YOUR BIGGEST STRUGGLES/BLOCKS as a developer

[whitesphere]

I would say self-criticism.  I'll start with a cool idea, and as the game goes along, I keep asking myself "What good is this?  I know I'm nowhere near the skill I've seen in other games."  Simply put, if I don't think it's worth someone's free time, I basically toss the game out, because I think there's already a glut of really bad RPG Maker games out there.

In particular skills, mapping is definitely my worst skill, and I think it's one of the most important since it IS the world the player sees.  So I often end up tossing games that seem interesting in my head but which come out poorly.

And I know, realistically, I have no desire to ever go commercial with a game.  Why?  From what I've seen it takes years of work on a single game to make a commercial game (well, one that is at all successful), and then you need to have a thick skin to deal with harsh criticism, some justified, much Internet troll-based.  And I don't have a thick skin.

And, in the highly unlikely event I'm willing to do that --- work on a single game for years, grow a thick skin, etc --- I'd have to do that several more times to even hope to have a prayer of living on the income.  And if that miracle happened, then the game making would go from a hobby to a nerve-wracking "Are my games good enough to pay my bills this month?" question, every month.  The latter, I'm sure, is what every creative person goes through, no matter what they're making.

 

[OldIrishMN]

Interesting question... in my case, I'd say it's twofold.

First, I'm new to RPGMaker and the community, and I had no expectations coming in... so I'm experiencing a sort of deer-in-headlights sensation at seeing the complexity and the visual sophistication of what so many people have accomplished here. I was so proud of myself for building a very basic RPG, and then I realized it was more or less like graduating from kindergarten.

Second, and on a related note... I've only just discovered what roadblocks my own complacency and arrogance could be if I don't recognize and control them. In my day job life I'm a professional writer and have been for years, and I've thought of myself in that way-- "professional"-- for so long it's become internalized. I've never doubted my ability to produce high-quality stuff, and I'm used to (perhaps even spoiled by...?) working with people who don't doubt it, either. 

I'm a bit chagrined to realize that I approached building my first game with that complacency in full force. I assumed that as an experienced writer AND long-time game player and critic, good game design would be easy and natural... and it's not. As I began to explore the topic more deeply, especially through some really cool Youtube video series on design processes and project planning, I realized how backwards my thinking had been. Good game design requires a new set of skills that I've got to consciously hone as I move forward, and that sensation of once again being a newbie in a creative field has me feeling both excited and sort of terrified.  

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

Wow! Great to see people opening up about stuff.

Another one of my biggest downfalls is that I'm SOOPER sensitive about my work. I take even GOOD HELPFUL criticism personally. That's just been my nature since as far back as I can remember. I'm trying to change, but changing who you are is never an easy thing to do. I know they mean well and I know there's no malice behind MOST of them, but still.  

So whenever I get critiques, I take a huge breatk, stand back and read over it many many many times. That tends to help me. I take in the good and ignore stuff like "lolol that sux ahahaha"

 

[Makio-Kuta]

Stopping and not being able to convince myself to start again is my biggest problem. I can power through a lot of things, but the second I have to stop (because of being sick or work or other obligations) for an extended amount if time, getting back to it is so hard.

When I get pushed off the horse, I'm too short to climb back on by myself haha if it were.

That's probably why I work best with short deadlines because I power like crazy and don't allow myself to stop until it's done.

 

[Indrah]

What Maki said, squared u_u

Fighting off the urge to start sideprojects. grinding through *euw* eventing long choreographed cutscenes.

 

[Sharm]

Perfectionism and trying to do it all myself. They're really the same problem, I only work alone because holding up other people to my impossible standards isn't fair and I have a hard time trusting other people to make something I want to be a part of. I keep thinking things like "man, I'm such a slow writer, maybe I should get someone else to write for me" but then I refuse to let someone else be the writer if they're not better at it than I am. Same with all the other aspects of game creation. But the perfectionism slows me down to the point where nothing is ever done at all. I think sometimes "I would work with this person in a second, their stuff is such high quality that I'd never have to worry about it not meeting my standards" but then I realize that this also means I'm not good enough to work with them so I say nothing.


That brings up the second big problem. I'm painfully shy. I doubt anyone here would believe it, but it's true. I have this deep seated belief that no one really would want to talk to me or do a project with me. If I ever finished a project I'd never be able to properly promote it, I'd just post it somewhere once while feeling brave and then think it's really weird that anyone was looking at it at all. It's a feeling somewhere between "Oh my gosh they might actually like my stuff!" and "Why are you looking at it? Aaaaah! Stop, don't look!"

