I don't often use this, and here is why. (part 1 of ?)

Game development is a tough gig. I wouldn't know more than most, or the least of the majority. But let me tell you, the act of taking raw passion and grinding it into a smooth refined piece of work is one of the most difficult things any human can do. Especially in this economy!

But why post now you ask? I know you didn't ask that, it was simply to get to my next ever so important point.

I need to finish what I start

I don't mean that figuratively, like clearing my plate at the dinner table or vacuuming ALL rooms. No I mean taking one of my passion infused sharp edged clumps of project and refining it into a meaningful smooth finalized product.

But why?

Well many reasons. Lets start with the most superficial and obvious:

1) To be self sustaining in this economy on your love you must learn to monetize it

This is a tough sell to most people (no pun intended). But its true across the board. If no one buys what you're selling then you probably don't have something worth making for money (unless you just suck at advertising, big UNLESS). You've got to find your niche, you've got to carve it out and make it yours and hold onto it tight and love what you do and do it with strength, vigor, tenacity, and sincerity. But also keep in mind the need to eat, the need to enjoy life, and most importantly, and this stands for most of the die hard independent developers out there; the need to sleep. Do not let the trepidation of stagnation, negative opinions, or harsh self critique get in the way of doing what you love

2) You need to while juggling your emotions, drive, talent, and financial situation take on the reality until you have all that under control you may have to sacrifice here and there

Everyone has a loved one (at least I hope). A family, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a pet. And we all love to be around them and it would be terrible to see them feeling left out. But unfortunately time away is still time well spent if you're putting it to good use! So do just that.I'm not saying seclude yourself in the attic and forget about society for a few years. No, just for a while at some lengths here and there. It helps. Its been proven long stints of concentration without interruption is how people get work done. Getting a phone call, a ball thrown at your head, or an invite every 10 minutes is not how you focus yourself to get something done. You need to learn to dedicate and self regulate. That rhymes, dedicate and self regulate. Jot that down in your mental notebook, I know I just did.

3) Failure is giving up, not barely getting by

What that means is everything short of your magnum opus being not worth doing is hogwash. I can't count the number of amazing companies out there that started making sub-par products or simple little things (some embarrassingly crappy) before getting on with the good stuff and being successful. Everything is incremental and working towards something. A finished model or a finished product are both milestones in your personal game development career. Don't treat everything you release to the public as your last breath, or you may find yourself with no breaths at all.

I'll extend on this soon enough in future posts.