Defining Awesome — How to never finish your project
  • Status Updates

  • How to never finish your project

    Written by . Posted at 11:27 am on June 2nd, 2008

    There’s a lot more to this but I don’t have time to write more. For now this list is enough and I hope it helps many people. Remember that if you direct your attention enough on anything for a long period of time it will happen. So here are a few things that I’ve learned during my years as a game developer. This is especially useful if you’re not really trying to do something of value, have a different agenda or simply fear success. Enjoy.

    • Instead of seeing and accepting the way things are always have a ready explanation

    Blaming things on the weather, the mailman or your cat is a sure way to comfort yourself instead of facing the truth, which is usually scary and unpleasant. Have a ready ethnic group which you’ll blame your failures on. If you are tolerant and love all people no matter what color skin they have, blame it on a vaguely defined group like “terrorists”, “people with money” or my favourite, simply “them”.

    • Never believe in yourself.

    Everybody knows that you aren’t as smart and capable as other people. What they say is always the truth. Face it, you are worse than everybody else. Just try a little and then fail. Add that failure into your stack of limiting beliefs about yourself. Remember, you are only that what other people think that you are.

    • Blog. A lot.

    Start a blog with no specific purpose or target audience. Write about everything that comes to your mind. Everybody wants to read about what you write, because you are awesome. Write about how awesome you are.

    • Expose your development fully

    Everybody has to know what you are doing. Especially if you have fans that are waiting for a product. They simply must know what you do everyday and they must know when you will finish it. That’s all they think about all day. Everybody thinks about you and what you do. Start a development blog and inform about every detail of your production. The time spent on writing is time away from your your project – excellent! Don’t care about posting things that you’ve actually accomplished and that have value for fans, team members and the project. Write about your thoughts and things you plan to do, but never will do. Nothing better than failed expectations.

    • Don’t take breaks and avoid having fun

    If you will stop doing something for a longer period of time it is the end of your dreams. Avoiding making breaks, changing your habits or simply having some time for your own pleasure. It is dangerous because you might come back with more energy, bigger, stronger and with lots of more ideas.

    • Don’t think big

    Do not connect your little goals with dreams about a bigger and greater future for the entire humanity. What you do and accomplish will never change the world. Forget about feeding the hungry, solving the economy, stopping war and violence. Most of all forget about raising peoples consciousness. It’s the hardest to do, because you have to first change yourself. Everybody knows that it is impossible to change. Why is that a fact? Because I heard it on TV, and as we learned, don’t believe yourself – everybody else knows better than you (especially if they’re on TV).

    • Believe in will-power

    You are a machine powered by will-power. Visualize yourself as a hammer destroying all life obstacles. Picture it vividly in your mind. Always remember that your will does everything. The physical limitations of the universe are non-existent, or as the Hindus say, it is all Maya, an illusion. Or as the Wachowsky state it, it’s all in the Matrix.

    • Believe that thoughts are things

    Thoughts are things and can manifest in the world. What you ask for will be given to you. Oops I gave out a secret. It’s that simple. You don’t have to remember to constantly day by day, hour after hour think about your dreams, plan them in every detail, live by them. Change them, reevaluate, pick new strategies, learn constantly and go through a lot of pain. You don’t have to wait sometimes years for dreams to manifest. Most of all you don’t have to take massive and consistent action in the direction of your dream. No need for actual work. “No pain, just gain” – write that down.

    • If it requires a sacrifice don’t do it.

    Remember that everything should be free. You deserve it. Why would you pay for anything? You shouldn’t ever give your money, time, resources for anything. Value is free, just take it. If you want something worthy in this world just ask for it, never make sacrifices. You can eat the cake and have it at the same time. Make this your motto. You can work towards your dreams and have plenty free time. You can have millions of dollars and feel secure (nobody will want to steal it from you). You can have a great body and love to eat sweets. You can be a computer programmer and seem cool at the same time.

    • Start with the least important things

    Everybody knows that when starting to make a game, what you should be concerned about first is… the web page. When you’ve found a webmaster or spent hours finding a good template for your website plan on everything that will be needed there. There’s no game yet out, but carefully plan the position of the “forums” button, spend a lot of time building the news system in an advanced scripting language and don’t forget to plan a space for an ad banner, you will be expecting a lot of visitors.

    • Don’t change your identity

    Your life doesn’t have to revolve around the thing you want to accomplish. An identity change isn’t needed. I know a lot of students that are successful entrepreneurs, lawyers that have rock bands, plumbers that make computer games and sumo wrestlers that run marathons… I just can’t remember any of their names right now.

    • Let team politics be your focus

    Don’t focus on accomplishing your goal. It isn’t that important. What is important is whether Mary’s cat likes Jane. This is key, focus your energy on hypnotizing the cat to like Jane. Never think that somebody is maybe sabotaging your goals and you should sack him, even if you like their cat.

    • Become easily distracted

    Procrastination is your friend. Don’t try to understand the reason behind your not-doing something. You just have to sometimes, this is the way you are built. You are lazy. You are so lazy that you don’t even think why you’re lazy. You’re too lazy to think. Thinking hurts.

    • Become obsessed about what other people think about you and your project

    Chances are, you are doing something for other people. Their opinion is most important. Stress about everything they say. Again, as we’ve learned today, everybody is better than you, they know everything. Never value opinions of others as just opinions that help you make something better. Opinions are definite and always tell something about you. If somebody says your work sucks, they are not saying it literally. They are saying “You suck”. Take it personally, the world is a cruel place and everybody is attacking you. Defend yourself. Try to prove them wrong. Make it your priority.

