I’ve just been for a run round my local park and am pretty amazed by how quickly I get out of breath and start walking. Until I see another runner that is, at which point I find fresh motivation and summon the energy to start running again. While it could just be me being lazy and awful at running, I think this quite common and probably the reason that running with someone else works so well. It’s also probably one of the reasons that people are paid to set the pace in marathons.
It struck me how similar this concept is to making your own games. When I lose my motivation and feel like giving up, I go to a conference, pub meetup or just talk with other game developers and the flames of my game dev desire are fanned once again.
Another similarity I drew between the two is that whether you’re running a sprint (small game) or a marathon (big game), you’re still running and your effort is just as valid whichever you choose to do as long as you give it your best.