Hi. My name is Damon Brown and ... I'm an overachiever. Please, withhold your clapping. I'm not proud to admit this. I'm speaking today because I have an admission to make. I have an illness. You see, I read these articles about Shigeru whats-his-name, and Peter Molyneux, and the guy who made Half-Life, and they sound SO cool.

Then my idea hits me.

And I grab my drawing pad - yeah, you know what I'm talking about - and start writing and sketching and writing, until I have tens of pages, filled with scribbles and ideas and features and concepts. I just know my game is going to be the best ever made.

I tell all my friends about my new idea. Some of them laugh, but I'll show them when I complete my masterpiece. It might take me two years to do it, but I'm so juiced, I know it'll be done in a month. And then I start staying up all night. And all day. Work doesn't matter to me. Friends don't matter to me. Hell, sex doesn't even matter to me. PROJECT X is everything.

... And then it happens.

I'm in the middle of figuring out that one line of code - you know, where the game crashes every time the player hits the "J" key - and I know it's over. I'm done. No more. I CAN'T FINISH THE GAME. Adrenaline and ego can't push me forward anymore. I have nothing more to give. And then begin the voices:

"I started too soon" "I started too late" "The project was too big" "I should have used sprites, not polygons" "I should have worn boxers, not briefs" "I should quit making games"

How did I get there in the first place? Why did my concept end in defeat? Dammit, great Carmack gods, Why is this happening?! And then I'll read about Warren Spector and I'll reach for my drawing pad... But not any more. The cycle has to stop. Therefore, I will follow my own ten-point plan:

Point 1: I will work on a small project, then slowly work my way up to larger ones, like ABC blocks...

Point 2: Determine realistic deadlines and shift them accordingly since, if I have a project I can honestly finish, completing it won't be a concern.

Point 3: It is better to let go a project too large than to not complete a project too small

Point 4: Well... I don't have any more points right now. Think about my points, determine your own, and post them in the Flying Solo forum so we can discuss them. Ever independent game developer has to have their mantras: we have too much freedom not to create a structure to work in.

I've got issues, I know. But I've taken one small step towards dealing with them: I've admitted the problem.

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Written by Damon Brown.