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

Perfectionism and trying to do it all myself. They're really the same problem, I only work alone because holding up other people to my impossible standards isn't fair and I have a hard time trusting other people to make something I want to be a part of. I keep thinking things like "man, I'm such a slow writer, maybe I should get someone else to write for me" but then I refuse to let someone else be the writer if they're not better at it than I am. Same with all the other aspects of game creation. But the perfectionism slows me down to the point where nothing is ever done at all. I think sometimes "I would work with this person in a second, their stuff is such high quality that I'd never have to worry about it not meeting my standards" but then I realize that this also means I'm not good enough to work with them so I say nothing.

That brings up the second big problem. I'm painfully shy. I doubt anyone here would believe it, but it's true. I have this deep seated belief that no one really would want to talk to me or do a project with me. If I ever finished a project I'd never be able to properly promote it, I'd just post it somewhere once while feeling brave and then think it's really weird that anyone was looking at it at all. It's a feeling somewhere between "Oh my gosh they might actually like my stuff!" and "Why are you looking at it? Aaaaah! Stop, don't look!"

Yup! That's pretty much me in a nutshell. Moreso the second one. Painfully shy, that is.

 

[lemongreen]

I kind of hate to say it, but my own creativity is my biggest block. Seriously, I really only got into RPG Maker as a tool to help with writer's block (because I actually really love to write and at the time I got Ace I was struggling with ideas) and now I don't know if I'll wake up wanting to write or work with RPG Maker (or both which can be really hard to do)

I also have low self confidence making it hard to trust that I do anything right (I've been working on that, though) 

I'd have to say I'm shy as well; I don't always feel people want to hear what I have to say or want to be bothered with whatever it is I need help with...

 

[Matseb2611]

@ Oceaniqo, Sharm, and Lemongreen: Sorry to hear about the whole being shy thing holding you back. What I can say for sure is that none of you is alone in this and many people feel apprehensive to put their own work out to public out of fear of being hurt by critique. I'll also admit that being shy and self-confidence has been a long-winded battle for me too for a big portion of my life, but the only way you can start gaining an upper hand is to simply laugh in the face of adversity and do what you set out to do anyway.

If people don't like one of your creative works, does it really matter? Would it matter in a month or a year when you've likely produced another, a much better one? When I've put my first Ace game here on the forums, most people ignored it, and those who didn't, pretty much only criticised it. Heck, it had two 1-star ratings. Despite that, I simply kept working on my next game, because I knew I could make that one better than the first. Trying to get things perfect is a losing battle, because nobody can create something that is absolutely perfect. What you can do is improve with each piece of work you put out, making each one better than the last, and most of all learning from the helpful criticism of others. It is important to keep in mind that most people that give constructive critique do so with good intentions (even if their post might seem angry or ranting). And those who troll can be safely ignored, because they're just trying to get a reaction out of you.

So I am hoping you guys will be less apprehensive of putting your work out there. It is better to have your work seen and played by others and possibly disliked by half the audience than to not be seen by anyone at all.

 

[Sindaine]

For me it's simply time. I have a full-time job, my wife also works and we have children, so my time is spent (Well) elsewhere. As important as it is for me to release something, and I'm getting anxious to do so, my family is simply a higher priority.

Sindaine

 

[Sharm]

@Matseb2611: I don't know about the others, but what you're describing isn't what my shyness is like at all. I'm not afraid of putting my stuff out there, I do it all the time. I also adore a good critique. Instead I'm afraid of putting me out there in a situation where I can disappoint people. It's less an anxiety about my skills and more a social anxiety. I appreciate the concern, and no worries, it won't keep me from making and sharing stuff. It just keeps me from being proactive about advertising and gaining partners to work with.

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

Matseb, That's some pretty sound advice there.  But I've got it both ways. It's both an anxiety with my skills AND a social anxiety.

"what if I'm not good enough? What if I disappoint everybody? What if people mark me as a failure based on X person's scathing remarks?"
A whole bunch of questions race through my head and they make my heart pound.

 

[Another Ned]

This thread just made me realize something about myself.
I started to write something, then stopped: "Nah, probably won't be of any help."
Tried again, "That doesn't add anything of value, I guess."
And again, "An anecdote? What are you thinking?!"
Good thing I'm working alone on my project since if it came to communication, I'd have this nice little barrier keeping me from talking to others.

But what I wanted to say was this:
I combat most of my moments of shyness/anxiety with indifference (you'll know if I'm successful in this instance if I manage to post this).
Usually it's like this:
Brain: "You're not good enough. This looks awful. You call this anatomy?"
Me: "Shut up, I'm working."
Brain: "You're such a disappointment."
Me: "Your fault for expecting anything of me."
And so on.
Don't know if this is helpful to anybody, or if it only works because I've got a slightly bad personality and am not exactly an emotional person.
(At the very least, it may add to someone's character behaviour collection <-- what I'm telling myself to actually post something)

Oh, before I forget: Having people relying on me also helped to gain a lot of confidence since I simply could not afford to let them down just because I was doubting myself/my work.
 
And I think this is the right place to mention this: Overcoming Impostors Syndrome

This article should be more helpful than my rambling.

 

[CzarSquid]

I kind of hate to say it, but my own creativity is my biggest block. Seriously, I really only got into RPG Maker as a tool to help with writer's block (because I actually really love to write and at the time I got Ace I was struggling with ideas) and now I don't know if I'll wake up wanting to write or work with RPG Maker (or both which can be really hard to do)

I also have low self confidence making it hard to trust that I do anything right (I've been working on that, though) 

I'd have to say I'm shy as well; I don't always feel people want to hear what I have to say or want to be bothered with whatever it is I need help with...

When it comes to RPGmaker games no one is really unique when it comes to ideas and game mechanics. It's all been done before with bigger, better games. However, this should not stop you from making games but rather you should learn what makes those other games great. Why start cold, with no idea what you want when you can take notes from the best of games? Why are those games fun? What stories work really well? How would you recreate a story if you were given a chance to do so. Really that's what I did with my games. I pick a game I want to emulate and then make all the changes I need to make it something that is my own. I'm not afraid to admit that both the games I've worked on have been inspired by other games. Heck, it means that people can expect a similar experience.

Here is some suggestions I can give to help with the low self confidence. First, make sure you playtest your game regularly. Make sure every event, switch, and trigger works correctly. I can promise if you make a fully working game that has as little bugs possible that you will avoid many of the negative criticisms. Doing this will show people you at least know how to make RPGmaker games.

Second, no one is going to tear you or your game apart on these forums. Especially if it's still in the making. They might not like it but that's fine you cannot please everyone. I know if someone is brutal with it that they can get banned. Asking people to review your work will help you to know how you can improve. How can you improve on anything if you are not willing to accept criticism? It shows that people do care about your game and want to help make it better. Also knowing your audience is key. Realize that certain kinds of people will enjoy your game.

Third, shyness is a natural feeling. Naturally we don't want to offend others and we are afraid of how people respond. The only way to get over the shyness is just talk to people and do what you really want. People have all kinds of backgrounds, personalities and traits. Not everyone is black and white. I find that most people are friendly. When it comes to the internet, honestly one of the harshes places to socialize. But these forums are mostly safe. People here just want to have fun and make RPGmaker games. Take comfort in that people want to do the same thing as you here.

 

[Lunarea]

My biggest block is lack of clones/cloning technology. 

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

@CzarSquid and Chiara, very good advice, you two. I'll have to keep that in mind the next time that happens to me.

 

[Sharm]

My biggest block is lack of clones/cloning technology. 

It's so true!  The things I could do if I just had more of me!

 

[erpicci]

It's so hard to admit, but... I'm not motivated enough to finish what I start.

I haven't been using RPG Maker for some years (school, university...) but, last time I did, I started some projects, with a lot of enthusiasm, solo (another bad habit), then slowly stopped to work on them.

At first it was like "I don't have time... maybe later", then it became "...it's no worthy".

Well, now I'm back and I hope I can change this

 

[CrazyCrab]

Eh, for me it's always finishing what I started. 

I have 2 massive projects open, with over 100 hours of work in each, yet I just want to start a new one... why? 

Well I always keep going until I solve the problem, in the last project it was eventing a city builder system, with building upgrades, a thing that checks if you can build that there, a tracker that keeps the number and effects of every building, somewhat complex stuff. That said once I finished it, I stopped working on the project, as I lacked motivation to carry on... no more problems, no longer motivated to solve them. Ugh.

Hopefully this next project will go better.

Oh, art as well. I never manage to find suitable stuff for anything and I'm paranoid when it comes to using RTP resources... the comments I've seen. Lets just say that many people just auto-hate any game that uses them.

 

[IRHP]

Lack of talent and learning disabilities, bluntly. The only thing I know is what I don't like in games and what I do, so that's what I use creatively, coupled with my bland imagination.

I think I can make good games with help and input, honestly. If I had the technical know-how I'd make a real Street Fighter-killer 2D Fighting game, and some great TCGs, TRPGs, and maybe decent 3D Fighters.