Indie Game Developers: Motivation is NOT What You Need!

So many people are looking for Motivation to work on their games. Motivation can be HARD to find sometimes as an indie game dev! Luckily for us, there's something MUCH more important than motivation that will keep you coming back to your game development project day in and day out.

Do you have a goal of making your dream game? or quitting your job to become a game developer one day? or even just learning how to make your very first game?

If you think that you lack the Motivation OR the Discipline to make our own indie game, I promise you there's another way to reach your goals that is MUCH easier.

In this video, we share some tips we've learned from working daily on our 2d metroidvania Veil of Maia for many many months now. We don't claim to be experts, we're just two regular people that are learning and working away at our game one step at a time.

**Mentioned in this video**
Book: Atomic Habits

Please consider using the affiliate link should you purchase a recommended product, it helps support us & this channel.

If you're new to our channel, we're Brandon & Nikki from Sasquatch B Studios. We sold our house to start our game studio, and work full time on building our business and making our game, Veil of Maia.
---
---
Wishlist our Games:

Don't forget to Subscribe for NEW game dev videos every Monday & Thursday!

Follow us on Twitter for regular updates!

____
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
License code: M1H2DG89LA6LOBEH

#motivation #indiegame #gamedevelopment

[dreambadger]

It gets real once you move from playing around with prototypes and mechanics to the full production phase. That's where the grind gets tough in my opinion as it stops becoming a bit of fun and daydreaming to becoming real. I try to make some progress each day even if I don't want to, so when I do want to I've got some progress.

[StealthyShiroeanGames]

Creating habits is super important. Whenever I do feel motivation to do something, I try to find a way to create a habit around it. That way I'm trying to do something to lock it in before the motivation disappears. Admittedly, I'm not always successful, but I find this to be helpful for me. Should probably try to come up with some sort of reward for myself as well. That would do wonders for mental well-being.

[vcdgamer]

Whenever I'm working on my game, I created my work habit out of a cycle.
It first started with the desire to work at least 6 to 12 hours a day.
In there, i use my planner like a quest log, and anytime I complete a huge task, especially in the game's animation, I reward myself with at least one hour of gaming or reading one piece.

[x_]

I'm nearly done with all the foundation for my game (my IG logs shows just how much I accomplish each day), and imo, the secret to it all is: when your creative juices and such are running low, that's the time for planning as it's really easy to do. I always maintain a road map and schedule, which is constantly updated. The real purpose of it is that I always know what I need to work on next and don't have to waste time thinking about what I need to do next when it's time. The second part for me is, I'm always thinking about the current task and steps, and explicitly thinking of each step I need to do to finish it. Eventually I get so tired of thinking about it, and know it so well, that I just do it so I don't have to keep thinking about it.

So in brief, I think the key is always knowing the next step to take, breaking it down if I need to, but always taking steps one by one each day. I personally don't put pay any mind to relying on habits or motivation, as so long as I'm focused on taking the next step, and know where I'm heading, habits and motivation take care of themselves.

[Valdyr_Hrafn]

Motivation comes and goes, it must be fed and nurtured, not used and abused.
Treat yourself kindly, and train healthy discipline.

[doodleanimates]

This is honestly one of the best videos I have seen on topics like this. Thank you SO MUCH. 🙏

[ProgramSam]

Great insights! Atomic Habits is a powerful book indeed 💪. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts.

Indeed habits are really powerful, and you should really create a (physical) environment for yourself that enables building habits as you mention. Also, treat your future version of you as a friend, and try to make his life easier. Simple things like, future me will be really glad if I now make just a few game art designs to start from. Future me will appreciate it if the desk is clean and can just start from a clean slate tomorrow...

