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Finishing my first game while working full-time

jasont.co

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Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#41

Post by core-utility »

ca6d8815 wrote: post #12

Good tips... but in reality if you're working full-time (especially in a software related role), you may find yourself depleted before you get to the keyboard. It took us 5 years to finish our game (everyone started from 0 knowledge on how to make games, so it was a rocky road), and for the last 1.5-2 years my life was absolute hell. I'd push hard at work for 9 hours a day, eat, then push hard on the side project for…

This book Finish by Jon Acuff is a great book on practicing finishing. He also has Start for the very opposite.

https://www.amazon.com/Finish-Give-Yourself-Gift-Done/dp/052...

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#42

Post by snarf21 »

ca6d8815 wrote: post #12

Good tips... but in reality if you're working full-time (especially in a software related role), you may find yourself depleted before you get to the keyboard. It took us 5 years to finish our game (everyone started from 0 knowledge on how to make games, so it was a rocky road), and for the last 1.5-2 years my life was absolute hell. I'd push hard at work for 9 hours a day, eat, then push hard on the side project for…

Yeah, this is my issue. After a long day of (sometimes pointless) software dev, strapping in for more is draining. So as a contrast, I design board games (not digital) as my hobby. It is very analog and tactile and so energizing partially from just being a nice change of pace.

Your advice to start small is spot on though. I would even say one of the best first things to do is start by making a game mod. You don't have to invent so much, you just get to enhance. You get to something playable much quicker and learn about all your false assumptions.

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#43

Post by markus_zhang »

Longwelwind wrote: post #30
markus_zhang wrote: post #15

I tried to complete a simple 2D RPG that is a Ultima spinoff a few years ago. Nothing is technically impossible as it's just a simple 2D game but eventually I lost interest and broke away. Now that I look back, there are two obstacles: - I'm not really interested in such a game. I probably fancied about the genre as it's classic but I never finished any of the Ultima games. - In the middle I tried to implement a full…

> - In the middle I tried to implement a full scale map editor. I managed to build a simple yet working one, but dropped the project once I realized that it needs a lot of work to write my own GUI (back then I'm using C++ and SDL2). Sharing my slightly unrelated experience, but Tiled2D is a nice piece of software to achieve this. I've used it for one of my personal project, where I wanted to make a digital adaptation…

Thanks, I knew about Tiled at the time. The project was kinda of a learning project so I didn't bother to use an external tool. Now that I look back, that's probably how I approach all projects (not work-related): I just want to learn how it works superficially, and once I do I'd lose motivation and drop the project eventually.

Very nasty mindset I have to admit...

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#44

Post by levmiseri »

I have done something similar - building a game while working full-time. But my approach was the complete opposite of this article.

No real process, no plan, no scrum method, not even a trello board to track progress and todos. Personally, I enjoyed the "fun" of it being very spontaneous, yet still passionate. I didn't write to-dos and tasks to be done, because there is always something to be done. And intuitively you feel what's important and what's not. I also didn't want it to "feel" like work.

For context - the game took me about 6 months to create: https://yare.io

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#45

Post by OJFord »

I should first disclose that I'm terrible at 'finishing' things (I don't make games, so generally not such finishable 'done and shipped' things, but by 'finishing' I mean a sort of 'version 1.0' I suppose, something I'm happy with, think others might want to use and now it's just maintenance and improvements) so maybe don't listen to me at all..!

But I think there's something key here that's left implicit - do your own project first in the day. Obviously everyone's different, but I reckon for the most part that means 'don't necessarily start everything at 7am' (or do so even earlier), rather than 'work first and moonlight on the side project'.

I have way too many days where I'm less productive on the paid work than I could be because I've got something else on my mind; then come the end of the day when I could finally put some thoughts into action, I'm just too drained and fed up of sitting at a computer to do anything about it.

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#46

Post by ArtWomb »

_wpya wrote: post #14

Game jams are a great motivator. I need hard deadlines. I recently did this [1] for a game jam, over one sleepless week. It's pretty unfinished but submitting something felt good. (Source: [2]) [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX6AZNWuI5Q [2] https://github.com/mpersano/generic-rhythm-game/

Maybe instead of a "jam" format to motivate indies, do a "game race" instead? Points for timeliness. Bias toward micro-games. Organized around theme or asset for creativity constraint ;)

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#47

Post by pizza234 »

ca6d8815 wrote: post #39
BongoMcCat wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just out of curiosity, when you spent 9 hours at work, was that in a software field? If so, why would you choose to do the same thing 18 hours a day for 5 years?

> Just out of curiosity, when you spent 9 hours at work, was that in a software field? Yes, however the day job and night project were _completely_ different disciplines. Someone wrote that gamedev isn't really software engineering... I'd agree with that (not putting it down, but its not like anything I've done). > If so, why would you choose to do the same thing 18 hours a day for 5 years? Those long days came in th…

> Someone wrote that gamedev isn't really software engineering

Could you elaborate on that? I find this perspective very interesting.

I had a brief experience with gamedev, and I've actually found that even the smallest bit of game engineering is significantly more challenging than (I suppose) "x%" of web development.

However, on the other hand, the engine is only a part of game development (and can also be underengineered, and I think it generally is), so maybe this is actually the reason why you/other people don't consider game dev software engineering?

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#48

Post by kotrunga »

levmiseri wrote: post #44

I have done something similar - building a game while working full-time. But my approach was the complete opposite of this article. No real process, no plan, no scrum method, not even a trello board to track progress and todos. Personally, I enjoyed the "fun" of it being very spontaneous, yet still passionate. I didn't write to-dos and tasks to be done, because there is always something to be done. And intuitively yo…

Your game looks like a lot of fun, and the concept is really cool. Would you mind telling us more about your process and the technical aspects?

Re: Finishing my first game while working full-time

#49

Post by klik99 »

“Make it sustainable” was the part it took me a long time to realize - in my 20s I’d pull all nighters to finish things. When I got older, started a family, and worked on projects that take months or years, I’d still approach it like a sprint - I’m talking multiple times going a month of less than 2 hrs of sleep most nights, full nights sleep once a week, 5 years of working Saturday and Sunday.

Now I spend time with friends and family, treat weekends as sacred, and though I still don’t get as much sleep as I should, I get way more done than blindly putting in the hours.

People warned me of it and I didn’t listen, as I’m sure whoever needs to hear this won’t listen either, but 100%, treat it like a marathon and take care of your life holistically.

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