    • Unconsciously avoid success

    How do you do such a thing? Easily. You don’t have to worry about doing this. Most of us fear success but we don’t accept it because it sounds absurd. So chances are your life is determined by the fact that you don’t want success even though you dream about it. You probably know that with great accomplishments come great responsibilities. If you become a king, your life won’t be any easier. Managing a kingdom is hard work. If you like privacy you won’t become famous. If you have lots of money, it isn’t the end of your problems, you’ll have a different set of them (what do I spend it on?). If you accomplish your life goal what will there be left for you to do? Just… die. So don’t make your dreams come true, it’s sad.

    Be Sociable, Share!

    113 comments.

    1. So simply do everything in opposite way you’re doing?


    2. Hmmm, well actually many of the points mentioned correspond to Michal. So maybe … he’s just saying the game will hardly (if ever) get finished.


    3. heh you should watch the movie, The Secret :)
      or maybe you already did.


    4. lol


    5. “Instead of seeing and accepting the way things are always have a ready explanation”

      Blame us.

      “Never believe in yourself.”
      If that’s your number two point on this huge list then apparently you consider that a priority, so you have issues with that. The only way to believe in yourself is unquestionably and implicitly. If you need to assure yourself, you don’t believe in yourself.

      “Don’t take breaks and avoid having fun”
      You mean there’s a life outside the debugger and coffee mug? Blasphemer, thou art not worthy of being called a coder! Burn the infidel who spews this “life outside of computer” heresy!

      “Don’t think big”
      If you do you’ll run out of man-hours in the next 10 years. You’ll need to hire people, find a sponsor, yeah…

      “Believe in will-power”
      Damn good advice if I say so myself. Willpower, real or not (and caffeine), is what keeps me coding 18 hours a day.

      “If it requires a sacrifice don’t do it.”
      Life is full of zasadzkas and kopas w dupas.

      “Start with the least important things”
      Like design, all those stupid papers like your class hierarchy, interaction graphs! Why waste time to get the big picture – the first things you want to code are flying gibs and blood!

      “Don’t change your identity”
      Unless you’re mentally unstable then that’s a good idea.

      “I know a lot of students that are successful entrepreneurs”
      You’d be surprised.

      “Become easily distracted”
      I blame at least two days of deadline slippage on your blog. Thankfully I’m not playing soldat anymore or else that’d be closer to a month.

      “Unconsciously avoid success”
      You can’t control your unconscious mind.

      Also, this post implies berserker and linkdead is cancelled. You just got owned by life.. ahh.. let me just bask in the pleasure of seeing another man’s defeat and misery a little longer please.


    6. archont

      Oh sorry, that was me. Forgot to delete that last nick from the last fake post.


    7. Well archont, at least now i know who the imposter was 😉

      About the post, simply put: some are right some are not.
      What i’m interested about: what about Link Dead? 😉


    8. Anonymous

      Link-Dead is not the main thing, Shuger.


    9. teh_ham

      Archont: 18 hours a day!? What language??

      Michal: Put short – If you want to have fun making games, don’t plan it out and just do it when you feel like it. You might end up with a buggy game but you will feel less stressful while doing it and the end result will prosper (ala soldat, buggy but fun). Ofcourse if you would rather create a less buggy and efficient game then do the complete opposite. Peer pressure can be a bitch sometimes – But I suppose that is you and Sigvatr’s own fault for hyping it up a bit too much.

      Taking breaks is an essential part of completing a large task (whatever it is) if you want to stop coding then that is what the save button is for. Save it and do something else and then when you feel like coding it again it’s right there waiting for you.

      Now can we have a simple yes or no answer: is Link-Dead and Berserker cancelled?


    10. archont

      teh_ham:

      Actionscript
      PHP
      Python
      Java

      And frankly I wouldn’t even think about doing anything serious with siggy. Sure, he may be a funny and cool sociopathic sicko and while he would probably make a good drinking or smoking partner I wouldn’t give him any more responsibility than opening a bottle.


    11. Could you be any more melancholy?


    12. i used to read this blog a lot when it started…

      i stopped reading for a while (never stopped visiting the website in the hope of good news), and now, when i restarted reading it i remembered why i stopped.

      lol crazy stuff around here… i have a good life, i finish what i start and i never followed rules.

      when you start something you must think “am i gonna finish it?”
      + yes – then you start;
      + no – then you simply don’t start.

      it is easy… because, if you’re never gonna end what you start, what’s the point? i mean, sure you get experienced for doing the same thing all over again, and again, and again… but what about the rest?

      anyway, nice effort

      i’ll never forget you brought us SOLDAT


    13. WORD!


    14. WORD!…but nothing about berserker and link dead ;_;


    15. “Instead of seeing and accepting the way things are always have a ready explanation”
      Its your Project, its your responsibility. But you dont take responisiblity for others. They can decide to play the game or not.

      “Never believe in yourself”
      believing is for religious people. Try to assume and explain why things could be done.

      “Blog. A lot”
      Do you want to speak to you, or the others?

      “Expose your development fully”
      you do it in the game code :)

      “Don’t take breaks and avoid having fun”
      breaks are important, but dont take too much drugs while taking breaks :)

      “Don’t think big”
      The aim of life is to destroy and create. Something bigger destroys something smaller and creates new.

