Sometimes it's difficult to just go on...
Yesterday I was having a discussion with my friend Laurent from Labe.me about how ideas come and how easy it is to start new projects and feel in "the zone" : you are dedicated 100% to the task at hand.
But then a new idea emerges and it calls you like a Siren and sometimes it just make the previous idea becoming suddenly far less interesting.
There's also 'that' project that was started with so much energy that it came to a brutal halt because you pushed it too much. Ideas need space and time and a lot of subconscious work. It can be so frustrating.
And there's also the problem I have these days : too many projects at the same time. The oldest ones being the least interesting...
So after much thinking and googling I found this web site where answers can be found. It is a kind of relief because words are put where I couldn't put them.
After all these years creating games I still fall in the same traps. Even todos and milestones and pomodoros aren't problem solver. They sure help me to go forward but they can't prevent me from having my creative flow disrupted and my motivation cooling down.
So this morning I decided to start with something simple : I just made a list of what is taking space in my mind. Because projects are stacking up and I just feel under pressure every time I start something new. Because I feel I ought to finish previous projects first. Until yesterday I felt I needed to complete things. Now I am aware I can also ditch things without mortifying myself because some projects are just there to help me in a way or another. They are not 'real' projects.
So since I am speaking about the projects I already told you about in my previous blog posts here is their current status :
Active : Seed, my ludum dare entry which I want to push further.
On Hold : Strange Masks Extended. I wanted to release an extended version of the game (v1.05) which would have also been released on tablets. But I got a little bit depressed by the very low sales of the v1.0.4 version although the game was praised by players and had very great reviews. So I am stuck there on what I should do with this project. This is kind of sad.
On Hold : Friends. I am kind of stuck with this game. But the work I did for this project allowed me to develop my ludum dare entry : Seed. So here what should I do? Take more time to release something or ditch the project altogether?
On Hold : CapNeuro. This is BCI experiment I wanted to share with other Haxe fellows. However I have no idea whether anyone may be interested by this project. And as it needs some additional work to be 'portable' I think i postpone until someone asks.
Done : Berlin Linuxtag BCI project
Done : CapSciences BCI project ( CapNeuro)
Done : Tiny Failures (Ludum Dare)
So now this is done I am a little bit relieved. I see that I've successfully released projects. But now I have to set my mind about both the active projects and the projects on hold.
So here what's I am going to do :
Seed will remain active in a bêta state which will eventually allow me to build something fun and try many things until I come to a great game and successfully build a tribe around the game.
Strange Masks Extended will remain on Hold because I want to push it and I can already feel some motivation to finish this version.
I am going to finish a version of Friends right now for the One Game a Month. This will be my entry for May. So this project is going active this very week with a deadline set on Friday.
CapNeuro my latest BCI experiment will be marked as done and if someone from the Haxe community wants me to share some insights I will be pleased to do so :)
Have a nice day! And have fun with your projects!
stormborns
izzy806
tangentwithtanner
titsay
