Instead of chasing big "dream games" and burning out halfway, I started building reusable systems and mechanics, not games. This shift helped me stay motivated, actually finish projects, write cleaner code, test ideas faster, and slowly build a personal asset library I can keep reusing in all future projects.
If you're stuck in the loop of unfinished games, building systems not games might be the fix.
00:00 You Want to Build a Dream Game Not Small Games
00:12 Make Systems Not Games
01:05 Why Dream Games Make You Quit
02:08 My Unfinished Projects
02:33 Unfinished Projects Leave Nothing To Show
03:39 How Systems Help You Finish
04:20 Systems Are Modular & Reusable
05:05 Systems Help You Write Clean Code
06:02 Systems Build Your Personal Asset Library
06:15 Design Systems for Requirements, Not a Specific Game
07:05 Systems Allow Easier Testing & Rapid Experimentation
07:26 Why Testing in Full Games Is a Nightmare
08:01 Systems Make Testing Easy
08:55 Systems Allow More Flexibility
09:04 Systems Allow Jumping Between Ideas
10:05 Final Tip 1: Practice Exporting
10:29 Final Tip 2: Reframe How You Build Games