Monetization consultant and game designer Ethan Levy has worked as (among other things) both a big-budget game producer and an independent developer, both of which informed his brief talk at GDC 2015 about how to escape the "shame spiral" that can ensnare indie game makers.

Levy defines a shame spiral as the process whereby indie devs get distracted from working on their game, get depressed about not working on their game, then come up with an idea for a whole new game that excites them -- and promptly start anew, rather than sticking with their original plan.

At GDC Levy explained how he himself slipped into this pattern, and how he eventually applied his learnings as a producer to produce his way out of the spiral. It's a good talk, and you can now watch it for free via the GDC Vault's official YouTube channel.

If the talk appeals to you, you might also appreciate Levy's Gamasutra blog post about escaping these sorts of spirals.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent UBM Tech