      “Believe in will-power”
      …yes, after you have managed it :)

      “Believe that thoughts are things”
      A virtual girl? Hmm, only if its very realistic:)

      “If it requires a sacrifice don’t do it”
      NOTHING is for free in universe

      “Start with the least important things”
      why not, it could give you the motivation you need. I always start new programs designing the initial dialog. I know it could change later for sure. But i love this:)

      “Don’t change your identity”
      the identity changes every second, you can’t stop it

      “Let team politics be your focus”
      you are the team director, arent you?

      “Become easily distracted”
      if you have no aim, you get distracted

      “Become obsessed about what other people think about you and your project”
      i would also be famous like you. But i dont want to read this teenager posts every day:)

      “Unconsciously avoid success”
      /selfkill :)


    16. assdamage

      soooo… is that a yes or a no?


    17. DARK AVENGER

      I WANT TO PLAY BERSERKER !!!
      FORGET IF YOU FUCKED UP.
      TAKE SOME TIME,LOOK AT THE PROJECT AND START WORKING IN THE DARK AS YOU DID IN HIGHSCHOOL FOR SOLDAT,LATE AT NIGHT,THAT’S HOW REAL PROJECTS ARE MADE,AT NIGHT,IN THE DARK,WHERE CONCENTRATION IS AT IT’S PEAKS.
      MICHAL WE WANT TO PLAY THAT FUCKING GAME DUDE.
      YOU DON’T COM AND MAKE A GREAT GAME AND THEN SAY I GIVE UP.
      FUCK THAT.
      GO MAKE THE GAME DUDE !
      I BELIEVE IN YOU AND ALL THE SOLDAT FANS BELIEVE IN YOU.
      IN FACT WE LIKE YOUR GAME ALLOT !!!
      I REMEMBER STAYING AND PLAYING SOLDAT ALSO ALLLLLOTTTTTT!!!
      AND I’M A PROGRAMMER ALSO AND I KNOW IT”S NOT EASY.
      BUT HEY,YOU NEED TO PUSH IT TO THE EDGE MAN IF YOU WANT TO SUCCEED.
      DON’T TELL ANYONE AND GET BACK TO WORK.


    18. DARK AVENGER

      AND ON THAT NIGHT THEY ROAD UP FROM HELL !!!!!!!!
      THE POUNDING OF HIS HOOBS DID CLAP LIKE THUNDER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    19. MM, maybe you was really aiming too high?
      I noticed that it is really much more easier when you make a early ‘beta beta’ version and then improve it [like Soldat?] – but I had a strange felling that you wanted to create great game in one turn [and there was big pressure from readers]… But well… You didn’t create great game, but you created great blog :).

      BTW. Good luck :)


    20. DARK AVENGER

      Firez STFU !!!!
      MM FOCUS DUDE !!!
      IT’S THE TIME TO GET OFF THE FUCKING BEER AND ANY OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT YOU WERE INTO,WHEN YOU GET SOME FREE TIME …. FUUUUUCK THE WORLD !!! GO IN A ROOM AND FINISH WHAT YOU’VE STARTED.
      THIS IS NO FUCKING JOKE.
      I WANT TO PLAY THE GAME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    21. DARK AVENGER

      YOU SEE ALL THESE PEOPLE HERE CALMLY ADMIT THE DEFEAT ?!?!??!?!?!
      WHAAAAAAAAT THEEEEEE FUCCCCCCCKKKK ??!?!?
      WHERE IS THE TRUE SPIRIT OF HEAVY METAL ??????????????
      WHERE HAS IT WENT ??????
      HAVE YOU NO HEART INSIDE ???


    22. DARK AVENGER

      LINK DEAD
      AND
      BERSERKER

      WEEEEEEEE WANT TO PLAY !!!
      WE STAND TOGETHER AS BROTHERS !!!
      USE THE COMMUNITY OF SOLDAT ,RECRUIT ART PEOPLE WHO ARE BETTER
      THAN YOU AT MAKING GFX.
      PUT THEM TO WORK.
      ASK FOR HELP
      PEOPLE WILL COME BESIDE YOU AND WILL HELP

      AS THE PEOPLE ABOVE SAY , YOU NEED TO GIVE IT A SHOT , YOU NEED TO
      REMEMBER HOW IT WAS DOING SOLDAT. EVERY TIME THERE IS A SECOND
      CHANCE.
      DO NOT QUIT !!!!!!!

      I AM NOT CRAZY , BUT YOU ARE THINKING THAT WE WILL LET YOU QUIT.
      GET BACK ON TRACK AND BACK ON CODING(STOP LEADERSHIP STUFF,IT’S
      UNPRODUCTIVE AND YOU GET FAT FROM EATING & SLACKING OFF TOO MUCH.

      I WANT TO SEE THE OLD MARCINKOWSKI(ALTOUGH I’VE NEVER MET YOU),
      I’M SURE HE’S IN THERE BEHIND THE LAZYNESS THAT HAS ACCUMULATED.


    23. I don’t care!

      Do it or do not do it it’s your choice.

      anyway on this post I started to question my way of living in general like for the one on how your gonna go true 2008.

      I realized that I was always going true the easy stuff first and redoing it menny times instead of progressing.

      For the first point you menssioned are you saying That we should not have to blame people just assume your responsability? If yes your right if not your not :)


    24. Dude, just take your time. I know about difficulties and obstructions; Just pace yourself and think out everything in your head. Iterative design is your friend.

      I wish you the best of luck MM, just do your best and don’t listen to the annoying kids.


    25. “Expose your development fully”

      Besides making your project Open Source, that is about impossible to achieve.


