To cope, sometimes I like to pretend whatever I'm making is just a little baby prequel to the big one tee hee

10/10 vibes

Thankyou! <3

*dies from writing too much dialogue*

A guide is in the works for if you get stuck, but feel free to ask for help :)

I also plan to write up a post-mortem about development soon.

Laying down is an important part of game dev

That's one of the main influences :D

Honestly yeah

Depends on the individual certainly. But for people like me - somewhat haunted by the stories they want to tell - I see it a lot. The project suffocates under its own weight when the artist can't see it grow and move toward their motivating idea/s.
Compartmentalising development has helped that.

It took a good bit of life happening to understand it wasn't a sustainable way to make anything.

Smaller scope is one thing, but that just sets a lower threshold of completion. Having an effective development strategy is underepresented in standard "gamedev advice".

Which meant I would polish and recreate what little game I'd made over and over, a collection of mechanics and visuals that only ever looked like a game, without ever actually being one.
Aside from gamejams, I never finished.
Which naturally got demotivating as I went through that cycle many times.

Previously, I got lost in the grind of making content linearly, such that it felt like I was spinning my wheels. I'd make a system or resource that I'd end up inserting wherever I could find a place for it. Just to justify the time I'd spent on it.