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In general software development, that great video SittingFox shared is basically describing Waterfall project management vs. Agile project management.
I can tell you from first hand experience that the more you iterate and refine your ideas, the more progress you will see, and with progress comes motivation. In my day job I have never ever delivered late, or at the very least, those holding me accountable for that schedule became part of the process and could understand why adjustments need to be made. That is completely because we've blazed a trail and DID things rather than TALK ABOUT doing things.
But as far as the game project I'm working on (which is a different, yet similar animal), I've had my bouts of not being motivated. But I've been most productive under the following conditions:
1) If you can, don't work alone. I'm lucky enough that my partner in crime is a talented artist, and the results, and seeing the results of turning ideas into tangible art is very motivating on the development side. In turn, seeing that artwork brought to life in the game motivates the artist to produce more. It's a productive cycle. Collaboration is a strong means of keeping yourself accountable to another party, and it distributes some of the burden of solving the problems.
2) Eat well, get plenty of sleep and exercise. It's amazing how your brain can sometimes multi-task and solves those problems keeping you from moving forward when you're sleeping. What you eat affects your brain chemistry, and consequently your desire to do anything. Plus if you're energized properly, you won't be tempted to call it a night after you've worked an 8+ hour shift at the day job, and need to make some progress on your game.
Most critical "ah-ha!" moments I've had have occurred while walking around the neighborhood at night (since we have to here in the intolerably hell-ish Arizona heat), not buried in my phone. But just walking and thinking.
A healthy developer is a productive one.
3) Realize your limitations and scope your project out properly. If you're a one-man (or woman) show, and you're making an ambitious Final Fantasy or Skyrim clone, you are setting yourself up for failure. If by some miracle you don't get bored with the effort, you won't release it for years and you won't be nearly as proud of it.
4) Write clear, self-documenting code (i.e. avoid comments) so it's easier to take breaks from it without having to re-acquaint yourself with what you were doing. Even if the game is slow as a result. You can always optimize these efforts later. (p.s. this is true of any software development)
5) Watch an inspiring movie. Indie Game: The movie, is a good one to watch for this. You get to see how successful developers like Team Meat and Phil Fish have struggled with all of the problems you're facing and then some. It can be humbling.
This last bit doesn't work for everyone, because not everyone makes these kinds of games.. But if your game has "super heroic" or character driven elements, watch a great comic book movie like The Avengers (or whatever your preference is), and imagine how your game could cross over into other kinds of media. Example... If you were the developer of Duck Game and having creative roadblocks, what would "Duck Game: The movie" look like?
6) Make lists. Make goals. And keep them all within a day or two's amount of effort. I recommend trello to manage this. It's free, they have a mobile app so you can add stuff from your phone (you know.. when you're out walking). Every attainable sub-goal is an element of your overwhelming end goal.
Originally Posted by arcticdog
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