Dream Projects Survive On More Than Effort Alone.

Image created by Author using AI

I wanted to be an animation artist before joining college. But there was no UG degree for animation 20 years back in India. So, I opted for Computer Science instead. Since animation was not part of the curriculum, I tried to learn character modelling and animation myself during college.

I pursued my career in the IT field after graduation. Even after more than 10 years in an IT job, I still wanted to develop a game.

In 2017 and 2018, I developed and published 2D mobile games using Android Studio and Java. They were successful.

In 2021, I planned to release a 2D game for PC based on an Indian theme.

The major challenges were the game engine and the assets to use in the project. If I bought paid game assets, it would be too costly. So, I started learning freehand digital drawing. This took a year because I was drawing with a mouse without knowing about drawing tablets.

At the same time, I immediately decided to develop the game using the Unity game engine after watching several tutorials, without considering alternatives like Godot for a 2D game. After nearly two years, I felt Unity was heavier and more complex than what I needed for a simple 2D game.

Then I switched to Godot, which is free, open source, and lightweight. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I made in terms of learning curve, simplicity, and cost.

This experience taught me something important: Effort matters, but effort without a clear and well-researched plan can waste years.

Like many game developers, I used to think I should prepare everything perfectly before building the game — all characters, assets, objects, and levels. But that mindset slowed my progress for another year.

Start building prototypes using simple shapes like cylinders, rectangles, and circles rather than spending months creating or buying assets. Prototyping not only saves time but also helps test whether the game is actually engaging.

In 2025, I wanted to test whether there was still market potential in mobile games. So, I developed and published a Match 3 Tiles game with an Indian theme using Godot.

But the game didn’t perform well.

There were many reasons: heavy competition among millions of games and changing Google Play Store algorithms.

Another pain point was testing the same game on multiple Android OS versions and screen sizes. But a PC game can be built and tested on the same device.

So, after 4 years, I decided to return to the PC game project with an Indian theme.

I realized skills alone are not enough. Effort alone is not enough.

Planning matters because we need direction. A plan should have small milestones leading to the final milestone so that you feel you achieved something today or this week.

Consistency matters because if we stop or postpone our work, we lose motivation. In fact, we forget what we learned.

Accepting imperfection matters because trying to polish everything from the beginning can make one small change force us to redo the entire project.

Continuous learning matters. Instead of mastering an entire programming language before starting, learn the basics first and begin coding. Then learn what is needed later along the journey.

Perseverance matters because dream projects usually take far longer than we initially imagine. There will be days when we don’t make visible progress in the project, but the small things we do or learn on those days will still move the project forward.

Remember, perseverance is what helps us survive longer in our careers and dreams.

So, effort pays off well to achieve our dream, only when it is supported by planning, skills, consistency, accepting imperfection, continuous learning, and perseverance.

Thanks Smriti Pathak for this insightful monthly challenge.