Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

[Armor King 108]

I didn't have this problem with RPG Maker 1, 2, or 3, because they were new and exciting, and file size constraints made it unfeasible to start multiple projects...But with RPG Maker XP, it's so easy to start a new project, and I've got plenty of room for them. It's really becoming a problem, I have way too many unfinished projects, and I'm worried I won't finish any of them. Working on RPGs is often time-consuming, but there's a certain joy from creating stuff that I get from it. But, when I think that I won't ever finish ANY of my projects, then that joy turns into dread, and it becomes more of a chore than a hobby. Still, I've decided to work on a shorter, less serious RPG, so maybe I'll actually finish that? Who knows...

Anyone else have this problem?

[American Hero]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

Yes.

[Perversion]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

Yes.

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[Byron Pennyworth]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

I only ever have one thing going in any medium, but between my RPG, my Hip-Hop, my comic-book epic, my stand-up routine, and my novella I don't tend to finish much.

[salamander]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

I have that problem with the console makers! To be more specific, I'll get jazzed up about a RM1 project, then in the middle of making it, i'll need a 'break' from it, and start on a RM2 project, and after awhile, maybe even a short game on RM3, and before you know it, I have a bunch of incomplete games lying around...

I've found the best way to combat this is to go and read about other people's games that they're making, so it gives you motivation to finish yours.

[Valkysas]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

I've never had problem working on only one game at a time. I've been working on the same game for over a year now, and no other ideas have even entered my head.

[Byron Pennyworth]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

I've got a bomb idea for what to make after Election Day, but as I refuse to start another RPGM project until ED is done I won't be able to start on it for (probably) years.

[orius]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

I try to finish a project befeore I start a new one. It feels sloppy otherwise. Granted the one game I did finish isn't really that good, but doing the whole damn thing gave a sort of sense of closure.

[Armor King 108]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

I've never had problem working on only one game at a time. I've been working on the same game for over a year now, and no other ideas have even entered my head.

It doesn't work that way for me! My problem is that I constantly get new ideas, and lots of times that new idea sounds more interesting than my current project, and my current project is making slow progress, so...I take a break and start a new one! Not a good idea, at least not most of the time.

I try to finish a project befeore I start a new one. It feels sloppy otherwise. Granted the one game I did finish isn't really that good, but doing the whole damn thing gave a sort of sense of closure.

That makes sense...it's why I'm trying to go for a shorter, simpler project at the moment. I think that finishing a project, even if it's lame and bad, will help motivate me to finish some of my other projects...


Anyway, I think the biggest problem with having lots of unfinished projects is that it makes them all suffer. I mean, you learn lots of stuff just from experimenting and trying new things, and when you make a whole game, you have a better idea on how to balance everything: characters, monsters, equipment, items, dungeons...it all makes more sense the more you work on it. But when you (in this case, ME) keep doing the same early stuff in separate projects, they all suffer from the same flaws and imbalances...it's kind of annoying.

Huh, back to RPG making!

[Biggie]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

Back when I played RPG Maker, yes.

I wouldn't exactly get bored with one idea, but I would normally have two games at a time so I switch from one to the other when I'd get tired of working with one formula.

[Red Dragon]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

When I think of what I want to do, before I even start, I want to do another project. So I shut-down and don't make anything.

[Ωbright]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

Anyway, I think the biggest problem with having lots of unfinished projects is that it makes them all suffer.

Not necessarily! It'll certainly make all games take longer to finish, but I think that working on lots of games at once can be a good idea, so long as you're not too precious about any of them. Just go with your ideas without thinking too much about the pressure of completing the game.

You might actually find that you'll wind up having a 'main' project, and several side shoots. Those side games can be very important as far as developing new ideas, which can then be imported into your main project.

Also, who the hell knows which project you'll want to stick with for the long run? You might just pick up one of the side games and run with it when things go a little bit cold on your main game.

It CAN get a little crazy though, when you keep coming up with new game ideas instead of working on your current game. Perhaps if you just wrote down the ideas you had on paper, and then moved on?

When I reached the point in making my first game that I was burned out, the ONLY thing that helped me to finish it was beginning to work on a new project (my 2nd game). It was like I was actually scared to finish it without having a new project to catch me or something. I did the same thing with Tree of Life in order to finish it.

In short, it's NOT necessarily a bad thing to work on multiple projects, as long as you don't go overboard with it.

[orius]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

That makes sense...it's why I'm trying to go for a shorter, simpler project at the moment. I think that finishing a project, even if it's lame and bad, will help motivate me to finish some of my other projects...

Yeah, sometimes working on a small project is a good way to see if an idea will work without cranking up a really big game. Sometimes, it can be worth it to flesh them out into a full playable demo to share the idea with others too. That's what I did with the second game I uploaded here, I just made a demo for an idea I had, and I think I left the coding visible in case anyone was curious.

[Dallas Alvis II]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

I've had this problem in the sense that I have so many ideas flying around at once and I stop and think "Yeah, maybe that's good for a sequel" or "probably would work best for a different story, maybe in another project" that it was hard to stay focused on the game at hand. One of the reasons why I got a bit ahead of myself. It was with my RPGM1 game that I never finished. Haven't worked on it in about 4 years actually. Truth be told, I'm surprised my thread for it is still there...

[Perversion]

Re: Anyone else have trouble focusing on one project?

My big problem for the past 3 years or so with RPGM (I use 3) is I'll have some overly elaborate or high-concept idea that I'm excited about for about a month, begin work, hit a logistical snag, give up and move on to another "brilliant" idea floating around in the nether regions of my mind.


And the cycle continues.