Take This: When Starting a New Project
I have previously addressed self-care and general approaches to make doing projects sustainable. However, I left a lot about project management itself. I'll try to talk about it in the coming days.
One of the likeliest culprits of getting burnt out in the beginning is getting overwhelmed. Sane scoping would help and I would always advocate starting from the smallest project you could think of, but at this stage you probably don't know enough about yourself to be able to gauge that. Excitement may bring projects composed of many moving parts and/or require multidisciplinary fields of expertise, and you may or may not need a collaborator. I find it useful for indie devs (or anyone making anything for that matter) to start by getting a feel of their projects, a survey of the lay of the land, so to speak.
- What kind of project is this?
- Why do I want to do this?
- How much time I plan to sink into this?
- What do I plan to achieve with this? (It can be as simple as 'getting my friends to laugh')
Then break down what has to be done, step by step, and identify:
- What you are able and willing to do
- What you are able and willing to do, if you really must
- What you are unable to do but willing to learn
- What you are unable to do and unwilling/have no time to learn
For whatever you are unable to do and can't learn, you'll have to find someone (commissions, recruitment, etc) or get premade assets/components, basically allocating extra effort and resource to acquire. There is nothing shameful in using premade assets. You don't always have to roll your own pasta or make your curry roux from scratch, and there are lots of kitchen tricks to make the resulting dishes look and taste pretty damn good.
Some people would bristle at the idea of getting a collaborator. Some hoard their projects like a dragon, uncomfortable with the idea of letting someone near their babies. There's no way an outsider would understand how much the project means to you, how your mind works. Some simply want to have their private ventures. It's perfectly alright, but you may have to adjust your stance and/or your scope. If you do decide to find someone though, I bid you good luck. A fruitful partnership is a boon to many beautiful things, and having a longtime collaborator is a blessing.
For things you have to learn and do yourself, you'll have to allocate extra time in the schedule. You have to be honest or everything basically breaks down. If you can technically design and implement GUI, but you absolutely hate every second of it, it may be worth exploring getting someone (Or premade assets. Or... do you need it at all? Maybe you don't).
Stardew Valley wasn't made in a month. Toby Fox didn't create Undertale in a year. Do not fall into the myth. Many solo endeavors in such big projects cost more than you might think, including personal relationships and mental health (Again, I'll have to link Indie Games: From Dream to Delivery here. One of the rare books covering indie production from all the real world angles).
Remember, equivalent exchange! You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you're on a shoestring budget, then you may have to do more on your own and set your sight on a longer timeframe (or be creative). If you can't do anything but also really absolutely against learning anything, go back and pick something up. We'll talk then. You can start claiming to be "the idea guy" if you have at least attempted a prototype of whatever you want to build, however badly it's done. If your idea of "the idea guy" is someone who tells other people what you want and does nothing else but comment until they get it right a la ChatGPT, you may fit better running the circus in Silicon Valley.
Why aren't you willing to learn? Is the activity simply outside your realm of interest? If you have somehow convinced yourself that "I'm not a drawing person", "I'm not a coding person", then let me tell you that is mostly bullshit. Even if you're never going to be Picasso, knowing what the process entails will often be useful. And you might kill some demons in the process.
To build momentum, start from what you are able and willing to do. Usually it will be easier to gear yourself up for things you are able to do but less inclined to once you feel like you get the progress rolling, and hopefully it will provide a boost of motivation when you go over to things you have to learn.
But really, if shipping is not your main goal, please make whatever that tickles you in whatever way that suits you. Be weird. Have fun.