How do you deal with procastination/fear of failure?
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Sometimes when I'm in the middle of working on a project in fuze, I get to this point where stuff starts getting a little bit more complex, or I run into an obstacle, and I start procrastinating because I just don't wanna face that fear of "what if I can't get this right? this feels too hard, what if it turns out bad? what if I'm wasting my time?", or I'll just jump to a different idea (until that one gets hard), and basically I just don't complete any of my ideas.
I get these same feelings when I'm working on art projects, but I've been doing art for so long that I'm able to understand exactly where those feelings come from and I've established specific techniques and habits to deal with those moments when I wanna procrastinate or when I'm afraid of things not turning out right and I just wanna quit and move on. But I'm new to coding and making games, so as I start to develop my own ways of overcoming these feelings, I'd love to hear how the rest of you deal with them, if you have these feelings too.
How do you get over that fear of failure, and keep yourself going on a project even when it gets difficult? How do you stop yourself from procrastinating? What do you do when you're faced with a complex task?
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Well, beyond what you're doing with your art (ie, already knowing enough to be able to push through) then I think all you can really do is chat about it on the forum (well, you did ask :) ) or other online mediums - have you seen our discord? Or take a break. But then, yes, you are going to suffer from making sure that you come back to it.
I'm interested, I suffer the same problems.
I think it helps a lot sometimes to post the odd screenshot and just ask for opinions on what it is that you're finding overwhelming. We're pretty lucky here in that we have users of all different levels and I've yet to see a problem that someone couldn't help with at least, if not solve. OK, some of the more complex 3D stuff you may not get an immediate response but it never ceases to amaze me what Fuze users are producing so I think you should get the help or inspiration to carry on...
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@Martin its funny actually, after making this post I feel like just writing these thoughts out helped me. For me it's not necessarily any specific task that I need help solving, it's more of a general thing. I've always had a problem of procrastinating on ideas and projects once they got difficult, not because I couldn't figure it out, but because it was some kind of psychological block that was stopping me from trying. I think with practice, and with discipline, over time I'll get better with dealing with it. And knowing I'm not alone seems to help too. I think this is just a normal thing, part of the process.
I agree though that coming to this forum and seeing the amazing projects other people are working on definitely inspires me to keep going. When I was learning code before, I wasn't part of any community, and I ended up ditching my efforts early on. But now, my desire to grow with everyone here and contribute to this community keeps me going.
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I'm starting to see that there is something to be gained by refusing to fear failure.
My son has been doing school exams this week. He gets anxious. I told him to aim for 0%, anything else is a bonus.
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@DomDom wow, i really like that approach. i think it's more helpful than putting unnecessary pressure on a kid to do really well.
that reminds me of something Elon Musk said in an interview, about how you should just accept failure as an option, that way you're more prepared for it, and you're not worried about failing bc well... you've already accepted it. basically as you said "anything else is a bonus".
i was actually working on my game after i made this post, and i'm trying to go into it with more of a "i'm just gonna have fun and see what comes of this" mindset rather than a "omg it has to work, i'll be really upset if it doesn't" mindset. and that's helping me a lot :)
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@moonflower fact of the matter is as a game developer you're probably going to hit this wall during every single project. Spelunky developer Derek Yu describes it as a wasteland. I've heard it compared to the runners wall and to a feeling of drowning and honestly they're all correct. At a certain point you look at what you're working on, how far you've come and how far you need to go and it can feel overwhelming. Its important to power on, and not to give up. Personally what you did helps me, just write down how you're feeling somehwere, whether it's public or not.
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@Retrocade_media but you have to drown before you can swim, (at least according to James)
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@Retrocade_media drowning, wall, wasteland, they all sound pretty accurate lol >.< i used to hit this 'wall' all the time with art (that infamous art block) so it feels strange having to re-learn how to deal with it all over again now that i'm doing something so new and different. writing is super helpful to me, so you're right, i'll definitely have to just write it all out in my journal whenever the wall starts creeping up, and power on. thank you
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@DomDom i've drowned twice before but still can't swim LOL
but yeah i totally agree (metaphorically) haha
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@moonflower Me too!
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@pianofire wait you can't swim either ? ayy shallow water gang haha 😂
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@moonflower Afraid not and I grew up next to the sea!
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@pianofire wow, that sounds nice tho. being near water must be peaceful
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@moonflower It was a seaside holiday town. It was very busy in the summer and very quiet in the winter
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@moonflower That proves you have nothing to fear.
@pianofire Me too re. seaside town. I think SteveZX is another. Do you think the video arcades might have had an undue influence? -
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@DomDom wow, complete with mountains in the background and everything. its beautiful. what country is this if u don't mind me asking?
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@DomDom Wow,that is beautiful! I don't think that the Bristol channel can compete with that.
Yes arcades were very much why I became a programmer. Williams Defender was (and still is) my favourite game
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