game development is a long and mostly non-stimulating process (personally). i have ideas for what i want to make and i know how to get there but i always end up losing steam halfway through even though i do want to see my projects through to the end.

how can i maintain my interest in my own projects long enough for me to get to the next hyperfixation period?

: how can i maintain my interest in my own projects long enough for me to get to the next hyperfixation period?

I experience the same problem, I'd say to work on small simple bits of the game that you can set as goals, then work your way through those goals, then you'll eventually finish making the game.

My recomendation is, don't try making ambitious projects for yourself.

If you want to make something big, do it with a partner, and if you want to work alone, do small projects with original ideas.

The development phase of a game is very harsh, but it's even worse when you gotta do everything by yourself, and even more if you stick to the same ideas constantly for a very long period of time.

Also, don't spend all your time making a game. Spend a bit of your time to do something out of your computer, like walking around the mile, cooking something, or hanging with somebody out there. This way, you won't exhaust from being constantly in the same or even for sitting so long

Another of the reasons of not finishing a project is because (unintendedly) we feel the work we are making will not be worth the time of people, so, we lose interest on it.

If that's the case, another thing you can do is share a Dev-Log, so people can see the progress of your work, and maybe in the way, gain a small fanbase that motivates you to finish your game

don't tell anyone about your project until it's close to being done

I struggle a lot with this myself, especially as someone juggling ADHD and depression which can kill my motivation like a motherfucker. I suppose the best I can tell you is, don't go telling too many people until it's almost done, don't try to do something too big by yourself, and keep your expectations, least of all your work/life balance in check

This, you'll still end up giving up on most of your projects but at least you won't have to face the disappointment that comes when they ask you how it's going.

That is an easy answer, you just have to follow these guidelines.

1. Always push the the project forward.
2. Don't lose momentum.

I've been using this method for the past couple of weeks for a level editor(making tools sucks) and so far I've made great progress and became invested in improving it.

I don't quite know if you're too familiar with it, but I personally like to utilize aspects of the AGILE and Scrum pieces of Project Management whenever I could when working on larger and bigger projects.

In a nutshell, you need a balance between proper pressure and a goal to push. Usually, moving your goalposts is seen as a bad thing when it comes to your own projects (and it should be a red flag in general), but you need to also tackle your big tasks in small steps .. so those should be your goalposts.

A more practical example from me would be setting a personal deadline that is both achievable and realistic for you (and your team). Give yourself something like two weeks to do something that should seem basic, like setting up the foundations (movement in gameplay, your core gameplay flow, finishing an asset or a group of them, studying something new that'll come in handy, and so on). When that period of time is done, try to reflect on what worked, what didn't work, and try to plot your next few weeks so you can get something else done. The goal is to check back on your goals, reflect on your progress, and course-correct to keep setting up tasks you can reasonably accomplish so each stepping stone leads you closer to where you want to be.

These repeated deadlines and that pressure of "I need to get this done by then" especially on your terms and in your control means that you can find new challenges to keep that interest going (if the project falls through - you still have that knowledge and something to gain from a failed project) and to push forward. :)

If this is a bit much or too hard to try, I definitely recommend participating in a few Game Jams. These tend to be incredible periods of crunch for me that are super stressful - but fully capitalize on why it's so important to be able to adapt and reflect so quickly.

I'm not a game developer by any means but I do draw and what I can take from this is, If you're going to work on a project don't really tell anyone about it or set a due date for when the project has to be finished because it will make you feel very demotivated (From my experience ofc) You will feel more forced to do the project. As for keeping fixated on your project, Try to work on it atleast a little bit a day and don't leave it to rot for a week and then come back, Possibly you can set goals to work through the project so you can get things done in a more organized fashion. I'm not a game developer I'm just taking from my experience of working on art projects and such. Don't give up because what you're making can be better than expected!! Have fun making you're game hope I helped some. Just don't overwork yourself on a game because you will experience burnout which will take longer for the game to develop. I also want to add that you shouldn't work on you're project all day stuck to your screen like a discord mod thriving on discord. Take breaks and do other things beside being on the screen!