STAY MOTIVATED in Indie Game Dev

In this video, I will give you 3 goals to strive for in your project management to stay motivated as an indie game developer. This video serves as an overview of the 3 design goals for sustained motivation.
⭐ GENERAL RESOURCES ⭐
Infographic/Reference Guide: drive.google.com/file/d/1zNnA...
1️⃣ GOAL 1 RESOURCES1️⃣
The 1-Hour Game Jam: hypergamedev.itch.io/
^ Hosted by ‪@HyperGameDev‬ ^
2️⃣GOAL 2 RESOURCES2️⃣
Verstegen, Danïelle & Barnard, Yvonne & Pilot, Albert. (2006). Which events can cause iteration in instructional design? An empirical study of the design process. Instructional Science. www.researchgate.net/publicat...
The source below was used by the paper I mentioned:
Van Wagenberg, M.J.G.M. (1992). Gericht CAD-ondersteund ontwerpen en organi
seren (Goaloriented CAD-Supported Designing and Organising). Doctoral disser
tation, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands (in Dutch). repository.ubn.ru.nl/handle/2...
3️⃣GOAL 3 RESOURCES3️⃣
Here are some organizational tools that I like using. I am not sponsored by these.
- hacknplan.com/
I like Hack 'n Plan because it lets me split up my tasks into categories so I can easily pick something to do that I will enjoy. I do not recommend spending too much time using all the features, but the simple categories are very helpful.
- www.notion.so/
I like notion because it is simple and has flexible note taking options.
📖EXTRA RESOURCES📖
I found this video useful for introspection that helped me be a better developer. Understanding yourself is one of the most important parts of solo game dev.
• Models of Personality ...
Show some love to ‪@RigorMortisTortoise‬ , who had a great perspective on game development that helps frame the spectrum of thought around design strategies.
Chapters:
00:00 About this Video
01:43 Iteration
07:38 Feedback and Reflection
12:28 Organization
15:35 Final Thoughts
💜Join the Discord💜
/ discord

[@jameshughes3014]

just that picture with the car right at the beginning sent off a lightbulb in my head. Sometimes I understand something intellectually but for the life of me I can't grasp it intuitively. That helped. Thank you. Gonna screen shot it and make it my windows wallpaper :D And I love that you verbally gave credit for it. I hope more people pick up this habit.

[@PierogigonGames]

I'm glad it helped! The minimum viable product is a concept mostly discussed in Business, but I think it applies to game dev really well. Henrik Kniberg created that drawing presumably to connect the concept to software development. If you want to learn more about it in its original context, I'd recommend this video: ua-cam.com/video/QiNijXAXwqE/v-deo.html

[@hrhYT]

really liked this video, thank you. you have a great demeanor too :) hope your day goin good

[@kyleyoung1960]

I really liked the advice you gave about balancing striving for minimal viable & working on things you enjoy. I think this video was very well done!

[@PierogigonGames]

Thanks for sharing, I am glad that you enjoyed it! :)

[@strahuvanya]

Great advices in the video, and some great resources in the description . Thanks a lot, hopping that i can use them in my gamedev journey ❤

[@PierogigonGames]

Thanks for letting me know! I hope it helps, too!

[@kunai9809]

(16:06) Why do think working on core mechanics is in most cases less fun than polish?
Maybe what you rather mean is "follow the plan!" vs "do what feels nice in the moment"?
9:35 I think "errors" is way too much linked with "code errors" in the coder brain, I'd maybe call it "Design flaw"?
But in general I really enjoyed your video! Definitely some interesting takeaways. The Spider game looks really nice btw!
Some things that I noticed about your video quality that you may want to improve on
- sometimes you can hear people talking in the background (e.g. 9:35)
- try to make the frame you're filming look nicer and more deliberate by preparing it some more

[@PierogigonGames]

@@kunai9809 First of all, thank you so much for outlining all of these reflections and considerations! I'll definitely take your feedback into my next videos as much as possible.
About core/polish tasks, I think that's a great question. Enjoyment of different tasks definitely varies between people. Some people may really enjoy making the core mechanics, and some people like sticking to one task until it's done. In my experience though, if someone got complete fulfillment and joy from working on core tasks day after day, they wouldn't lose motivation early in their process. What I try to express is that it's important to create a cohesive game but it is also important to have successes along the way. When core mechanics are bringing down morale, polish tasks can provide a "win" for the developer and a break from a challenging problem. The way you frame it (plan vs feels) is also valuable, but I use core/polish make design decisions more concrete and easy to understand for anyone. Many people watching may be learning about Minimum Viable Game Designs for the first time, so I make it very explicit and trust the developer to fit it into their own plan. I hope my decision there makes sense. I may make changes that place the focus on awareness of morale as the mechanism for deciding daily goals instead of the "what do I want to achieve today" way of thinking.
I really like your suggestion about "Errors". I actually used the same language from the paper for that reflection trigger, and didn't consider the connotation for developers. I'll definitely change that if I ever remake this video.
I'll try to be more aware of background noise, and maybe take another look at my filters on OBS. I do my best, but home can be a bit loud and sometimes I don't even notice when listening back and editing. Thanks for letting me know, because I get so used to ignoring background noise that I miss it while editing.
I'll have a think about what I can do for the camera framing. In this video I moved it left so I'd have enough room for graphics, but I can easily change the placement in different shots and make things look overall more nice.