    26. Dar Avanger,
      please be quiet. You can’t force someone to do a game. Why don’t you say i should make a game? I mean, it’s his choice: Make it or don’t make it. If he didn’t even pronounce the game you wouldn’t be that mad. Without him you wouldn’t even play soldat (if you do^^)
      I hope you understand what I’m trying to say…


    27. I’m starting to see a pattern here… R, Crimson Glory and now Link-dead and Berserker. Seems like soldat was a bit of a fluke.


    28. Thanks DARK AVENGER and nint22.

      There are a lot of speculations here, please remember about my last official statement about L-D and Berserker. It is still valid.


    29. Whatever. It’s nice to see you’re still alive MM. I started to worry about you – not giving any sign of life for that long was quite annoying,


    30. teh_ham

      “There are a lot of speculations here, please remember about my last official statement about L-D and Berserker. It is still valid.”

      Where?


    31. Damn, I didn’t know there would be so much … talk … about this. DARK is right (Though I hate CAPS bro…) Anyways, again you will be fine Michal, just give it time. I know how it goes. They say the more people in the team, the less efficient the leader can be.

      I personally gave up programming with other people directly; Just make very good design specifications and you will be fine. Good luck!


    32. MM can you put your name in red so that we can know that its reallly you!

      Thanks


    33. DARK AVENGER

      I REMEMBER SHOWING MY GF THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS AND TELLING HER “GIRL,NEXT TIME INSTEAD OF FIGHTING WE PLAY THIS GAME OVER THE INTERNETZ” , SHE LOVED THE IDEA.

      BUT NOW THAT I FOUND OUT YOU ARE GOING TO QUIT IT WAS A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT.
      WHAT THE FUCK I WANT TO PLAY THE FUCKING GAME !!!!!!!!!
      I WANT TO TAKE “VIRTUALLY” BEAT MY GF AT BERSERKER !!!!!!!
      I WANT TO PLAY THAT GAME
      GO IN A DARK ROOM,LEAVE ALL THE PEOPLE BEHIND,START DRAWING SKETCHES,
      START THINKING,MAKE UML SKETCHES,START WRITING CODE,PSEUDOCODE
      WHATEVER IS NEEDED.
      I WANT TO PLAY THE GAME MAN !!!!!!!!!


    34. lol, looks like somebody smacked Michal hard in the head x)
      But wherever, good that you’re, I wish good luck in… wherever are you planing on doing right now, and i’m ,too, expecting the new version of soldat and somethinha about Link-Dead of course but it’s good to see that Michal learned something and …. bah, wherever, i don’t want to write anymore soo… bye


    35. 7 angels with 7 plagues

      Deep sarcasm. I see you’re having a little downtime too. You certanly covered the issue how to not complete something. The way I see it, everything that takes much time and energy might just take too much of it, too much for your willpower to handle and come through it succesfully. I’m a music producer of some sort, and I too have acounterd the same issues you just mentioned. Even the team stuff. I used to be a guitarist in a band, but we couldn’t finish up 3 goddamn song. Why? Because of the ever growing high expectations, (“Okay that’s a cool song, but it needs something more, let’s add something more, okay?”, “Hey! Much better! Let’s add a little more, any Ideas?”, “This song is almost THE GRATEST SONG OF THER WORLD, LET’S ADD A LITTLE MORE AND IT’s READY!”, “Ummm…guys…this song…SUCK, LET’S WRITE ANOTHER!”), and this method lead us to the split of the band. Later I started writing electronic music alone (Drum&Bass. 180 Degrees, eh?) 3 years ago, and achived way much more (I have around 30 complete and finished music tracks…), though I still encoutered the same issue of the Hight Expectations (…from the 230+ unfinished projects). I figured you don’t have to create the best song in the world, you just have to create the best song in the world FOR YOURSELF. Cause I love every finished track I created. No. It’s not beacause I have high ego, or that I think that I’m blessed with supernatural music creating powers, it’s because of a single fact: why would I make something I don’t like? By the time, I started gathering cricits. The results are the above mention 230+ unfinished projects. What I’ve learned is that you have to first create something in the way YOU like it the most, Save it, Release it, copy it, and make the copy the way others want it to be, anything they like. BUT FIRTS create your own version with your own rules. Cause every little helpfull advice from a 3rd person can lead you to distraction, and end you up with something you don’t even like. In a team, creating you’r own is way harder to achive. Because everybody knows that a team is not prductive if there’s is too much democracy. No team, no band, no development team can be productive whitout poper controll. conclusion: You have to be the boss, and act like one. Show the way, show the goals, show the method. Okay, you created something, and now you want more. Don’t be scared to fight for it. Just don’t become a pain in the ass madman. But first of all, you have to belive that you’ll succed. You have to belive that you will see the light at the and of the tunnel, even if it’s seems very distatnt at first.

      I loved soldat. It’s like CS: You can never get bored with it. Toping that with another game is a very very hard task, but the above mentioned high expectations may misguide you, and at the end you’ll end up with a game that you’ll hate because it became nothing more than a pain in the ass.

      Summa summarum: know what YOU REALLY WANT, KEEP IT IN MIND, learn how to achive it, achive it, modify it afterwards. If it’s not the best, there’s always time to create version 1.x. It’s way easier than writing the ultimate game from scratch.
      That’s how I keep finishing my tracks. Hope this helps. Best wishes

      P.S.: I might not covered everything, but I need to concentrate on finishing up my tracks. 😛 Oh and Sorry If my english is a bit crappy.


