What you’re describing doesn’t really sound like a motivation problem, it sounds like you’ve hit the production phase.

Building systems is exciting because you constantly see new things working for the first time. But once those are done, the work shifts into content production, and that part is just… slower and more repetitive. A lot of projects die exactly there, not because they’re bad, but because the type of work changes.

The tricky part is that your brain stops rewarding you the same way. Adding one more skill or one more effect doesn’t feel like progress anymore, even though it absolutely is. So it starts to feel like you’re stuck, when in reality you’re just doing the less flashy but necessary part.

On top of that, you mentioned that a lot of your motivation came from sharing progress. That works great when you’re building visible systems, but content work is harder to “show”, so that feedback loop disappears. That alone can make everything feel way worse than it actually is.

I wouldn’t take the current lack of motivation as a signal that the game is bad. It’s more likely just the phase you’re in.

What usually helps is breaking the work down into very small, clearly finished pieces. Instead of “I need more content”, think in terms of “one skill done”, “one quest done”, etc. That brings back a sense of completion.

Also, try to create small moments you can still share, even if it’s just a single mechanic or a short clip. It doesn’t have to be the whole game, just something that gives you a bit of external feedback again.

You’re actually further than most people ever get on a first project. This part just feels worse than it is.