Top 10 ways to find motivation for a Ags game?

[Scavenger]

1   ) Have a strong design document. Write out everything that happens in the game, all the characters and their motivations. Show it to other people. Their approval will spur you on, and their criticism will make it better.

2   ) Keep it short. If you haven't finished a game, huge projects are really daunting and drain your energy faster than you can say "Overwhelmed".

3   ) Programmer art, programmer dialogue, and being bare bones with your game will really help. Forget the fancy arcade sequence, forget the online multiplayer (why does everyone want that nowadays?), just make the skeleton of a good game. Does it make sense that you use the squirrel on the concierge? If not, you have to put clues in, and amend your design document. Doing a skeleton of your game makes it that much more solid. You've achieved something.

4   ) Do things on paper. People often get disheartened if they do things on computers because they're left with the impression that they have achieved nothing, because what they've done isn't tangible. Write out notes in a notebook, on paper, or simply on napkins and it will spur you on. Concept art especially should be on paper. That way, you can look through it and think "Yes, I sure have done a lot for this game!"

5   ) Keep it simple. Want to allude to a grand scheme, a great conspiracy but you just can't bring yourself to write it? Leave it as an allusion. You don't have to make it anything more than that. You build on the simple, and the game will grow organically. Trying to force a huge story into something whole cloth just doesn't work, and usually ends up being obtuse and boring.

6   ) Take a break. If you're working on your long game, and you think "I AM SICK OF THE SIGHT OF THIS", just put it to the back of your mind and do something different for a while. If your design document is strong enough, and your work is on paper, you'll look at it and think "Wow, I really want to get back into this!"

7   ) Other people. If other people believe in your game as much as you do, it's a huge confidence boost. Bring on the critics lounge, post screenshots in Games in Production (This is AFTER the skeleton stage, by the way), ask people to look over your design document (but keep it hush hush), and get people to beta test and do quality control.

8   ) Force of will. Usually the only thing keeping people going at the end, you just gotta keep going and stay focused.

9   ) Deadlines. Set a deadline for each part of your project. Design document done by X, Skeleton done by Y, Character graphics done by Z. It will force you to continue.

10 ) If all else fails, and you still can't find a reason to work on your game, try something new, something fresh. Something you really believe in, and that noone else has done. Forget the rip offs, forget the remakes, forget the Deluxe Ultra Disk 5 versions and your huge worlds with huge continuity. Just make a short, enjoyable game with a lovable character and a short, simple story.

[Phemar]

Three coffees and a couple of cigarettes seem to do it for me... Not recommened. 8)

sometimes (half) a joint and 2 good coffees do it for me.
but most of the time: some cigarets and 2 good coffees and a joint afterwards.

That's normally my method as well

[Mati256]

What Scavenger said helps a lot. I designed most of my current game on paper, really raw, and then wrote it on word with all the details.

I don't have any completed games, but for my experience in other things I can say you must trust and believe in your project. It must be something you love.
If you are being payed you will probably be doing boring stuff most of the time. But if you are doing it for free, you must choose something that you are really interested in, or you will be bored and drop it in a couple of days.

[Icey]

Ok so what I here is -
Good music
Time
Beta's/demo's
Love for the game
& Scavenger's long list that I am def going to read.

These all seem like good things. I hope it all help me.

[Matti]

& Scavenger's long list that I am def going to read.

[Grim]

Good music

What music do you like, by the way, Icey? I mean, what is the all time ultimate inspirational greatest album that helps mind focus on making games and all things AGS?

I know Dualnames will say Pink Floyd: The Dark Side Of The Moon. So I thought I'd save him typing that....
  I tried that album and it does n othing for me. It actually bored my slightly.... I know, herecy to some, but there you go.

  So, really, I wanted to find out what genre of music Icey is into, and why. Then I added all that other stuff to cover that up.... Anyway, I better go make a coffee, smoke some fags, listen to some Boxer Rebellion and make that long-overdue background 84...

[Icey]

Video game Music by Nobuo Uematsu.

[Dualnames]

Good music

What music do you like, by the way, Icey? I mean, what is the all time ultimate inspirational greatest album that helps mind focus on making games and all things AGS?

I know Dualnames will say Pink Floyd: The Dark Side Of The Moon. So I thought I'd save him typing that....
  I tried that album and it does n othing for me. It actually bored my slightly.... I know, herecy to some, but there you go.

  So, really, I wanted to find out what genre of music Icey is into, and why. Then I added all that other stuff to cover that up.... Anyway, I better go make a coffee, smoke some fags, listen to some Boxer Rebellion and make that long-overdue background 84...

I wouldn't use Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, it's not my style for adventure gaming. But I'd use a Pink Floyd album. Depends on what you're making. Also made a spelling mistake there.

