Great post From experience and what I’ve witnessed I would definitely emphasise creating the hitlist (and breaking everything into small chunks) and the public commitment.

Ideally you should be pushing out news about the game pretty much from its outset, and if you’ve already got some public exposure around your game PLUS you’ve stated an end date it’s going to be pretty hard to then give up!

I’d also suggest that if possible you should really try and get someone with a fresh pair of eyes to look at your game AND your hit list. It can be very easy at this late stage to lose sight of what the game needs most since you are so close to it, but on the flip side you’re also at the stage where you can add great bang for buck to the game if you focus on the right things (ie the 80/20 rule).

The last thing I’d suggest would be to bookmark posts like this one, and read them again if you ever start hitting the wall. There are lots of other blog posts/post mortems from devs who have struggled past this hurdle and then reaped the rewards, and these could all be very motivational to read if you get stuck. Hmm… might have to compile a list of these myself!

Other potential options are:

- Get the game working well with programmer art and see if you can get a decent, committed artist on board who believes in the project who will work for royalties. It’s easier to get people on board if you have a track record, or at least a 80% finished game.
- Just pay someone. You might be able to work out a part cash and part royalties system which will save you some upfront cash. If you don’t have the money to pay someone, figure out a way to get the money. There are many ways if you want something bad enough.

However, the biggest challenge I face is media. I can code anything to happen but I can only create “coder art” which in the grand scheme of things is weak. I’ve been poking around the PD art market but the problem is that your artwork is not consistent looking. Again, even when you find art listed as free/PD, you never know where they got it which runs a risk…

What do you suggest for that issue?

Everyone WANTS to be more productive. No one sits around and thinks: “Hey, I wish I finished less stuff.” It’s easy to get emotionally charged behind a new product but the elephant that we’re riding has Attention Deficit Disorder.

The tips above are great. They’re like tips and tricks passed down from an old hand.

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