    36. DARK AVENGER

      CUT THE EXCUSES !!!!!!!!!!!!!
      ONLY EXCUSES HERE !!!!!!!!!!!
      MICHAL , GO WORK ON IT ALONE , DON’T TELL ANYONE, JUST WORK ON IT AS A HOBBY.
      REMEMBER, NO TIME CONSTRAINTS,NO PRESSURE.
      JUST AT YOUR OWN PACE.


    37. BUT NOW THAT I FOUND OUT YOU ARE GOING TO QUIT IT WAS A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT.
      Where do you get that crap about quitting? I need to find a way to make people know its me posting….

      7 angels with 7 plagues: wow, thanks very much man. I can relate to what you wrote 100%. Thanks again.


    38. Amazing advice, I’ve learned this on my own over time. I’ve posted a link to this article from the gamedev.net forums. It’s required reading :)


    39. To the people saying he needs to “top” Soldat, that kinda falls under “fear of success”. I worry about this sometimes with projects I’m working on. What MM will need to do is just make another fun game. Who cares if it’s “better”? That’s just opinion. They could both be fun.

      Like Doom and Quake 3. I don’t really have a preference, they’re both great games.

      MM, just have fun designing and making your next game, go into it with the same attitude as Soldat and it’ll be great :)


    40. RedDrake

      The funny thing about it is the fact that i recognize so much people in this i didn’t know if he was being sarcastic or not 😀


    41. The title of this post scared me for a second.


    42. Ha, Loafer, same here, but we should all know better. (Again, no time pressure, just saying..) I’ve also made a link to this from my site.


    43. 7 Angles with 7 plagues

      Michal: Don’t mention it. I can imagine how many “Where’s Link-dead you sonofabitch” letters you may have recived from people who have absolutely no idea how much effort and dedication is required to accomplish such a long term project. Glad I could help. :)

      matt_j: You’re right. I used the wrong phrase. No need to top Soldat. But still, creating something that is AS good and fun as soldat is quite a goal. And let’s not forget, ID have “evolved” between Doom and Quake 3 over the years and they are reciveing huge sums of money for their games. It’s ID’s JOB to create good and playable games, not their Hobby. but I’m sure they encountered the same problem at the begining, when they were a just a small team: “Okay guys I’ve got an A+ on my math exam! Let’s celebrate! Come over to my house, bring some coke, pizza and some good weed and let’s have a LAN party! Oh and by the way, I’ve started a new game project called Doom. Anyone interested in helping me? I’m prettyy stuck with the sprite desing” 😀


    44. […] How to Never Finish Your Project is Michal Marcinkowski’s list of things that he describes as “things that I’ve learned during my years as a game developer. This is especially useful if you’re not really trying to do something of value, have a different agenda or simply fear success.” […]


    45. I have a computer project. Do I feel like working on this today ? I should be.. its been a couple days.. Hmm but if my legs aren’t dragging me to the computer maybe it means I’m not in the good mindset.. I should listen to my body, thats how I maintain a variety of activities.. giving myself a balanced life.. Bah, i don’t feel like working on this today..!

      ..oops, this day neither

      ..and again

      and… again… (OMG ITS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I’VE WORKED..!) — i gotta workworkworkworkworkworkworkw….wwoooOOOOOrrk…Urh.. zzZZzz
      Fuck, it’s 6AM .. need.. some.. sleep..

      3PM-(waking up all fucked up) — Ow.. life hurts… coffee..
      Urh.. can’t… work.. lets play some soldat..
      ARG, FUCK MY REFLEXES ! BLeehh FUCKIN SHIT ! Why does everybody hate me ?

      I should get some sleep and my energy back.. or I could simply buy some more weed and continue this un-enjoyable game session until 6AM…

      Wake up even more pissed off…

      Bah I don’t feel like working.. I’m too…..

      L-A-Z-Y..

      Or maybe I’m not being reasonable.. Why am I doing this project in the first place ?

      ……

      Damn, I need to get it done ! I just NEeeeeeeeed…

      Urh, but why do I need it so much..
      Y’know, I should always be enjoying myself on that project, thats why I’m into this anyways…
      I should alwa….. fucK !!! it’s been a WEEK since I’ve coded anything..

      LIFE IS DAMN HARD OR WHAT !?


    46. Skoskav

      Hello, Michal Marc something. It is my honour to carry the voice of the entire Soldat beta crew to tell you that you suck dead man’s balls.

      There’s not that much left you need to do to fullfil your part in 1.5. Just fix a handful medium-simple gameplay bugs and do a few simple gameplay tweaks.

      We really think your new games seem pointless and boring. So please join #soldat.beta @ Quakenet. The password is stickied in the beta forum.


    47. assdamage

      ^ lol wut


    48. Anonymous

      It’s called self satire, guys.


    49. Hi Michał, i have a problem. I download and install Soldat 1.42, but i can’t play. I’ve screenshot withe the error:
      http://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=beztytuukv3.jpg
      So, I am polish, but it’s english page? :) my gg:4812662. If U can please answer.


    50. The perfect summary of everything important in life + sarcasm in its purest form = Ultimate success


    51. Maybe just one more point:

      Care for all your unthankful fans who just see you as their slave to produce games.


    52. teh_ham

      ^ Lol at the sterotyping of ‘fans’ here. I am interested in both how michal makes the game and the game itself. So please don’t generalise you idiots.