What also helps me is to divide my work in chunks that will give me motivation. If I let my brain loose, I can quickly and up with an idea of 100 features, super complicated an ambitions plans. I write it down not to forget it, but then I make sure to split it up in steps that are manageable and are rewarding. Having a first prototype of the game mechanic is one step. Upgrading my simple blocks and squares into something that resembles assets is another step... and so on. After each step you still have something that is a complete prototype/game, and each step gives you that little boost of motivation, and a little upgrade to show to others and get feedback. If your idea about the game changes over time it is also much easier to redirect the game after such a step, compared to when you have this huge mountain you are building with many features that are not completely finished yet.

And a final thing that helps me. When I really lose motivation I just step back and take a break. I wouldn't want to grow resentment towards my project. I will find some other small project or a little game jam to distract me and often that relights the flame of my original project🕯

[fluidexpressions]

i had created really good habits with creating and painting models in blender every day, placing them in the world and doing level design. but then family visited, and i didnt want to spend all my time doing dev work while they were here ( i knew that i had created a good habit of working so i really didnt want to stop) it ended up being a hard internal battle the first day they visited. and I ended up saying i could put down dev work for their visit. then christmas came and more family visited. and i got no chance to continue working on my game. now its january 4th and im struggling to find the dopamine to make that habit again. i watched videos that say character movement is the most important thing and that is what i must focus on first. but i had such a good flow with making models and painting them. so anyways. here i am wanting to make good habits again. and found your video. thank you for making these.

[Soroosh.S]

This channel doesn't have much subscription but look how truthful this dude is.
Thanks body

[Ironroc]

Good stuff! I've certainly suffered from lack of motivation in my own game making, and those bursts of Motivation that crop up from time to time aren't enough to make any real, solid progress. Thanks for your insights!

[Arcann_bhp]

So basically I must train myself like a dog 💀

[Lazzarus]

This is a very refreshing view on this classic question. I really like this analysis and I think it contains great knowledge and wisdom

[Xsetsu]

Agreed and I also think "The War of Art" should be required reading for anyone who wants to make a game. It really puts things into perspective if you want to create art.

[crashannburnFPV]

Thank you very much for the video. This is just what I needed. I've been struggling finishing something to the point where I haven't even started a project as I knew I would never get to the finish line. Giving up before even starting. There are probably other things as well that affects this, but this is a very good starting point to work from. So, thank you very much for taking the time to make this video.

[Assortment]

This is a great video!

I have adult inattentive adhd. Its been hard. Hoping to change my general habits because as it stands, I feel as though I don't have control over my life, even.

[michaelluck]

motivation to finish a game is one thing but what i was searching for is a vid finding the motivation to even go the extra mile and find how i could be one where thousands of others fail

[WRX]

Hello, I'm here because I started learning VR & 2/3D game dev in Unity.
At first, I was progressing so fast, felt like I am doing quite well, and started to learn C#, which was also a very great experience. Then, I decided to start another full course on Coursera, where I felt discouraged. I thought I am a very disciplined person, and usually applied the same techniques which you mentioned (instead of candy, I used other rewards like buying some gadget or put a project as a prerequisite for something I really need to keep myself on the road), but this time I failed, and could not make myself turn back to developing for cca 6 months.
I tried it a few times, but still felt I am just not enough.
Now, to climb up from this deep hole I decided to watch gamedev videos while I am doing some handcraft - which was your 'How to Start Gamedev in 2024' video.
I reached the Game Jam part from earlier attempts, but chickened out from participation. So now I made notes of your video and pull myself together.
Next step will be the one where I paused, I decided to start and finish a jam, even if the result will rather be something basic rather than a well-groomed project. Thanks for the tips!

[dimokol]

You can literally take the advice from the video but instead of gamedev instert literally anything and it's still really great advice! Golden video!

[pythonuser]

So basically I waste 10 years because of bad habits?! Plus procrastination, searching for excuses, doesn't have a clear goal what I want to do?!
- Yes! 💯

Thank you for the video. I hope everything is going well for you and your family. 🙏

[hatchlingdm]

This is a brilliant take on the issue. Good habits and a healthy work/life balance are pretty much key to any productivity.