easy to do so you can still make some progress that day. That is why I recommend splitting your tasks into big & hard and then small & easy. Tackle the hard tasks when you have plenty of time and the easy ones when you have no time for anything else.
Create mini-rituals - Your brain is good at connecting things. For many people, driving to work or getting that first cup of coffee from the vending machine tells your brains that work mode is now activated. You want to create similar connections for your game development mode. For me, I drink tea and listen to a specific genre of music pretty much only when I'm working. So subconsciously those things tell my brain that it's now time to work - making it easier for me to become productive.
9:11 Wrapping it up
Motivation helps, but it is not needed. Do not rely on motivation, but adopt a mindset and routine of disciplined work. You don't need motivation, you need discipline.
But of course remember that you are only human. You don't need to have discipline in everything every time. Most of the time is good enough.