    53. ^ He said: “Care for all UNTHANKFUL fans. Not for all fans, duh… If you don’t feel like that kind of fan, just don’t answer, I think.. Because if that’s so, it’s not to you :)
      Btw Michal, good luck on finishing your projects


    54. I obviously meant the unthankful *sort* of fans… If somebody really wants to generalise people this way… don’t try to argue with him anyway, since that attempt will just be a waste of time. Don’t try to argue with plain people. They are not capable to argue in a rational way so you actually shouldn’t give a fuck about their opinion.


    55. FKIN FINNISH THE DAMN GAME :O


    56. You can’t really criticise MM yet. Besides Soldat, he hasn’t created anything yet, just discussed it and shown us a couple of cool videos.

      Hopefully, those projects will become reality eventually. 😀


    57. DARK AVENGER

      YES G.O.D. THAT’S THE BEST ADVICE !
      DON’T LISTEN TO ALL THE IDIOT FAGS HERE
      YOU’RE NOBODY’S SLAVE , YOU MAKE THIS OUT OF PASSION , THAT’S WHY IT’LL MAKE A GREAT GAME TO PLAY.
      SonOf has a GOOD POINT ALSO !
      STOP BEING LAZY MICHAL !


    58. …hes not a slave fucker but if he finish the game WE CAN STAR PAY HIM FOR IT (FUCKIGN DARK AVENGER)…dont u get it if he finish it we can start loving it and then we can start paying for the secret features and stuff and he will be having money for more beer and more hoes and more…anything!


    59. Let us discuss the value of money.


    60. “Where do you get that crap about quitting? I need to find a way to make people know its me posting….”

      Why don’t you post the most important info in one specific topic on soldatforums.com, and than give links to ’em? No more stupid questions or other crap…


    61. teh_ham

      Dark avenger for christs sake use proper english and switch your caps lock off.


    62. In the end, when the bones of the souls long forgotten turned to dust, the very last byte faded away. All knowledge and all traces of human life were gone.

      Don’t worry about whose expectations you fulfill or crush. Remember when you produced Soldat. All you did was imagine the little soldiers running around on a map and you built up from there. Did you have aspirations of greatness as a game designer at 16? Did you have a blog and thousands of fans waiting on your title? No. The whole world could have cared less, if Soldat was never completed or released.

      Become 16 again. Imagine your little world and create. We’ll always be here. We already know who you are and that you’re a talented game designer. Michal, if Soldat is the only title that you would be famous for, for the rest of your life, then so be it. That is a huge accomplishment. If you have a failure, or you don’t see your next project as being successful, it doesn’t make you any less of a designer.


    63. …because thats the best state of mind for creating something,
      if you are not really forced to spend time studying shit or going to work.
      But maybe Michal does not have the same amount of not-so-much-responsibility and pure leisure time that he might have had at the age of 16. Maybe. :)


    64. True but you can still be in that state of mind, even if your time is limited. It may just take longer to produce something. However, no one set a solid deadline, so that’s totally ok.


    65. Correct. Deadlines are just putting pressure on you. Why should you work under pressure if you won’t really get an appropriate reward?


    66. Anonymous

      “Expose your development fully.”

      This is sort of funny to me, because of Dwarf Fortress. Toady (the Dev) makes a post to his dev-log every day that he codes Dwarf Fortress. The thing about his dev-log is that he often doesn’t post more than 2-3 sentances.

      You seem to be a long-winded person with lots of thoughts and things to say. I can relate, because I’m quite the same way. I’m trying to teach myself to be more focused on what I want to do rather than telling everyone about it, and it’s really hard when you feel strongly about something, and want to tell others, hoping they’ll feel the same way. The truth is, though, that they often don’t.

      Anyway, I feel your pain. You don’t necessarily have to refrain from writing altogether if you can limit yourself to short notes pertaining to what you’ve done. Do whatever you want, just a suggestion.


    67. It’s the same when you experience something great you want to tell everyone they wont lissen. Then you fill that theres something missing, even if you experience the greatest thing in the world you would like only one person to lissen to your story to make it complete…


    68. Makron666

      We don’t care if you release a buggy game. Soldat was also a buggy game when it was released, but you release patches and fix those bugs and then you can shape it more towards our liking and in the end you will release a kick ass game.


    69. eurasianbro

      argh, my flash game dev reminded me of what you wrote here… but it’s actually helpful to know that even great programmers get these shit streaks for sometimes weeks at a time. Though I never tell other guys about it, it’s always helpful to be working with other dedicated peeps or having a cheer squad every time I lay down since my laziness often gets the better of me… Seriously, when I lose motivation my mind melts.

      Anyways, if I can say one thing to you MM, it would be something about talking to the close people around you to get a fresh rest and a new perspective on your mission. Break a leg!


    70. eurasianbro

      by the way, maybe it’s just with me, but after a while my room gets so damn cluttered during those periods that when I clean the area around my desk, I feel like a new man! Whatever works for you of course…


    71. Being the greatest (like I am — the most), does not require finishing anything.


    72. Carmella Bentley

      qfuuavde109ixzcj


    73. […] Developer Michal Marcinkowski takes a reverse-psychology approach in his article How to never finish your project. I felt so guilty when I read this, it must be […]


    74. being a computer programmer myself makes me very proud of my job::.


    75. my father is a computer programmer for Alwill Software and it is a high paying job*`”


    76. my job as a computer programmer is a very satisfying job :


    77. Merely want to say your article is as tonishing. The clearness inside your post is simply spectacular and i can assume you’re an professional on this topic. Well with your permission permit me to grab your rss feed to keep as much as date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the gratifying work.


