When do you stop making games?

[Shion Kreth]

Alright, I'll answer more seriously, I think the time to stop is when you longer have the drive to make it anymore. Whatever your motivation was; creative expression, wanting a game made exactly right, recognition, spreading some joy to the people who play it, whatever, if it's gone then you're done, until if and when it returns. I think that's really all it comes down to.. if it's important to you you'll come back to it, if not the people who've played it will understand.

 

[Mouser]

And if the people who've played it don't understand, screw 'em.

Seriously there's this weird thing that happens with fans: could be movies, a TV show, anything like that where they get this idea that the creator, publisher, producer owes them something - "The X-Files producer/director (can't be bothered to look up the name) owed it to the fans to end the series when Mulder stopped playing his part" and things like that. Hopefully you have real live people close to you in your life - those are the people you need to be concerned with. Everyone else in the world comes 2nd (or 3rd or ...)

 

[whitesphere]

Jim Butcher (of Dresden Files fame) once described the creative process.  He said that, when writing a novel, the start of the novel was easy to write.  And the end was easy to write. But he had the hardest time ever in the middle, to connect the beginning and ending which he saw clearly.  

For our perspective on RPGs, it's probably the same.  It's easy to start making an RPG, when the towns and concepts start easily.  And, it's easy to visualize the end of your RPG, perhaps the climactic battle between the Final Boss and the PCs, and when the Dark Conspiracy is totally uncovered, and the world hangs in the balance.

But, the middle is always the hardest.  You have a chunk of the RPG done, so you're confined in what you create, and yet you're also confined because you want to coherently steer the game towards the desired ending (or endings if your game has multiple endings)

I'd say see where the current threads in your RPG go.   In my little example, maybe the start was pleasant, but now quests start to have hints of darkness or insanity, maybe PCs and NPCs have phases of doubt or other changes which lead them towards the ending.

And, as others have said, maybe you need a break from the RPG. After all, creativity does not come on a set schedule.  

 

[TheGreenHorse]

It depends too much on you.

First thing that you started it because you had some desire to do it. Mostly because you have a utterly beautiful idea you want to make true.

Sometimes, in the middle, you get frustrated because you do not have everything upto your own, you have to complete something that was overspent and slowly gets expired as bieng fun and lively. At this time, you can take a break as all others have said. It freshens your mind and you can continue doing it without frustration.

However, it's nothing good to say that "I'M NOT DOING IT BECAUSE IT IS UNPOPULAR".

You made it for yourself, end it for yourself. Never get discouraged because your works are not unpopular.

And like euphoria, i hate playing something which is not complete.

 

[C-C-C-Cashmere (old)]

My advice: make a really short game and see if it gets popular. Challenge yourself to make a game in, like, a month. Or a week.


Who knows? It might be really fun. Maybe even more fun than your current one?

 

[whitesphere]

My advice: make a really short game and see if it gets popular. Challenge yourself to make a game in, like, a month. Or a week.

Who knows? It might be really fun. Maybe even more fun than your current one?

I think this is the reward everyone can win from the Indie Game Maker Contest.   It feels like a great accomplishment now that I've finished my first (very small) game.  Even though I'm sure it needs more polishing, and I'm equally sure I won't win anything since it's my first game, ever, so I'm sure the quality isn't anywhere near what long term game developers can do in a month, it's still a success.

And, each time we finish even a small game, we get better and better at each step in the process, from planning out the game world, to developing the story, choosing enemies, building maps, creating NPCs, scripted events, etc.  We learn, especially from playtesters, what we do that works and doesn't work, and can improve our skills that way.

It's sort of like the Nanowrimo challenge.  My first novel was just bad, but each time I did another the next year, it turns out I learned a lot from the previous year, to the point where I actually like reading the end result, rather than facepalm and say "It was such a good idea in my head.  What happened?"

There's just no substitute for Butt In Chair time.  And no real substitute for playtesting during the process.

But, I think it is time to stop making games in general if you don't enjoy the process.  I think it's fair to say not everyone can learn the same level of skill at all of the many steps involved in creating a full fledged RPG, which is why you see many commercial RPGs for game systems have such a long list of credits.