Is going to be almost six years since I decided to develop a game engine. When I started, I knew that it was a crazy idea, and many people thought it too. But looking back, the craziness was not related to the technical complexity, but in the psychological battle that I had to fight with myself.
Throughout the development of the game engine, the desires of giving up was a constant thought. There was a period that I wanted to give up every single day. The constant whisper of "Just Give Up" was always present. And I did give up. I quit for about four months. It was just too much to bear.
But I came back to it. After my sabbatical, I started wondering "What would it feel, if I didn't give up," and "How would the engine look like in a year from now." The excitement of working on the engine again was slowly growing. But there was something that had an impact on my psychology.
Since the beginning of the development, I documented the progress of the engine through images and videos. One night, I started watching these videos. I watched all the small progress I've made and the slow evolution of the engine. Seeing with my eyes how far I've come, had a psychological impact on me. It gave me the energy to continue with my crazy decision to develop a game engine.
Here is a video of the evolution of the Untold Engine, from its inception five years ago to today.
Documenting my work have been a tremendous psychological tool. It has helped me keep going, and I hope it will continue doing so.
If you are embarking on a complex project, document your work through images and videos to remind YOU how far you've come when you are about to give up.
Thanks for reading.
