Welcome @Hedwyn.
“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” Mahatma Ghandi.
This quote sits above my computer screen and I have to say that it sustained me many times during the 3+ years that I worked part-time on my first Inform game, The Time Machine.
I wrote version 1.0 for ParserComp 2021 and I didn’t have any problems sustaining my energy and enthusiasm for the game during those twelve months of development since it was all new. Aside from some previous tinkering for Cragne Manor, I was an Inform novice and every day was a new adventure. Problems that baffled me one day would be solved the next and I was always able to find answers on this forum. While I had to cut down my original concept to make the contest date, I was pleased with what resulted and quite surprise that my game ranked 6th out of 18 submissions.
For some reason I decided that I needed to work on a v2.0. I wanted to make the game better and I figured it would only take me a few months. Looking back at my original notes for this version I listed the following goals:
- Add more narrative
- Better worldbuilding (more characters, more locations, synonyms, default responses, etc.)
- Reduce code complexity
- Make it easier to extend game
Halfway through version 2.0 I also decided to add images for rooms and characters to give me a chance to experiment with Midjourney and generative AI.
By the time I submitted version 2.0 to Spring Thing 2024’s New Game Plus section I was sick of this game. Many times over the past two and a half years I wondered why I was putting in nights and weekends on a project that wouldn’t earn me any money, a project that even my family would probably not play unless I begged them. And every time that thought crossed my mind I raised my eyes to the Ghandi quote, probably muttered “F–k it” under my breath, and moved forward.
Aside from the learning and the problems solved, what makes it worthwhile for me is this community of like-minded people. There are people here who will volunteer to beta test your game and then be so diligent that you receive hundreds of bugs that you didn’t know existed. There are people here who will answer your questions or point you in a direction that helps you arrive at a solution. And there are people here who will play your game in a competition and either write a review or recommend a ribbon that surprises the hell out of you and makes you feel that someone, somewhere understands why you did this.
You are doing this for yourself for some reason. Keep at it and you’ll be amazed at what you discover about yourself, about your game, and about this community.
I’m currently working on my second game. Hopefully it won’t take three and a half years for me to finish it.