How Much Can You Make with Arbitrary Deadlines?

Postmortem: The Curious Case of “Project Evergreen”

We’re here today to talk about Project Evergreen, a game that never saw the light of day. It’s a classic tale of ambition, passion, and ultimately, a project that withered on the vine. As indie developers, we often chase perfection, believing that more time equals a better game. With Evergreen, we learned the hard way that this mindset can be a silent killer.

Our initial vision for Evergreen was grand: an open-world survival crafting game with a sprawling, procedurally generated forest, deep lore, and innovative mechanics. We started strong, fueled by inspiration and boundless energy. The problem? We had no firm deadlines, only vague aspirations. This postmortem isn’t about technical failures; it’s about the invisible enemy that truly sunk us: the lack of arbitrary deadlines.

The Endless Alpha: When Features Multiply

Evergreen’s initial prototype felt great. We had core crafting, basic survival, and a compelling art style emerging. But then came the “what if’s.” What if we added a dynamic weather system? What if creatures had more complex AI? What if players could build multi-story structures? Each idea, seemingly small, expanded the scope.

We entered an “endless alpha” phase. There was no fixed date for a feature freeze or content lock. This open-ended approach felt liberating at first. It allowed for creative freedom, but it also enabled constant iteration and feature creep. Every week brought new ideas, new systems to integrate, and new art assets to commission.

The Art Asset Black Hole: Perfectionism’s Price

One of our biggest money sinks and time drains was art. Our lead artist, talented as they were, was a perfectionist. Without a firm deadline for art asset completion, they continually revisited textures, refined models, and re-evaluated lighting. A single tree model, intended to be a placeholder, underwent countless revisions.

We never set an arbitrary deadline for, say, “all environmental props must be finalized by X date.” This led to a backlog of assets stuck in revision purgatory. Developers were waiting on art, artists were polishing endlessly, and the project’s momentum stalled. The pursuit of graphical fidelity became an unending chase, burning through budget and morale.

Indecision and the Polish Trap

Beyond new features and endless art, Evergreen suffered from chronic indecision. Every minor design choice became a debate, every UI element subject to multiple iterations. We’d spend days tweaking values, only to revert to an earlier version. This “polish trap” meant we were always refining, never truly finishing.

There was no “arbitrary deadline” for a build to be considered playable, or for a specific gameplay loop to be locked. This fluid definition of completion meant we never had a solid foundation. Every week, we’d find ourselves backtracking, redesigning, and re-implementing, all in the name of marginal improvements.

Implementing Arbitrary Deadlines: A Reverse Calendar Approach

So, what could we have done differently? The answer lies in the power of arbitrary deadlines. These aren’t externally imposed dates from a publisher; they’re firm, internal commitments you make to yourself and your project. They seem random, but their firmness forces decisions and prevents endless iteration.

Imagine setting a deadline: “All core gameplay mechanics must be locked down by May 1st, regardless of perceived perfection.” Or “All first-pass character models must be complete by June 15th.” These dates force you to make decisions, prioritize, and move forward. They create artificial pressure, but it’s productive pressure.

A powerful tool for this is the reverse calendar. Start with your target release date, even if it feels distant or aspirational. Then, work backward. If you want to release in December, when does alpha need to be feature complete? When does beta testing need to begin? When do all art assets need to be finalized?

Each of these backward-engineered dates becomes an “arbitrary deadline.” They might feel like you’re pulling them out of thin air, but they give your project concrete milestones. For example, if you decide your game needs a month for sound design, that immediately sets a new arbitrary deadline for everything else to be finished before then. This structured approach helps in tracking game development progress.

Actionable Steps: Making Deadlines Stick

To implement these arbitrary deadlines, start small. For your next feature, set a firm, immovable deadline for its first playable version. Don’t allow for endless polish. Get it in, get it working, and move on. You can always revisit later, but only if you have a finished game to revisit.

For art assets, set hard completion dates for categories: “All environmental props by X date,” “All character animations by Y date.” This forces artists to deliver on time, even if they feel a texture could be 0.5% better. The aim is completion, not perfection.

Embrace “good enough.” This is a tough lesson, especially for creative individuals. But a finished, “good enough” game is infinitely more valuable than a perpetually polished, unfinished one. Use your “arbitrary” deadlines to enforce this mindset. It’s how you stay consistent with devlogs and avoid the common pitfalls of indie development.

To effectively manage these internal deadlines and maintain momentum, we strongly recommend documenting your journey. A dedicated game dev journal can be invaluable for organizing your creative process and keeping your “arbitrary” deadlines on track. By regularly logging your progress, decisions, and challenges, you create a tangible record that holds you accountable and provides clarity. Start tracking your game development progress today with our game dev journal.

The Path Forward: Finishing Your Game

Project Evergreen failed because we didn’t set boundaries. We believed infinite time would lead to infinite quality, but it only led to infinite stagnation. Arbitrary deadlines, counter-intuitive as they may seem, are the critical difference between a dream and a finished product. They force you to make hard choices, to prioritize, and most importantly, to ship.

Don’t let your passion project become another “Evergreen.” Embrace the power of the arbitrary deadline. Set those firm, seemingly random dates. Work backward from your desired finish line. Your future self, and your future players, will thank you for it.