I was casually browsing the forums earlier and I saw a few posts where the author announced his in-progress, almost-finished, or just-started project, and there were some comments that bewildered me quite a bit, specifically: "Don't announce a project while it's in production - it'll only drive your motivation downhill."
Madness, I thought! Humans love to talk about themselves and the things that are happening in their lives, so why would a seemingly primitive attribute be considered amiss? Well, being the inquisitive individual that I am, I did some research.
And boy was it a moment of revelation for me!
Tests conducted in 1933 show that individuals who speak about their intentions are less likely to make it happen.
"Four different tests of 63 people found that those who kept their intentions private were more likely to achieve them than those who made them public and were acknowledged by others. Once you've told people of your intentions, it gives you a “premature sense of completeness.” You have “identity symbols” in your brain that make your self-image. Since both actions and talk create symbols in your brain, talking satisfies the brain enough that it “neglects the pursuit of further symbols.” "
Source: http://sivers.org/zipit
Source: http://www.colipera.com/ csi-ted-talks-what-derek-sivers-was-really-saying/
ID:1453997
 Dec 25 2013, 9:48 pm
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Dec 26 2013, 3:44 am
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Magicsofa
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I think that talking about your project while you have a lot of the development already done is not a bad idea. I definitely know what it is like to have that false sense of completeness. But, you might be in the middle of a project and begin to lose that initial spark of motivation you had...in which case showing off your work to others and having them express interest in playing the final project could help you to keep chugging along
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Well, it certainly depends on how you look at it. The test further elaborated that if you tell 'supportive' people of your intentions, then said motivation might not diminish as much. So it's either tell people who you know will support you or keep quiet unless inquired about it.
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It's a shame we don't have a community of supportive people then.
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I feel as if you're more likely to make your intentions happen if you bet to someone that you will make it happen. As if it were a challenge. I'm sure nobody wants to lose.
What makes a difference is how you present your intentions. Will you just outright tell them of your progress? Or, will you tell them what your goal is and make a direct, or indirect, bet? Chances are is that if you just outright tell them of your progress, then they will pick at every little flaw. However, if you tell them your goal that you are trying to achieve, you're telling them that it is not done and you're telling them what is going to be done. They have little to pick at. And, if they do pick at it, you now have an excuse. Additionally, this method should also lock out any pain presented to you when they start putting you down. | |
I would avoid telling people much when you barely have a playable game. All those people who start "The next best naruto fan-game" threads...they are doing it wrong. And they don't complete their projects even with a stolen source and stolen IP.
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The way I see it is, if you have nothing to show and only ideas to tell people, you just shouldn't bother.
If you actually have a working game and screenshots to show people, then go ahead. | |