Implementation - Re-Implementation Question submitted by (25 October 1999) | Return to The Archives

| I am very interested in Game Development and have a problem with my implementation of ideas, I get an idea for a game, say Space Invaders, for a simple choice, then I get an idea on where to start, jump in, load up Visual C++ and fire away for hours, eventually getting somewhere. But what I find is that I get to a point where I think "This technology(being the implementation I just created) sucks, AHA, I have a better way of doing this"
Then I go off developing my newly thought of idea, only to find that I do it again, eventually, nothing gets done. Are there any methods of game design which you know of that you know work and anything which can help me stop doing this continual cycle of implement and re-implement. Cause I am having trouble getting work out the door. My goal is to get my CV done for my third year employment year at uni. This without a CV is impossible.
Thanks for your help

| This is a short answer, but I think a rather important one. Many have this plague. It's the plague of perfection. It's one of the signs of a good [programmer, artist, nose-picker, insert favorite title here.] The answer is two-sided. First, study up on design (this reduces the chances that you'll want to re-do all of your work and increases your level of pride). The second is to know when to stop. I know that many beginning artists keep trying to work and re-work their art. You just need to know when to stop. This is simply an exercise in discipline.
Response provided by Paul Nettle

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