Grey Alien Games has a great article about overcoming game development obstacles. A very useful article, since this can be one of the most difficult tasks you will face. They can bring a project to a grinding stop or prevent you from even starting them. Here are some common problems, possible solutions and my opinion about them.

1. My day job takes up too much time
Try to dedicate as much free time as possible to developing games. Turn off the tv, cut back on visiting pubs, … Not the biggest problem for me, except I can’t seem to drop my gaming addiction. Ah, well, you gotta play games if you wanna make them, right?
Another very radical option is quitting your day job. This is definitely the most controversial topic when it comes to independent game development, and not for the faint of heart. When you quit your job to become a full time game developer, the choice is simple: you either make games and sell them, or you go broke and die. How’s that for a motivation?

2. I can’t quit my day job because I need the money
A good second option is getting a part-time job. You get a lot more time to work on games and at least you won’t starve to death. For me, neither quitting or a part-time job are options. Unless by some miracle I manage to build a commercial quality game that sells bigtime I will always keep my fulltime day job. Yes, I’m a chicken, but that’s the way it is.

3. I can’t find art for my game
Artists don’t work for free. There’s plenty of them that advertise their work on numerous forums. This brings us to the next two points:

4. I can’t afford an artist
Yes you can. If you REALLY can’t afford to, you probably live in a cardboard box and eat sewer rats.

5. I can’t get anyone to work for royalties
This one’s a real bitch. If you’re a beginning developer, like me, this won’t happen. It’s safe to assume your first games will be free games, so there will be no royalties. Also, nobody wants to work for royalties if you don’t have any work to show off. If you want to get good art at that point, you’ll have to pay up front, it’s that easy. When you have a decent portfolio of games so you can show artists you are able to finish a game, your chances are much better.

6. I don’t have enough time
Yes you do! Everybody has the same amount of time. You just have to set priorities.

7. My engine is taking too long
Here’s something I have said before and will probably say again lots of time: DON’T TRY TO REINVENT THE WHEEL! Developing an engine is a lot of work. Making a sprite move across the screen or creating a spinning, textured cube is easy. Building a game engine is not. I have tried it myself and unless you are John Carmack, there’s very little chance you’ll succeed within a reasonable amount of time. There are plenty of excellent engines available, some even for free, that are much better than anything you will ever build.

8. My partner won’t let me
This is a though one, and I’m probably the last person in the world to give advice about this. But anyway, here’s what I think about it: if your partner doesn’t respect your hobby, dump her (or him).

9. I’ve run out of motivation
This happens to everybody from time to time. Take a short break. Read Masters of Doom. Grey Alien Games recommends listening to game soundtracks. I prefer Rammstein or Nine Inch Nails, but it just might work!

10. The competition is strong
This shouldn’t be an obstacle but a motivation.

11. I’m not very good at programming
Programming isn’t really the hardest part of game development anymore. With the available engines, much of the hardest work is already done. Programming in Torque Script, for example, isn’t any more difficult than Javascript. With some practice you shouldn’t have any problems with this.

12. I’ve run out of ideas
Write down every little idea you get, even if it sounds stupid. Also, carry a small notebook (a paper one, not a laptop) with you at all times, so you can write stuff down. By doing this I have already collected ideas for at least five future games.

13. I have other more important things I should be doing instead
There’s only one thing I can say about this one. If this is how you feel, give up. No, really. If you have other things that are more important, don’t waste your time developing video games.