    78. F*ckin¡¦ awesome issues here. I¡¦m very glad to peer your article. Thanks so much and i am having a look ahead to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?


    79. Wonderful website. Plenty of useful information here. I’m sending it to several buddies ans additionally sharing in delicious. And obviously, thanks in your effort!


    80. Thanks for the marvelous posting! I definitely enjoyed reading it, you might be a great author.
      I will make certain to bookmark your blog and will eventually
      come back in the foreseeable future. I want to encourage you continue your great posts, have a nice morning!


    81. Right now it looks like Movable Type is the preferred blogging platform available right now.
      (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?


    82. Instead of eating three large meals, you should eat six or seven smaller meals to reduce your belly fat.
      A regular sleep pattern along with a regular food schedule greatly increase the success rate of any
      weight loss program. Best of all, it can be a low impact exercise that will not stress out your joints
      or muscles if done properly.


    83. First off I want to say terrific blog! I had a
      quick question that I’d like to ask if you do not mind.
      I was curious to find out how you center yourself and clear your head
      prior to writing. I have had a difficult time clearing my thoughts in
      getting my thoughts out there. I do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally lost just trying to figure out how to
      begin. Any suggestions or hints? Cheers!


    84. Everything published was actually very reasonable.

      However, what about this? what if you were to write a killer headline?
      I ain’t saying your content isn’t solid, but what if you added a title that makes people want more?
      I mean Defining Awesome – How to never finish your project
      is kinda vanilla. You might peek at Yahoo’s home page and note how they write news titles to grab
      people interested. You might try adding
      a video or a picture or two to get readers interested about what you’ve got to say.
      Just my opinion, it might bring your blog a little livelier.


    85. There shouldn’t be Perspex or even glass amongst the dragon
      and also the light-weight due to the fact is going to clean
      every Uv light-weight that is definitely
      just for the dragon. Because of their size, descendants of this
      bloodline are highly sought after in today’s pet trade.
      Their cool area should be between 70 and 80 degrees F.


    86. At then end of the month you will find that your cravings for these types of foods had dropped.
      Ever wondered how a celebrity-worthy personal trainer stays in great shape.
      And if you want to lose weight, you may go with low- carb
      diet which contains 25-39% carb.


    87. Good blog post. I definitely appreciate this website. Keep writing!


    88. Ηowdy! My wifе and I often write guest articles
      or blog posts for other web site owners to help increase publicity to our work, as well as provide eхcellent
      content to weblog owneгs. It truly is a win win sіtuation!

      If you are interested feеl free to е-mail me at:
      keiraplumb@animaіl.net so we may ԁiscuss further. Appreciаte it!


    89. Ѕome are good though, One of the wаys that you can test
      how good a penny stock picking source is to follow the picks
      for a pеriod of time at least for a couple οf weeks. Altira
      Macau (formerly Cгown Macau) is a contemporary hotel and casino offering one of the most exclusive
      and elegаnt accommodations in Macau. There are lots of
      sharks out there who will engange in the practice known as’pump and dump’, whereby they will try to geneгate unsubstatiated hype about a selected stock in the hope that there’ll be a rush tο buy, allowing them to sell on their vаluеless holdings
      to gullible trуоuts.


    90. CabAbabewep

      Si vous êtes un accordéoniste, vous serez très bien conscient du fait que vous jouez une sorte one-man-band de l’instrument. [url=http://raybanwayfarerpascher.info/]ray ban soldes[/url] This is the reason why most of people prefer branded shoes and footwear. [url=http://www.nikebasketballshoesonsale.com/cheap-mens-derrick-rose-shoes-c-8_10/]cheap derrick rose shoes[/url] Tote marks a downfall, because it forfeits elegance in favor of eccentricity, and ends up just looking silly and junky. For trend aficionados who are not really rich but deeply enchanted by trend products, the best. [url=http://www.katespadeoutletstoreonline.com/]kate spade outlet store[/url] Use it when you get hurt, but more importantly, use it build up your body to increase your resiliency to damage and impact. [url=http://ordersbdunks.info/]womens nike dunks[/url] The Insanity Workout DVD actually presents the Max Interval Training workout plan. [url=http://www.zumbadvdfitnessworkout.com/]zumba workout[/url] Maia was also the mother of Hermes, the messenger god. [url=http://hermesbirkinoutletstore.com/]hermes handbags uk[/url] I’m super pleased with these and will probably order another pair in a different color.Update: In just the few days I’ve been wearing these, I’ve gotten multiple compliments and requests for where they could be found, so get them quick before they’re sold out! [url=http://www.tomsshoesoutletstore.org/]toms outlet[/url] Early Years of Maria Sharapova: [url=http://shoxhotclearance.info/]nike shox for women[/url] The best shoe on the market for walking standing. I am on my feet for 8 hrs or more a day as a bank guard. Very comfortable and shock absorbing. Feet and legs feel good after a shift. Not my first pair and will not be my last. A 60 year old could not ask for any better. I should have bought something else. [url=http://www.newbalanceshoesoutletonline.com/]discount new balance shoes[/url] I ordered size 9 ,my calf is 18 inches around, I have tried, without success, for several years to find boots that fit my feet and also my calves. [url=http://www.cheapredwingshoesstore.com/]red wing shoes store[/url] Give your daughter go just a little wild punk-out her hair, enhance the crazy clothes using the wild colors and make up a little rock star. It utilizes a motor fan which attracts air with the machine, accented with a user interface and 2 teams of coils. [url=http://www.cheapsuprashoesforsale.org/]cheap supra shoes[/url] I am on the heavy side, for a trail runner, and this has the cushioning I like, without feeling like it is forcing me to heel strike. [url=http://www.newlebronjamesshoes.org/]lebron james shoes for kids[/url] To get more information on this and all other shoes available, visit the website or a local dealer. [url=http://cheapnikefreerunsale.us/]nike free 3.0 v3[/url] The vast majority of services are conducted web and for the reason that locating the internet happens to be produced at minimal costs it’s a really beneficial version of sales made for the network marketers together with consumers. minds. [url=http://nikeheelsforwomen.info/]jordan 1 heels[/url] Lump is more visible on the knee, when the person is standing. [url=http://raybansunglassesoutletstores.info/]official ray bans outlet[/url]


