Coping with Failure

Source Article:
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidMaletz/20121203/182774/The_Dark_Side_of_Indie_Game_Dev.php

Most indie developers are likely to fail. A core reason for this is the inability to finish their game projects. It’s common to create a bunch of partial games that never get finished. For every successful game there are many failures so you can’t expect your first game will be different for you. It’s quite rare to succeed. By accepting this fact you can put forth extra effort to eventually reach success. What are some of the ways you can avoid or cope with some of the common difficulties in a indie game developer’s life?

Game development is not always a fun adventure. Starting a new project is always fun and exciting. During the process you realize the game takes so much work and not all of it is fun. It’s easy to grow tired of an idea and you’ll be scrambling for new ideas that may make you drop your current project altogether. This creates the scenario mentioned above, partial games that never get finished. Discipline and remembering what made your original idea exciting can help you stick with it. Frustration comes with the territory, but so do breaks. A good break can help you think about your project and goals.

Game development takes a lot longer than you expect. There are always unexpected events during the game development process. A feature, bug, design flaw, imbalance, or even something you just overlooked can add twice the amount of development time. This inevitably leads to the dreaded crunch time in which you get no sleep, don’t eat, and pull all of your hair out. It’s hard to stay motivated once your game begins to take longer than expected. You will have to give yourself extra time to compensate for this. If a game seems like it’ll take too long then try cutting some elements of the game.

Bloating your game with features can be another road block in your game development process. It’s quite common for to want many new features in your game. This increases the amount of time for the development process, even becoming impossible to finish. Bloating is sometimes unavoidable as you begin to see gaps in your game design. The principle here is to keep the design simple instead of cramming it with features.

You will need to work with people you can trust. Arguments will happen whenever your team hits a road block. If you do not have team that can listen to each other, it can destroy your team. Being able to control yourself and your emotions is something you should always work on. If you spend a lot of time helping your team have fun, it can really help ease those moments when an argument occurs.

Playtest, playtest, playtest! Do not release games with bugs. If a game takes two months to make, it’ll need the same amount of time to playtest and debug. After completing your game you will still need to work on marketing, so the process isn’t done. You will need to network and create a great website. A good rating for your game always helps too!

Not every game you make will be a big hit. Expect tough times and many failures on your road to success!

Ryan Ross