I don't know about you, but I sometimes could use a break from the instant yet temporary satisfaction we get in life. Sure, it's nice to have modern conveniences, don't get me wrong. Having info and answers promptly available is wonderful most of the time. But there are just certain things that will not come instantly, no matter how hard we try to force it. Some of those things may include, relationships, game design, saving money, game design, finishing that important project, and even game design!
Did I mention game design?
When I first started working on Pandemonium Estate back in 2012, I worked on the game for only about six months before deciding that it was a good idea to launch on Kickstarter. It wasn't. And those of you who have been following my story, know how that whole thing panned out.
Since I was a kid, I have always gotten my hopes so high for things, even if it wasn't guaranteed to come to fruition. As we all know, life isn't fair, and I would be hugely disappointed most of the time when things didn't end the way I had expected them to. This mindset didn't change, even when I was working on my first board game, until recently.
About a month ago, I had finished the final version (after about 10 versions) of my game's 43 item cards! I was stoked! I spent hours upon hours refining each card, reading them over and over again just to make sure that everything was perfect! I even spent 45 minutes on ONE CARD! That was a brutal moment. I got all of the cards exported from Photoshop, uploaded them to the printer website and.....
I scrapped the entire thing...
Ok, so it wasn't that impulsive. I let the cards sit there for a few days in the print queue without "submitting" them for print. I wasn't happy with them. Something just wasn't right. I dreaded the thought. I knew that the last thing I wanted to do was redo ALL of the cards again. But I knew that I wouldn't be happy unless I did. So I went in and deleted them from the print queue, went back to Photoshop, and started over.
My point is, DO. NOT. SETTLE. DO NOT SETTLE on a mediocre person to marry, DO NOT SETTLE for a job that's just getting you by. DO NOT SETTLE when you think something is "passable." And DO NOT SETTLE on a design for your game that you are not COMPLETELY satisfied with! If you send something out for print that you know probably shouldn't have gone to print, then you only have yourself to blame.
You'll finish when you're finished. Put the work in and make it perfect. It will be worth the wait.