I would like to know that I am not the only one who has these moments. Right now, Unity is open and I just don’t feel like working on anything. To come home from work and just look at the project and not do anything is not the goal. What do people do to keep their motivation up?
I run into this a lot. The trick (for me) is to keep myself motivated on at least one connected domain. Say I’m baking and fixing n*infinity normal maps (tedious).
If I feel less motivated, I drop whatever it is I’m doing and I’ll start working on a related field (like completing a piece of code, creating a new model or even reading a 3D related/ marketing/ PR book)
This way, I can keep myself motivated and less bored while also moving the project forward or learning something new that might come in handy later-on (or in another project altogether).
When I’m really down (the moments you start wondering whether it’s worth it or sleepless nights) I just take a break from my daily schedule/ routine and go hiking for 2-3 days. No technology, no deadlines, no nothing. The steeper the mountains, the better (less time to think about stuff).
I have the exact same problem sometimes…
I find it usually happens to me when I get stumped programming wise. Or when something I have been putting off is now the only thing left to work on ( GUI I am looking at you )
I find that actually getting started is the hardest part, because once I get going I loose track of time and before I know it I have been at work for 3 hours.
I think the big problem here is that I usually love game design, and in the back of my head I am afraid that if I force myself to work on it when I am not in the mood I will start to resent it. But in reality it doesn’t work like that. Sometimes you just have to make yourself work even if it isn’t any fun( Especially when it gets to the point where you have deadlines ).
This, times 1000. As much as I love game design (making levels, enemies, powerups…) every now and then I just get down on a project, start wishing I was working on something else or think that I have a better idea that is more worth the time.
When this happens I try to draw concept art for whatever Im working on to remind myself why I like the project Im doing!
EDIT: Also, show your project to other people! Not only does this help you improve it, but I find it motivating to see people play my games and give me feedback.
Yep I think everyone has these moments, I certainly do.
What I do is this:
If I am using a lot of time on something and not really making progress, just make the decision to stop. Go work on something else, I will come back to it in the future but for now it’s just wasting time… so don’t waste more looking for a way through, just stop.
Make a list of other things that need doing. What are all the big things that I need to do before I can do a release (of whatever I’m working on)? Inevitably, some not so big things work in there and you get a fairly detailed list. Put it in a proper to do somewhere with notes and priorities, such as in my IDE.
Review the list, cross off any older things that are complete.
Pick something interesting and start working on it. It can kick me out of a rut, and soon, crossing things off that todo list becomes motivation in itself. Heck, in the middle of a project just trying to stop it growing is a challenge.
Stick to the todos or add new ones. Don’t decide to just work on something else for a bit! Big killer to getting things finished. The start is always the most fun, it will seem so much better, suck you in, and before you know it you have half a dozen unfinished, unstructured bits of work and it’ll be just as hard choosing what project to work on as what todo item.
It’s a simple thing really just keeping a list of things to do and revisiting it every time I’m in a rut. But it really does help keep focused on the important stuff, not get to bogged down in the details. You naturally come back to the details if they’re important - and if not, they aren’t worth the time.
I play mw2 and try to imagine how they made each piece of code and asset.
- Create a to do list.
- Work on your to do list.
After every items that you complete, take a break. Maybe eat a snack or work out.
+1
I also find setting deadlines, making roadmaps, and using a planner to schedule your day helps a lot.
Happens to me all the time too 
I work on something, full of motivation and hope and then after some time the motivation fades, and I just think… what am I doing, what’s the point, even if I finish this there are so many way better games/ 3d models or something in those lines out there etc.
I don’t know why or how, but when I look at something like the latest games and how good they are, or amazingly realistic 3d models someone created, something happens to me that keep comparing my work to those 3d models, games or what ever… If my work doesn’t look as good as that (happens most often), I just give up or keep working and working on it until I lose interest and just drop it. 
I know that those games are created by big teams, professionals, most of those cool 3d models are done by talented artists but for some reason I just keep comparing them to my work >.<
i am having one of this moments right now. I go away now make myself a cup of tea and read forums. That damn sun is so tedious too. Its to hot in my room and my brain does not want to write C# methods. 
A number of motivational things come to mind, but to be honest I have been in a similar situation for a couple of weeks now. So obviously whatever nonsense I use to motivate myself hasn’t worked too well for myself.
It would be easy to say I’m exhausted after reqular work, but same thing happened occasionally before the job as well and there are weekends when I’m fully rested and nothing will be done. I think this indicates that it isn’t really exhaustion, but some kind of “state of mind” problem.
