Releasing your first title becomes an addiction that you want to experience over and over again. 
Before that itās a lot of small successes that makes me go āwow I did that?ā 
Coffeeā¦ and sugar.
I had to much of that today, i have to stop sleeping in two hours.
I buy Yerba mate soon, to replace coffee.
Iām an artist by trade. Used to be 3D artist, currently 2D. Also learnt at least basics of all other aspects of game design (and even some coding!) but high level or graphical coding was too much for me.
Been wanting to scratch the itch of full game development for a looong time. When I saw what unreal 4 opens up to me I was hooked immediately! Finally 
Other engines have never felt ārightā.
Sounds like Iām in the same boat as you. I also work full time with two kids to take care of. Itās hard to find as much time as I really want to work on my game. And yes, some days itās harder than others to do the work when youāre tired and just really not feeling it that day. I will usually play some music mixes in the background. Sometimes some old Nintendo game soundtracks, remixed versions. Or anything that really has a good beat as motivation. Iāve always wanted to make my own games, tried other software but my first time playing with Unreal I was hooked. Been working on something for over a year now and have no plans on stopping anytime soon. I love creating and keep learning new things almost everyday. I get sorta stuck often, but I give myself a break and so far I have always managed to figure out and issues once I give my brain a bit to cool down. With such a great community of people working on projects, there is usually an answer on the forums somewhere. It helps that the engine is so user friendly. So I havenāt been discouraged too much that could lead to me wanting to quit. My biggest motivation is that I love it, and if I could make this my full-time job so I could quit my crappy job at the momentā¦ that is a great motivator.
Before Epic, I used to dev for a couple of Indie studios and what I always found helpful was when I had the feeling of banging my head against a wall, complete artist block, or just being tired of devving, I would go do something completely different. Go outside for a walk, visit a museum or gallery, spend time with my family - just something away from a screen.
During those times I would be subconsciously stewing on everything, and would often have those āeurekaā moments of how to fix the issue, or be inspired for a mechanic or visuals while doing something completely different. That inspiration would re-spark the creativeness and Iād start being super productive again! (Also good music helps, Iām a massive fan of listening to orchestral pieces from games or films while I work).
I have myself a playlist for serious programming time (Classical - playlist by Luke 'ambershee' Parkes-Haskell | Spotify). The Tron: Legacy soundtrack is also surprisingly good. I find that music with lyrics, or music that is overly upbeat isnāt good for working to.
I always find that if Iām typing code, and listening to lyrical music, Iāll find typed out bits of lyrics interspersed with the code :L
I also like to listen to music that is relevant to what Iām making, it helps me get in to the correct mood easier. Iām doing a little cartoon fantasy adventure thing, so I listen to soundtracks like Ori and the Blind Forest and Windwaker.
$$$ and ofc his little brother ā¬ā¬ā¬
Yeah I have a few good stations on Pandora to kind of set my brain clock to the right pace and help drown out distractions.
I could definitely make it a full time job too, but that will have to wait a 6 more years so I can retire from my current profession. I will be in a position then where I can pretty much work on anything I want, so hopefully I am ready to launch by then, or at least really kick things into high gear. That is Plan A anyway.
That was actually a pretty good motivational speaker. He is right about a lot of those distractors ticking your seconds away. For me there is no question of motivation to complete the project and that I can in fact do it, but the problem becomes time. All those little things really add up to take your time away(like watching random videosā¦ doh!). That has actually hit me a lot more now that I am back in the States, which is both good and bad.
delusions of grandeur
Guilty as charged 
Air Force. Being in the military has itās downsides, but if you have the right temperament and are in it for the long haul then it is mostly positive.
My inspiration is my heritage, and yes to peek ones head above the stress of uncertainty ( never quite attainable for most of us, but admirable goal).
I have a lot in the works but nothing Iām comfortable sharing just yet, for obvious reasons.
We are creating basically adventure-puzzle type games of a unique mindset and in extreme alpha, but with content I"m quite proud of, given I"m basically doing all the art alone right now; not because I have no good ideas, but because help doesnāt come cheap, or the really good ones are already spoken for
Of course I wonāt reject any serious professional inquiries either
THIS for me as wellā¦
Ever since my first RPG, I wanted to make something with soul. I never really could think of a cast that wasnāt fabricated by another company already, so most of my inspiration halted indefinitely. When I was 15, I met some people in an MMO. It was my first time on an online game, so I was excited to meet people from all over the world. My first contact was the most awkward thing anyone could ask a person in that world: āCan I meet you?ā It went down hill from there, but I insisted on at least knowing who that person was. So curiosity followed us from that point. Even though she was resistant, she did speak to me. Others noticed our little strange dilemma and remained for most of their days, getting to know us both. The group slowly got bigger, and eventually, we just came on for each other, and never really progressed in the game at all. Even when there was intention to go somewhere, the group would not move unless everyone came along. We quickly got to know one another and nobody remained a mystery to anyone. These were people from ALL walks of life, their personalities were their greatest gift in my life, because not only did they make me feel like I was part of something, they gave me EXACTLY what I wanted out of them: Real, unbiased, unique, personalities. None of them had anything in common, and I fell in love with one of them, meeting their actual family and living the dream I always asked for.
These people havenāt left my life in, now to be, 13 years. They are still the same people, but adults, and I have halted most of my life to bring their personalities to LIFE. Iāve been writing a story for nearly 10 years, on and off, showing the best of them, and linking the ONE THING they had in common unconditionally: Their strong ties and dedication. It is one of the most difficult tasks, because I needed to create a world that was fitting for them, while keeping a strict and unbiased, word for word, presentation. There were days where Iād hate myself and them for their opinions on certain situations, but it just makes it more real and I would never stray from what actually would be if they were placed in that world.
Began with RPG maker, moved on to unreal. Planning to finish in Unreal as Iāve spent years studying code to develop beyond rpg maker.
The shear love of art, when I lose my drive I mostly look at what others have done, ATM every time I see that Paragon announcement trailer, Ninja theoryās Hellblade character or Horizon Zero Dawn, I get my drive to someday create the ultimate story with the ultimate graphics back. Besides that another major incentive is the thought of finally getting married and having kids, but I have to finish my current project first so Iām usually in full swing 
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