Finding Balance in Game Development: The Art of Focus and Relaxation

A note on finding psychological balance as an indie game developer.

The Emptiness After Work

When my workday ends, I suddenly have a lot of free time. Even though my motivation has been high lately, I cap my work at seven hours a day for health reasons.

But the hours after work are surprisingly hard to sit with. The sense of fulfillment gets replaced by emptiness almost instantly, and the contrast feels uncomfortable. To escape that feeling, I start consuming content: AI videos, programming tutorials—today it was Rust and ASP.NET Core.

Once I calm down, I realize it’s mostly a waste. It has little to do with my current game, yet it burns a surprising amount of mental energy. After-work time should be for real recovery—or for genuinely meaningful activities, like writing, reflecting, or doing something that helps me reset—instead of keeping my brain spinning at full speed.

I’m slowly learning a simple rule: having free time doesn’t mean I should fill it with low-value noise. Over-consuming attention and energy just leads to exhaustion without creating anything that matters.

Where Does Game Development Anxiety Come From?

Over the past few weeks, while building a pathfinding system, I’ve repeatedly fallen into a vague, hard-to-name anxiety. Some days I end up working ten hours straight, like something is pushing me to finish as fast as possible.

I felt the same thing when I was developing “Rated Sudoku”. I worked all day without being able to explain what I was rushing toward. That kind of pace isn’t just physically unhealthy—it also doesn’t necessarily improve financial outcomes.

After thinking it through, I realized the only thing that ever seems “worth” rushing is money—because life needs an economic base. But in the long run, whether I make ten games in my lifetime or five probably isn’t the point.

The anxiety mostly comes from wanting to ship quickly and start earning as soon as possible. But if I remove the money pressure, is the release date really that urgent? Obviously not.

Game release ≠ commercial success. Quality is what determines long-term income. If I trade quality for speed, shipping earlier doesn’t guarantee better results.

If I think in terms of return on investment, shipping later often pays off—at least until the game reaches a genuinely high level of quality. Once every part of the experience is well-polished, extra development time yields diminishing returns. But before the game is truly “good”, the ROI is low: it’s only barely acceptable, and it struggles to earn attention in the market.

So instead of rushing to release, it’s often better to let a game mature.

2026 Goal: Focus on a New Game

Even with that patience in mind, I still want to release a new game this year. That means I need to concentrate and temporarily set aside promotion and further work on the Sudoku game. After the new game ships, coming back to improve Sudoku will be a healthier sequence.

To ensure quality while controlling costs, I need to:

Streamline the scope: Keep the game around ~10 hours (or less). A tighter game can still become a classic without creating a crushing development burden. If sales go well, I can add content later.

Pause marketing: Put nearly all time into core development and ship once it’s done. This lets me finish faster while keeping quality as the priority.

Maintain momentum: Finish the project in one continuous push. Over time, velocity drops, motivation fades, and distractions creep in. Finishing sooner helps—but only as long as quality stays non-negotiable.

Long-termism in Game Development: Don’t Rush Making Money

In the gaming industry, a long-term perspective is crucial. Rather than focusing on first-year revenue, consider the commercial potential over 10 years.

Since I don’t do large-scale promotion and don’t have time for video content, the first year will indeed be challenging. But quality games increase in value over time—as word-of-mouth builds and player reviews improve, revenue curves often trend upward.

Trust the power of time. Although my Sudoku game hasn’t reached 1,000 copies in nearly half a year, I firmly believe it has the potential to sell 1 million copies. Because the core experience is strong, I believe it can perform much better over time.

The same applies to new games. From a 10-year perspective, quality indie games far exceed regular job income. The key is:

• Stay Patient: The more you rush to make money quickly, the harder it becomes to create excellent products
• Focus on Quality: Great products need time to polish, and competitors are equally serious
• Reject Get-Rich-Quick Fantasies: The gaming industry is highly competitive; quick riches are nearly impossible

Excellent products require patience and dedication. Rather than worrying about short-term income, focus on creating truly valuable gaming experiences. Believe that as long as quality is outstanding, the market will eventually reward you.

Keep the faith — everything will work out.