I started developing games a few months ago, but perfectionism is making it difficult to finish anything. As soon as I begin a project, I try to design the most efficient, organized, and future-proof solution for every part of it. I spend so much time thinking about the complete project and solving problems I have not encountered yet that the remaining work eventually feels overwhelming. By the halfway point, I often give up.
I understand that I should work step by step, but I keep trying to plan and complete the entire project at once. How can I become more comfortable with imperfect solutions, break the work into manageable pieces, and avoid analysis paralysis?
3 Answers
Shrink the project until it feels finishable, then plan around features instead of perfect implementations. Set a short milestone, such as a two-week sprint, with a specific result like having two playable mechanics working. If you notice a cleaner solution while building, write it down and keep moving unless it is necessary right now.
You may eventually need to refactor or redesign something for a later feature, but that is not a failure. It means you built a working version quickly and learned enough to improve it. Many future improvements will turn out to be unnecessary anyway.
It is fine to understand the big picture, but regularly step back from it and focus on one small section. A painter may sketch the whole canvas, work on one detail, then step back occasionally to check the composition. Keep a development log for ideas and possible improvements, but measure success by what you actually build rather than how perfectly you built it.
Perfect is often the enemy of finished. Trying to make everything efficient and flawless can actually stop you from making progress. You have to accept that some parts of the project will be messy or temporary. A completed imperfect game teaches you far more than a perfect design that never leaves your notes.
I really do need to get more comfortable with things being a little messy as long as they get done. Thanks!
You cannot create a perfect first solution because you do not fully understand the problem until you have tried solving it. The first version is often part of the learning process, and after building it, you may see a better approach. Expecting yourself to know the best design before encountering the real problems is what creates a lot of the paralysis.
That makes a lot of sense. I have been trying to solve problems I have not even faced yet.
Breaking things into small sprints and focusing on features has already helped my mindset. The painter analogy really put it into perspective.