Here's how you can effectively manage your time and prioritize tasks as a game developer.

This is a classic start to any project. Set your goals, but understand the priorities. Understanding priorities is something I learned the hard way. Make your development journey fun, do what you feel like doing to avoid burnout, and try to be as consistent as possible.

Effective time management is crucial for game developers to stay on track and achieve their goals. Setting clear, achievable goals is the first step in this process. By defining both short-term and long-term objectives, developers can create a roadmap for success. Breaking down complex projects into smaller tasks with set deadlines ensures progress is measurable and manageable. It's essential to be realistic with timelines to avoid frustration and burnout. This approach empowers developers to prioritise tasks effectively, stay organised, and maximise productivity in their game development endeavours.

1) Establish goals with a priority matrix. ??Focus on core mechanics that define your game. ??Avoid complex features that don't directly fall into that. 2) Make an MVP to test your game. ?? Get your core gameplay loop in front of players early to identify issues. ?? Avoid wasting time on features players might not like. ?? It gives you valuable player feedback on core mechanics and overall experience. ?? Based on feedback, prioritize new features that build upon the core. 3) Lastly, make another priority matrix based on all feedback and do not deviate from it to make your final game, repeating steps 1 and 2 until your project is finished.

While establishing what you want a project to achieve is important, defining what a project will not do is just as important. Having a clearly defined scope for a project helps prevent “feature creep” and allows managers to be more effective in delegating tasks, estimating cost, and communicating expectations to leadership.

It’s important to understand expectations and discuss these with your leadership and production teams. Understanding your goals is critical to staying on track. It can also help surface any concerns or additional work that might crop up when evaluating the tasks.

When you start a project its best to start by making a demo of your idea. Than testing it to know if your idea can work. After you see that it can work, start investing your time in making it feel/look better.

Além da prioriza??o inicial, a narrativa também pode guiar ajustes ao longo do desenvolvimento. Se durante os testes percebemos que um quebra-cabe?a, apesar de importante para a progress?o, prejudica o ritmo da história, talvez seja necessário repensar sua implementa??o ou até mesmo sua inclus?o. O mesmo vale para elementos educativos. Se um conceito importante n?o está sendo bem assimilado devido à sua inser??o na narrativa, é preciso buscar formas de integrá-lo de maneira mais organica e envolvente. Lembre-se, em jogos educativos, a narrativa n?o é apenas entretenimento, mas uma ferramenta poderosa para o aprendizado.

Break down your workday by prioritizing your most urgent/immediate tasks to tackle first. Then, start working down the list of tasks you have for that day. As this is game development, the unexpected will happen, and you will need to prioritize and pivot. You can readjust your tasks as needed and continue your work. Sometimes, this will cause some things you wanted to work on to be placed on the back burner, as that is okay! What is important here is that you are always taking on the most critical work that needs to be done.

O time blocking pode ser aplicado na fase de testes com usuários. Ao reservar blocos de tempo dedicados para observar e analisar como os jogadores interagem com a narrativa e os elementos educativos do jogo, podemos identificar pontos de melhoria e garantir que a experiência de aprendizado seja efetiva e significativa. Por exemplo, podemos bloquear um período para observar como os jogadores respondem a um desafio específico dentro do jogo e, em seguida, usar esse feedback para refinar a narrativa ou ajustar a dificuldade do desafio.

Concordo que um ambiente livre de distra??es é crucial para a produtividade, principalmente para nós desenvolvedores de jogos. Além das dicas mencionadas, gostaria de acrescentar a importancia de planejar intervalos regulares durante o dia. A técnica Pomodoro, por exemplo, sugere ciclos de 25 minutos de foco intenso seguidos por 5 minutos de descanso. Isso ajuda a manter a mente fresca e evita o esgotamento mental, que pode ser uma grande fonte de distra??o.

Pomodoro is a great tool for get rid of distractions. But the main blocker is your mind itself. Keep the promises you make to yourself. Keep up your good work.

Remaining flexible and adaptable is crucial in game development. Unexpected challenges or new developments often arise, necessitating adjustments to schedules and task priorities. Developers must embrace change and be willing to adapt their plans accordingly to navigate these hurdles effectively. By remaining open-minded and responsive to evolving circumstances, teams can maintain momentum and overcome obstacles with agility. This adaptive approach fosters resilience and enables developers to stay focused on achieving project goals despite the dynamic nature of game development.

Um exemplo prático seria durante o desenvolvimento de um jogo educativo sobre história. Enquanto eu poderia me concentrar em pesquisar e elaborar a narrativa histórica que guiará o jogador, um artista poderia trabalhar nos visuais e cenários de época, e um programador focaria nas mecanicas de gameplay que melhor transmitam o conteúdo educativo. A chave para o sucesso está na comunica??o clara da vis?o geral e dos objetivos do jogo, garantindo que todos estejam alinhados e motivados a contribuir com seus talentos individuais.

Por exemplo, imagine que você dedicou muito tempo esta semana para programar um novo mecanismo de jogo complexo. Na reflex?o, pergunte-se: "Este mecanismo realmente enriquece a narrativa? Ele torna o aprendizado mais envolvente ou apenas adiciona complexidade desnecessária?" Se a resposta n?o for clara, talvez seja necessário reavaliar as prioridades e buscar solu??es mais alinhadas com os objetivos do jogo educativo. Lembre-se, em jogos educativos, a mecanica deve estar a servi?o da narrativa e do aprendizado, e n?o o contrário.

Reflecting and iterating on time management strategies is essential for continuous improvement in game development. Periodically reviewing your approach allows you to identify strengths and weaknesses, enabling refinement for future projects. By assessing what worked well and what didn't, developers gain insights into their workflow efficiency and areas for enhancement. This introspective process fosters a culture of learning and adaptation, empowering teams to optimize their time management practices over time. Through reflection and iteration, developers can refine their strategies, enhance productivity, and ultimately achieve greater success in game development endeavors.

??I have a very difficult time focusing between slack messages, meetings, and work forcing me to bounce around. ??So I'll spend 5 minutes at the beginning of my day writing down today's tasks on a sticky note. ???Then I'll place the sticky note, with whatever I'm working on for the day, on my monitor. ??Inevitably I get distracted, but within a few minutes I notice the sticky note, get reminded of what I was working on, and get back on task. ??My boss frequently tells me I'm killing it, so the system seems to be working. ??A physical sticky note works better than a digital one because it can't be buried under 17 tabs of google chrome, jiras, and slack messages.

It’s very important to understand that a developer doesn’t only code. You will take part in discussions, socializing, brainstorms, meetings, etc. There are many aspects of the job that will eat away at your coding time. It’s important to recognize this when planning tasks. For instance if you think you can code something in 2 days, reflect on whether or not you will have 2 uninterrupted days. I found it useful to plan in “coding days” and track the conversion to real days over time. Once you do this, accurate timelines are easy. Once you know your conversion you can accurately say 3 code days = 5 1/2 real days.

Define a tranquility schedule depending on your company or team size, you may define a tranquility time slot. This can be a period from 2 to 3 hours that noone is suppose to chitchat or schedule meetings, people is suppose to organize themselves and get things done.