[gameprogrammer] Re: This List has been quite... so (WoW, etc...)

The main pit fall for me on long personal projects is that I spend
too much time in one location of the project and when starting some
other part of the project I feel exhausted or uninterested anymore.

I'm currently working on a small SEGA Columns game and I started off
by just filling out some crappy images so I can get to the
programming.  Before I'd spend hours and days on images before coding
and when it came to coding I lost interest.  This time I'm mixing it
up.  If I'm bored with the coding I'll take a look at what I can do
on the graphics for a while and vice versa.  The problem is, if you
like being in a particular area too much you may need to consiously
pull yourself away and put that energy into the not so fun stuff.

Shorter milestones.  Nothing kills momentum when you don't see any
improvements.   Break the task up so you can see improvements or
goals realised on a regular basis.  It'll help keep things going.  

Use a revision control system and I mean use it.  Plus automate a
backup even if it's just using pkzip.  Another thing that kills
momentum is going down one path and finding out it's the wrong path
to take, often needs to be done if you don't know any better, and
then not being able to back pedal to a previous state without too
much grief.  I've hit this once or twice.  Very frustrating.

I feel I'm still not as pro as I'd like so I have to be content in
the fact that some things will not be as polished as I like.  However
you have to mentally sign off on a project and say it's done so you
can have the feeling of finishing something and be happy to move on. 
I'm still working on this as I have too many projects languishing in
an unfinished, and primordial soup phase.

 --- Ken Johnson <johnsk16@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
> If
> anyone has some  tips to keep ones interest going on long projects,
> I
> wouldn't mind hearing them. Anything you have done in the past that
> kept you working on your game stuff.


______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca


---------------------
To unsubscribe go to http://gameprogrammer.com/mailinglist.html

Other related posts: