Trying to Find Time for Game Development

Noob GameDev: Part 3

Something I have had to learn the hard way about making games and game assets, particularly doing it part time, is that you need to be very creative and flexible on setting aside time to do it.

If you put in a long day or week at your day to day job, it can be difficult to find the motivation to fire up that computer and start building games or game assets. The last thing someone "wants" to do is work after they get done working.

It becomes increasingly difficult if you attempt to maintain a social life, family time, exercise, or just about anything that normally gets squeezed in during your spare time. Yet, that isn't the actual hard part...

The hard part is actually accepting that you need to make time no matter what! Maybe that means getting up and hour or two early to put some time in your game or asset, maybe before bed spending an extra thirty minutes or even using part of your lunch break. Because if you don't find a way to make time, you never will.

Whether you do or don't all depends on what making games means for you. If you plan on making it nothing more than a hobby that you do every now and then, you could probably get by with just working on your games a few times a week.

If you are someone who truly enjoys building video games and wants to turn it into something more, then you are going to have to make time. it isn't going to be fun or easy, especially the first week or so, but it will pay off in the end.

I choose to get up extra early in the day and do most of my designing before the sun comes up. Do I enjoy it? Absolutely Not! Do I see progress on my work? Absolutely!

That last part is what will help drive making time, because once you start to see parts of your game that were on hold start to come together, or that asset package that was stuck in limbo, that makes the time spent feel well worth it.