Getting unstuck and staying on track

I've been working through priorities and realized that some slowness is because of being stuck. I'm letting blockages impede progress so I did a couple things:

1. Work on art assets: there are lots of assets to create so this is an easy wat to keep things moving
2. Sketch out screens: start imaging what things will look like to figure out the steps to take to get unblocked

I always find working on assets to be meditative and it helps me to process some of the other problems. I often write notes or sketch little things along the way.

One problem I'm working through is how best to integrate the zombies into the game, more specifically where on the screen and when. This brief sketch helped me to think through the major states and changes between them. It is linear with the possibility that the Chance screen doesn't show and that the player might not decide to Trade.

Now that I have that visual idea of what I want, I realize I need to learn a little more about Godot and how best to structure the screens. There's the action to take on my next steps! Problem not solved, but blockage removed!

Here are a couple more sketches that show how loose and messy this can be to get stuff moving.

As for keeping on track - my definition of staying on track is making some noticeable progress every week - I've found three things to be really helpful:

1. Tell people what I'm doing: this makes me feel a commitment to back-up what I said, "I'm publishing a game"
2. Back-up my words with something to show: Publishing an alpha of Run for your Life! makes it real and something other people can experience beyond my colourful words
3. Using the devlog here on Itch to communicate my progress and challenges

The great thing about #3 is the power of journaling. Writing helps me get unblocked, solve problems, and stay committed. Journaling work like a conversation for me. I can articulate problems clearly, think about those problems, and come up with a response. That response might not be a solution. It could take the form of prioritizing the issue or pointing to some alternative action like learning something.

Learning is my primary goal with these games and I'm doing lots of that!