For some people, the hardest part of any project is just getting started. There are many reasons why this can be the case, but for me, here are the two areas where I normally get stuck:

• Priorities – I have a family. I have many hobbies. Deciding what to focus on in the latter bucket and how to juggle that with the former is a challenge, and perhaps it is my biggest challenge when it comes to starting a new project. Deciding to focus on one thing and the expense of other things can be very difficult, especially when your project gets hard, or when a bright shiny object comes into view. Keeping your goals realistic is probably the single best rule worth following. Plan for a singular, specific goal, and then try to manage your time around that. For example, today I had the goal of getting my development environment setup and fixing a sample project to help get me started on my journey of building a small game in Love2D for my kids. As with any game, there are many steps, but I am not concerned about those at this point.
• Analysis Paralysis – It can be difficult to choose the right tools and technologies for a project. The reason behind the analysis is clear, but the cause of the paralysis is usually because I don’t know enough about the tools, technologies, or the project itself to make a decision. In this case, I suggest just jumping in and try to decide on one or two evaluation points, where you can take a step back and try to take what you have learned and apply it against what you have yet to build. Do you see any major problems with the tools and technologies you have chosen going forward? Do you need to make a pivot towards something else?

Categories: Game Development, Programming, Projects, Reflections
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