    91. It’s in fact very complicated in this busy life to listen news on TV,
      thus I simply use web for that reason, and get the
      hottest information.


    92. Interesujące spojrzenie na kwestię, każdy powinien rozczytać dodatkowo
      zaznajomić się z motywem.


    93. While playing offline, a maximum of four controllers can be used
      in Wii. Some finds it in movies, some in books, some in outdoor games and
      some in PC games. This software, originally from Macromedia, and later acquired by Adobe, allows programmers to design and develop arcade game titles with a certain degree
      of sophistication in an easy to load and browser
      based platform.


    94. I have to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this
      website. I’m hoping to view the same high-grade blog posts
      from you in the future as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now 😉


    95. In addition to more game availability, Sony’s Playstation 2 is very inexpensive in comparison. There were several competitors who put their
      video games on the market by this time, but even today Game Boy seems to be the best
      selling hand held video game and console. I can confidently say gaming will be around forever.


    96. So, for those of us who really want to feel they are flying, then using a flight
      simulator games for pc is the answer. In fact, I
      don’t believe I’ve ever come across an Alienware computer which received less than a “good” rating in a professional review.
      Because Nani is too young, a social worker thinks that she
      can not take adequate of Lilo and wants to take her into the foster center.


    97. I do believe all the ideas you’ve offered in your post.

      They are very convincing and can definitely work.
      Still, the posts are too brief for novices. Could you please prolong them
      a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.


    98. Games like tower defense games, quiz games, tycoon games, and maze games are also type of games that make children smarter.

      Perhaps this keyboards’s most awesome feature is the ‘Full
      Keyboard Mode’. With creativity, expert knowledge as well as cutting-edge technology, Pavtube helps consumers throughout the world enjoy more in a digitally connected audio-visual world.


    99. Hi there, always i used to check web site posts here in the early
      hours in the break of day, because i enjoy to find
      out more and more.


    100. It is actually a great and useful piece of information. I’m satisfied that you
      just shared this helpful information with us.
      Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.


    101. If you are going for most excellent contents like me, just visit this web page everyday because it presents quality contents, thanks


    102. The double happiness sign is a dynamic symbol
      for eternal love. You can choose from a wide variety of Moroccan lamps and lanterns that come with exotic designs and beautiful colored glasses.
      Many of the online websites allow you to customize these wall decals according to the colours and preferences of your choice.


    103. If they seem too busy or show a lack of interest
      when you interview them, walk away. Should the case
      not head to trial, it’s attainable that you will not should
      pay any extra amounts. Article Source: provide you with useful tips
      on Car Accident Attorney Texas.


    104. Excellent blog right here! Also your site a lot up very fast!

      What web host are you the use of? Can I am getting your affiliate link to your host?
      I want my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol


    105. Hi, i believe that i noticed you visited my web site thus i came to return the desire?.I’m attempting to to find issues to enhance my web site!I suppose its good enough to use some of your ideas!!


    106. It was in the 18th century that the term civil engineering was firstly used independently from the term military engineering.
      However, with the development of reliable construction cameras,
      sites could be accessed remotely saving time, energy, and transport
      costs. According to Egyptians, the shape of Egyptian pyramids represents the primordial
      mound from which the earth was created.


    107. Many people thought this law would go away but there is nothing further
      from the truth, as you will most likely see this law will probably be expanded in the future to more commercial properties.
      But it is now time to convince yourself that it is more economical to
      purchase a steam cleaner rather than choose a professional service provider.
      Many people suffer from allergic conditions, with asthma being one of them.


    108. いくつかのいずれか場合はニーズ技術その後彼は訪問でなければなりません。最新で更新しますすべての時間|毎日|毎日|}迅速な訪問を支払うこのサイトと日付{日常までとすること。


    109. What’s up to all, because I am in fact eager of reading this
      web site’s post to be updated on a regular basis.

      It includes pleasant stuff.


    110. This shows real exretpise. Thanks for the answer.


    111. Od dzisiaj polujÄ™ po drogach na ciężarówki z burakami :) KiedyÅ› byÅ‚o ich dużo, bo mieliÅ›my cukrowniÄ™, teraz bÄ™dzie trudno, ale muszÄ™ – filologia czeska zobowiÄ…zuje – bÄ™dÄ™ przyrzÄ…dzać wiÄ™cej czeskich potraw.


    112. Mais ce n’est pas possible ! que ne va-t-on pas encore inventer ? quand l’homme cessera-t-il de jouer à l’apprenti sorcier ? la nature est bien faite d’elle-même, respectons-la sans la changer, je suis écoeurée de cette bien triste nouvelle !


    Post a comment.

    Links