My deterrent to motivation.

Part of the problem is you have never made a game so you’re not sure how to go about it. The answer to that is the same advice I would give you if you were trying to write a book. You just need to make yourself write the book.

I have had several games published and it took years before one was accepted by a publisher. In other words your first game or games may not be very good or as good as they should be but to learn you have to first try.

My process is simple.

1. Write down everything that I can think of for the game; mechanics, look, feel, audience, etc…
2. Think about how the players will interact with it.
3. Write/rewrite the rules.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until I’m happy with it.
5. Make a quick prototype (simple as i can)
6. Solo test it (you are all the players)
7. Adjust rules and prototype.
8. Repeat step 6 and 7 until I’m happy with it.
9. Test it with people I know
10 Adjust rules and prototype
11. Repeat step 9 and 10 until I’m happy with it.
12. Get people I don’t know well to test it.
13. Refine rules and prototype.
14. Repeat step 12 and 13 until I feel it’s 90% finished.
15. Continue to work on it while i find a publisher that may be interested and follow their submission policies.

This being said I usually have 3 or 4 games I rotate working on. When I get stuck on one I move to another that I have not worked on in some time which I can then look at with a new perspective.

i do not focus on the publication and production side of things, mostly because you never know where your game will end up. it might become a mobile app for all you know instead of a board game sold on store shelves, and with radically different platforms comes different ways to bill your customer.

but in my opinion, if you design with the intent to earn money, your ideas will naturally flop, just focus on giving the player end a good experience with your game, and the rest can be worried about later

Stop thinking and start doing.

Forget about motivation, it isn't real. You'll never feel motivated to do something new and difficult. The key to success is to create HABIT.

Sit down today and make a small game for at least one hour. Focus on simplicity and creating something that is playable. Use dice, playing cards, paper and pencil and whatever else is available right now. Don't wait or put it off until you have an idea... just do it.

Tomorrow, make a decision whether you have anything worth building on. Follow up on any potentially good ideas from yesterday or search for new ones until you have something solid and playable. Do not skip your development hour NO MATTER WHAT.

Put in the work every day until it's become a habit and your motivation no longer matters.

Let me let you on a a secret as a published designer... I'm rarely motivated. But, I've created a schedule that forces me to work on games every day. My motivation usually doesn't come until I'm already working and making progress or knee deep in a tough problem.

If you want to make games, MAKE GAMES. It seems like a simple concept, but it's actually very effective.