I know, that's a weird title, but I'm working on this game, and I've done so much progress on it,
I'm almost scared I'm going to lose interest in it and just quit.
Do you guys have any ideas on what to do so a game doesn't get too old too quick?
At the moment revision and going on runs / watching buffy the vampire slayer [lol epic tv series] helps me keep creating my current project. Helps i have a flatmate who's fairly interested in its progress but still. You need stuff to completely take your mind off it and some stuff that you can just imagine/dream how your games going to turn out in order to not lose interest. That's what i'm personally finding at the moment anyways :]
I think alot of people do other projects along side but I find I don't want to be working on games all my time, and the more time spent on a side project, the less on the one i want to finish. It is a hobbie afterall :]
Planning everything out before hand usually helps to know what you're doing so you won't get bored thinking what to do next. Making small projects is a good way to start. Make sure you know how to code everything and don't aim too high. Just try to understand your limitations.
Woofeh: I have everything planned out, I'm just worried I might get bored or
tired of it and drop it. I have never finished a game to be honest.
This one I'm currently working on has the most progress out of all of 'em tho,
so I might have a chance at actually finishing one!! Woot!
Haven't we covered this recently? Maybe I'm just senile. If you're not one for getting everything you can done in one sitting, have something to do to take breaks occasionally and play fun games to inspire you.
Many many many times I have lost momentum in my projects. Almost every time I get really motivated to work on them again after a break. Hang out on the DC and take a break from dev. If it's truly such an awesome project that you're scared you'll lose interest, then you likely won't. Even if you think you do, it's probably just a loss of energy rather than interest.
If you're losing interest its not a good game idea
Meh, I lose interest in a lot of games. But if it sticks in my head and comes back a year after I forget it, I know that it's the game for me. Finishing games is overrated, it's making them that's fun. If it's not fun, then don't burn yourself out over it.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
No game of any quality can be expected to remain fun for too long, so it's really no surprise that when the development time of our game far surpasses the lastability of it's expected final project, which rarely extends even a few days, week, month tops even for most main stream games... I don't think it's a fair insinuation to say that if you've gotten bored of your own game, that it's not a good idea. It just means that your game, like the best of them, has become boring to play after you've starred at it for so long.
Take a break and come back to it, the thrill will return. Don't force yourself through it though, because your loss of respect for your game will lead to loss of quality. What I like to do is I like to work on multiple projects at once. Each of which is very different than the others, so that I have something interesting to work on while I take a break.
Another very beneficial idea that really helps me push through a project is to listen to music that you think might go well with the game. It really sets a mental and emotional mind set that encourages you to move on with the game.
I get abit tired of my own games, mainly because of testing more than coding. That's actually a really good way to keep interest alive Brandon. Well said.
But team as in contracting out work like specific engines and music, not trying to spread the jobs everywhere. That's lunacy right there, trying to get that to work.
Technically I should be bored after spending 2 and a half years on my game. I dunno what the trick is. If I get bored of working on a particular aspect then I'll move to something else. Most of the time I get bored from fixing bugs or fiddling with the engine so I'll bugger off and do some design doc work or whip up a track. Or just watch an episode or 5 of South Park or play L4D.
Brandons right though. Taking a break is always good. I couldn't wait to get working again when I was on holiday and over Christmas , even after a few days at my girlfriends place I love getting back into the game making side of things .
But seriously, don't force yourself. Burnout is nasty. It's the worst thing to happen in any hobby. It's better to drop it and take a break.. the ideas always come when you least expect it.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Originally Posted by Muz I've never lost interest on the good game ideas
Burnout is nasty.
Yes and yes!
The physical side of burnout is rubbish too. Last year I pushed myself way too hard and ended up with so many muscle pains. Had to force myself to relax so I didn't have another burnout. Incidentally I played Burnout Dominator on the PSP during a lot of that.
Muz: I'm not tired of the game yet, I think the main reason why I never finished a game was because I'm a crappy coder, so I got discouraged, and just quit. I wish I knew about this site earlier; but oh well.
OMC: The energy-losing is definitely a big part.
BrandonC: YES, listening to music is the only thing that keeps me sane. -Well, not really, but I listen to music when I'm MMFing, drawing or doing doing chores. I usually have this music trail following me. So music is totally an amazing helper.
Being a crappy coder myself, what I do is make easier games for practice
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Oh, remember that you can put counters and other objects in folders in the event editor. Right click them at the top there. That helps a lot. Hah, I know what you mean.. that's the very reason I started using Lua to deal with it. With Lua, you can make and refer to a counter in a tenth of a second without all that annoying clicking copying pasting in the event editor.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
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but I'm working on this game, and I've done so much progress on it,
If you're not one for getting everything you can done in one sitting, have something to do to take breaks occasionally and play fun games to inspire you.
Even if you think you do, it's probably just a loss of energy rather than interest. 
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