... make a coffee, smoke some Boxer Rebellion, listen to some fags ...

There, fixed.

[Chicky]

Three coffees and a couple of cigarettes seem to do it for me... Not recommened. 8)

sometimes (half) a joint and 2 good coffees do it for me.
but most of the time: some cigarets and 2 good coffees and a joint afterwards.

Dude, speaking from experience here, smoking a joint and drinking coffee is a really unhealthy habit. Not good when your heart starts freaking out and tries to jump out your chest.  Wait for the caffeine boost to go then have the spliff....

[GarageGothic]

Dude, speaking from experience here, smoking a joint and drinking coffee is a really unhealthy habit. Not good when your heart starts freaking out and tries to jump out your chest.  Wait for the caffeine boost to go then have the spliff....

Skip the coffee and smoke a nice sativa. You don't need addictive drugs like caffeine to stay energized  .

[Icey]

I don't smoke but I do love coffee :]

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I don't know.  Everywhere you go, people are just so ready to jump in and offer a shitload of advice for EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN and while well meant, it's all just personal opinions. 

Motivation is such a personal issue I couldn't even begin to honestly advise anyone (let alone myself) on the best way to do something.  For me, it's either do it or don't, but isn't that what motivation comes down to anyway?

Point being, I don't really see returns on a general question of how to become motivated.  You need to look inside yourself and find that answer.

[Icey]

Well usually I play games that is of the same genre to get an idea at what I am after and what I could use in my game. Then when I am on the PC I listen to the music that may go with the game. And that always helps me until I get more into the game, Then it get's boring and I am ready to start a new game.

[mode7]

I don't know.  Everywhere you go, people are just so ready to jump in and offer a shitload of advice for EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN and while well meant, it's all just personal opinions. 

Motivation is such a personal issue I couldn't even begin to honestly advise anyone (let alone myself) on the best way to do something.  For me, it's either do it or don't, but isn't that what motivation comes down to anyway?

Point being, I don't really see returns on a general question of how to become motivated.  You need to look inside yourself and find that answer.

Hm, I think its a little bit of both. I was very similar to icey during my former developements, which looked always great and i started with a lot of motivation but with little ideas where I was heading. So after the first enthusiasm was gone I ended up without a plan and ultimately abandoned the project.
Abduction was the turning point for me. And I had three simple rules for the development:

- Keep my first project as small as possible
- Having completely laid out my game with puzzles and "plot" before I do a single stroke.
- Having a deadline (in my case: MAGS)

I worked out as you all know..

But, it was only possible because I REALLY wanted this game to be finished. I was so convinced of the concept and so frustrated from not ever finishing something that I worked like a madman to finish this. It was hell at times, as I learned scripting and animation techniques as i went along and if I hadnt been so convined of the game I wouldnt have finished it.

[Icey]

That's right! a do date.

I remember that when making OSD2 I planed to finish it on before 2011 and I finished it in a month and half. I should set a do date with all my games.

[Chicky]

Dude, speaking from experience here, smoking a joint and drinking coffee is a really unhealthy habit. Not good when your heart starts freaking out and tries to jump out your chest.  Wait for the caffeine boost to go then have the spliff....

Skip the coffee and smoke a nice sativa. You don't need addictive drugs like caffeine to stay energized  .

I agree! It sucks here, you get what you're given. Mostly indica, we don't get a lot done...

[Wyz]

I think it boils down to two things: Confidence and expectation.

You need to have confidence in yourself, often that what you do is of good quality and meaningful.
There are two ways you can boost your confidence:

• Work on it. Practice. Improve.
  
• Get assurance from other people, show your work, enter competitions. Not everyone has to agree with your work, but at least some supporters will get you going.
  
  It helps to have a goal, something to look forward to. It can be something little like showing to finished project to someone you respect, or you could enter it in a competition.
  Alternatively you could make deadlines for certain parts of your game like: finish the room before the end of the week. It is really motivating if you pull it off. Of course you must never set the bar too high for each of these expectations: it might hurt your motivation, even for future projects.

[Matti]

Well, now it's beer not coffee. But cigarettes nevertheless.

Too bad I don't have a joint nearby.

[m0ds]

1. Lay off the crack.
2. Think of making something without "Quest" in the name. Or "pub".
3. Don't consider a game with a title that's just a load of squares and doesn't translate to English if you don't have a Japanese font sub-set installed.
4. Masturbate to extremely erotic porn.

Good luck little man!

[Dualnames]

1. Lay off the crack.
2. Think of making something without "Quest" in the name. Or "pub".
3. Don't consider a game with a title that's just a load of squares and doesn't translate to English if you don't have a Japanese font sub-set installed.
4. Masturbate to extremely erotic porn.

Good luck little man!

Those advices don't work. m0ds is a fake.