Any other game developers find it difficult to justify playing games to themselves? I have a day job and family life so when I do get a moment to myself I feel that I have to spend it on gamedev if I'm going to stand a chance of getting anything made in a human lifetime. - ThreadSky

boxartgames.bsky.social • 25 days ago

Any other game developers find it difficult to justify playing games to themselves?
I have a day job and family life so when I do get a moment to myself I feel that I have to spend it on gamedev if I'm going to stand a chance of getting anything made in a human lifetime.

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thadd-simpson.bsky.social•25 days ago

omg I feel this so hard. I have a backlog of games on hold so I can focus on other projects.

Games literacy is important. I've played games my whole life, and maybe I justify my hiatus that way.

BUT experiencing new games is hugely important for any game dev. How do you balance it?

boxartgames.bsky.social•25 days ago

Exactly this. I feel like if I don't play more games, I will stagnate as a designer and also lose my biggest hobby and form of socialising and relaxing.

thadd-simpson.bsky.social•25 days ago

One thing I have found solace is in having a weekly routine instead of daily. That way I can block some time out on Fri / Sat. for deving.

Gaming might also need it's own dedicated block.

boxartgames.bsky.social•25 days ago

My hours and days fluctuate which makes planning tricky. It's more like I discover I'm free and then bolt to my laptop to work until I get interrupted by the next life thing.

unrealdev.bsky.social•25 days ago

I played POE1 over 11 years where every 3-4 months when league started I would take 2 weeks off to play it.
POE2 released but I'm so busy I've barely touched it even though I'm hyped to. Just got to make some money first to take time off.

prairiewest.net•25 days ago

I can choose to play games or make them, but it doesn’t feel like I can make time for both without ignoring my wife - which I choose not to

mohammadrasoul.bsky.social•25 days ago

I primarily play things that help improve my current project, otherwise definitely no time.

boxartgames.bsky.social•25 days ago

The last 3 games I bought were mostly for this reason too. I open Steam or GoG and open a game for research.

olive-hill-studios.bsky.social•25 days ago

Definitely can relate to this. It's a bit ironic for me because the primary inspiration for developing games was the wonderful games I played growing up. Now with a day job and family, I also struggle to find time to play games.

boxartgames.bsky.social•25 days ago

Same for me. My old favourites have been huge inspirations for my current project.
I often think I'm missing out on quality of life improvements made by more recent releases that I could include.

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