I still think the game is awesome and developing isn’t that bad really. I’m not sure why I can’t always find the drive to do it.
If you get tired of working on your project take a break, play some games or do anything else. Then come back and try again. If the motivation still isn’t present try thinking about different aspects of your game project and review everything in your head. Even doing something not related to pc work would help. Try some character or object drawing on good old paper and pencil. Or go online and research game design. That normally motivates me. However, of late, I can’t stop thinking about game design. :lol:
One thing I learned recently is that if you create a goal for yourself that is too difficult and you keep on running into brick walls with it, failing to do it, failing to find the time, you become more and more guilty feeling. Gradually the guilt makes you resentful and blocks your creativity, stops you dead in your tracks and tells you you’re worthless. Starting out with all these plans about what you’re going to do is just too much to live up to.
Get rid of the plans. Get rid of the long term. Get rid of the hugely impressive ideas you had. Get back down to simple, one day at a time, one moment at the time, going with the flow, experimenting, having fun, being in the moment. Stop beating yourself over the head with stuff that you can’t live up to. Keep it simple and manageable and put limits on the wide open door of endless possibilities. Small, simple, and successfuly.
get pumped up before you start with something like this maybe:
Dont’ get overly excited though. Just truely believe that you can. Focus. Execute.
At least that’s how it should work in theory 
In practice, maybe you just need to get laid first
Seems to be cyclical for me…sometime late in the year I might get the bug, working full steam through the winter, then eventually burn out. (Still have yet to finish something 100%…)
Often I get distracted by playing games…but I think i’m overloaded with games (Steam sales), and I seem to be getting back into working on stuff again. Have a pretty cool dinosaur in the Zbrush stage…will I get it rigged? animated? programmed? Time will tell
Another thing that often kills me is new tools (like a major ZBrush update or something), then I feel the need to play with them. Though this time the new tool is the Unity3 beta and it’s actually kind of gotten me going again.
Oh yeah and my real job can have a big impact, in the middle of an SAP implementation which tends to vent off some of my programming energy
I read these posts and I feel exactly the same! Here are some things I do:
HARD TO GET STARTED: If you don’t have any project going on, and don’t even know where to start. Aim to do something very small, the smallest thing you can do, even if it’s just turn on your PC and open Unity3D and that’s it. After that, you might feel tempted to just create a cube, and make it spin 360. If you can do that, it’ll help you start your engine. Going from 0 to 60 is the hard part, after that nothing can stop you.
LOSS OF MOTIVATION: Sometimes you are in a project and you don’t feel like it’s rewarding anymore. That happens to me when I aim too high. It becomes too much work for very little reward, and it’s only natural I lose interest. For this it’s very important not to aim too high, in fact, aim as low as you can, play some NES ROMS! or CELLPHONE GAMES! Also if you are stuck in certain aspect of your project, leave it for later, try focusing in some other part of the game.
This is an unfortunate habit I find myself doing by accident on everything. I can’t really enjoy playing games anymore because when I do play them, I just feel like making my own (Suppose this is good, but what if I can’t ever play video games again :(.
As I’ve been running my game project since 18 monthes straight on nighttime, the only motivation axis are :
Love (of VGames) and Discipline.
If I’m finding myself losing Love motivation, this is because of a bad gamedesign, so I rework it.
If it’s because of losing discipline, I just switch my mind off and put myself to work.
Blindly following this method since 2008, and it works.
Good luck
I have this issue too. It is easy to get excited about a concept and start the ball rolling, but finding the motivation to finish is the crux. Inspiration and ideas are nice, but follow-through is priceless.
I’ve found the best long term motivation is external. Someone suggested showing the project to others, and that helps me a bit, but what really helps is finding someone else who will also invest (time, money, sweat or tears) in the project.
Find a partner.
That in itself can be really hard to do, but once you have a dedicated partner, keeping the motivation is easier. You aren’t just in it for yourself any more. You have accountability. If you fail, you’re not just holding yourself up, but your partner too. That can be very motivating.
It is also worth noting that motivation and follow-through come very naturally to some people. Partnering up with one of those is ideal.
There is one other thing that has pushed me through projects, but it isn’t something you can really do anything about. There is nothing more motivating than need. If you have bills to pay or a family to support, failure is not an option. Motivation isn’t even an option. You do what you have to.
Motivation :
'nuff said.