Let’s talk about failure.

Wikipedia states: Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success.

According to this definition, this week’s project was a failure. I’m not proud of this project. It isn’t fun. I didn’t even give it a name that includes the letter Q.

So, am I upset about it? No. Will I quit this Game a Week challenge and go back to watching countless hours of Netflix in my free time? No. Will I be drowning my sorrows in a vat of Ben & Jerry’s until my next project begins? No. Well. Kinda. Not because I’m upset, but because it’s 90 degrees in Seattle.

The main purpose of this challenge is to familiarize yourself with failure. After making 52 games, you’ll have better intuition about when projects aren’t working out. You’ll have experience to draw upon when determining how to course correct. You’ll become a better developer.

Let’s identify why this project didn’t work out.

I was cocky. My first two projects went. Really well, in my opinion. So I relaxed a bit. I let my social life take precedence over my project. I created the foundation for this game on Monday, then didn’t touch it again until Saturday. I thought: “I’m making a match three. That isn’t hard. I can probably knock this out in a day.” I didn’t respect the project, and it shows.

I didn’t design for the platform. I knew I wanted to make a match three and I had a concept for how it would be different, but it wasn’t the right design for the device. I love touch screens, but humans are clumsy. I was creating a game that potentially required a lot of precision, which fundamentally works against this device. If you’re working on a touch screen, I feel like you should focus on large sweeping motions or touches that require minimal accuracy. I went against this and got burned. Lesson learned.

Things have changed in my personal life a bit. I’ve been spending more time with others, which means less time at home in front of the computer. I need to work on having a better balance between work and friends. I can achieve this by scoping my games more appropriately or making a schedule and holding myself accountable for it.

I panicked. On saturday, I began three radically different projects in hopes that one would be simple enough to finish, polish, and post. This was like trying to shoot a target after being blindfolded, spun in circles, and kicked in the nuts. My mindset wasn’t to make an interesting game, it was to make something. Anything. It didn’t matter if it was shitty. In doing this, I wasn’t respecting my players, myself, or my game.

I’m still posting this week’s project. That’s part of the challenge, owning up to your failures. In the long run, I’m glad this happened. I learned a lot. I have a new perspective on this challenge and I know what to correct for next week.

-Dan