on which games will be completed and which won’t
You know I’ve been thinking about this for a while now considering how many games on HAMS’s list haven’t updated in over 6 months, been put on indefinite hiatus, have really spaced out updates, or keep saying they’re about to drop a demo but haven’t yet, but I’m starting to be able to tell which games will be completed based on their devblog alone.
Here’s some things I look out for.  Note: please understand this does NOT mean that any game with a few of these traits won’t be finished. The more traits a game has though, the less likely it will be finished.
first time game developers starting a devblog too early in the game’s development cycleÂ
release date estimations from new developers who don’t know how long completing a game will actually take
getting constantly delayed by school or other obligations.  this isn’t something the developer can control
a need for perfection/perfectionism, where the developer keeps redoing parts of the game over and over again to meet their standards
in that same vein, good art or being more of an artist than a developer - it takes a while to make good art, so the more time you take on the graphics, the more time it’s going to take to complete the game.  again, not a definite thing, but I have seen it often enough that it’s on this list.
constant changes in plot, programming, game mechanics, art styles, etc.
focusing less on the game itself and more of the lore & art of the game. this tends it tends to signal that the game would be better off as a comic or a novel than a game. Â Not a bad thing, just somethign
focusing less on the game itself and more joking around with their characters or fufiling drawing request - this has your brain already satisfied with the work you produce, making you feel like you already accomplishing what you set out to do without doing it.  Nothing wrong with it, but it can also be distracting if you’re getting a lot of them.
starting with a lot of content then gradually having longer and longer periods of silence in between updates
the developer(s) not being confident in what they’re doing
going on hiatus for more than a month - the longer you are away from a game, the less interested you are in finishing it due to coming up with more ideas
announcing they’re making a demo and then not having one out for over a year
having a team with more than 3 people on it - it’s not like games like this aren’t completed, it just means it’s more likely that game development will stop if someone drops out of the game.
Not all games that aren’t complete have these signs though.  Some just drop off the map completely without warning.
amandla
stormborns
areudirty
origamiaround
gracieabrams
izzy806
