Why I'll NEVER Make My Dream Game

Dream games are a huge topic in the indie game development scene. I mean it seems like everyone is making a dream game devlog but today I'm going to talk about why I will never make my dream game

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[AnImmortalBean]

A dream game to developers isn't just a game you would love to play, but also love to make. Keep up the good work!

[AIAdev]

I think most solo game devs can relate with your struggle Fairlii. Making games is hard and takes a long time. There's always some shiny new project that comes to mind when you're in the trenches

[danielfoutz]

I think that not finishing games is part of the indie game making process. You learn to make games by making lots of them (or parts of lots of them). The difference between game making and something like painting or drawing is that it isn't practical to fully develop and complete every game you start end to end as you learn and grow in the same way that you could finish lots of drawings or paintings or short stories. Unless we're talking about extremely basic game jam level prototypes, games just take way too long to finish and often you get to a point of diminishing returns with a concept in terms of how much you can still learn from that project versus how much is left to do to release it.

The fact that you've dropped so many projects is, I think, a good sign because you can directly chart how much you've grown and improved as a developer by looking back at those projects. Sure, you could go back and finish your first ever game project but you probably wouldn't learn that much and probably both you and your audience wouldn't be that happy with the end project because we know how much better you can do now. Each iteration of your slime game, for example, has looked way better and been more mechanically interesting than your previous iteration. I think moving on and evolving the concept was the right call each time. Eventually if you keep honing your skills I'm sure you'll reach a point where the insane leaps in your capabilities will start to plateau and it will make more sense to stick with one idea for a long time.

From my perspective it looks like you have been making your dream game for over 4 years now. The name and style and gameplay has changed but its evolved with you, you know? You can dream bigger now in a lot of ways and have more realistic expectations for your dream in others that you couldn't have anticipated before starting game dev.

All this to say, I hope you don't feel like you have to stick with an old concept just to make a YouTube audience happy. I think most of us are here because it's interesting to watch you grow as a developer rather than because we're incredibly invested in one particular project that you're working on.

[pubertdefrog]

Dude, you can achieve anything if your tenacious enough. Don’t give in to your self esteem issues and just make it

[zenoviaa]

I relate with this quite a bit actually, things start popping into my head as dream games and I can’t really focus on one of my games

[AlexDown]

This is so relatable, Over the course of 3 years I've worked on 9 or so different projects and a good other 4 as sole concepts. These other YouTubers make it look so easy. to see someone describe the real struggles really speaks to me.

[Wumbee.]

Ive had multiple games come to me in a dream, even entirely planned out universes but sadly I doubt I can actually make it.. It used to be the only stuff I dreamt about

[peakpineapplestudio]

Hey Fairli I definitely agree with you on that note of not making a dream game. As a solo developer I thought my dream would be a big hit but I stopped & realized my goals shifted with GameDev. I honestly just want to make games that make people happy!
-best of luck to you 😊

[nandomax]

If you start developing a game with the intent of learning new stuff about the engine, it's OK to quit before release. We are allowed to start and not finish any project. For example I'm a backend developer with Java and outside of my daily job, I never did a project from beginning to the end. I do many small projects just to try out new technologies and practice some coding. What I want to say is that you don't need to care about what people think about you, it's your journey of learning how to game dev. All the games you started and never finished thought you important lessons about game dev. Now, after many years of working with several projects, you are ready to finish a project and release it.

[SpikeStudio]

The approach I’ve been taking for my big games is to do smaller games every month alongside it to change it up, it’s a ton a work… but it’s kept me going on it. Excited to see what you make next!

[belowthestoneofficial]

love seeing all that art from the previous games. A lot of work went into all of it.

[specterent]

You want to end the cycle, finish the game. Giving up on the game is just re-enforcing the cycle, not breaking it. You have to learn to force yourself to finish and not restart. Don't let it get stuck in feature creep either.

[RobLang]

Been enjoying your journey and I'm glad you're taking the step to finish what you have before starting something new. I definitely know how it feels to have the draw of many games to build.

[HipToBeeSquare]

Very understandable and relatable. I struggle with starting and stopping projects not just in game development but in any hobby. Sometimes dropping the hobby after a week or so. Sometimes this isn't a bad thing because you learn new things but if you're repeating the same thing over and over without growing it can be. Personally I started setting year goals. Last year was to make a card game and I got enough of it done that I was happy to submit it to a publisher and move on. I never heard back, but that's okie cause I still accomplished my goal. This year I'm working on a mashup of two game ideas I've had on the back burner for a few years. Just gotta keep chugging along.

[VengefulSpectre]

I know you can do it Fairlii! One day you’ll finish Gelli Fields and Luna Lane. You can then move to this other one! Just don’t give up!

[Arkhalis]

"Mixing farming games and slimes together is definitely a way to get an audience" You got that right! just look at stardew valley!

[HelperWesley]

Oh how I've tried a few times and failed to make my dream game.... One day... 😢

The scope and expectations I have for it are just too much for one person to handle. Great for YouTube clicks though. 😅

[Mr.GrassHopper]

Whatever you stop or start making stuff I will always support you and your answer

[KelsterLynn]

The constant struggle of having too many ideas and not enough finished products.

[skejeton]

After working on one game for a year already, I think it just gets better later on, I find it harder to put down. When I'm demotivated I usually do some technical changes and that's more than enough. Consider this