What is the biggest obstacle stopping you from finishing your indie game?

Indie game development has a strange romantic image. One developer, one laptop, one incredible idea, and eventually a successful game.

Reality is usually much messier.

Projects become too large. Art takes longer than expected. The scope explodes. Developers lose motivation. Systems need rewriting. Marketing gets ignored until launch is approaching. Then the game is finally finished and the developer realizes nobody knows it exists.

So what is your biggest obstacle?

Is it programming? Art? Time? Money? Motivation? Scope? Marketing? Finding collaborators? Learning an unfamiliar tool?

I'd especially like to hear about projects that are currently unfinished.

What is the game? How long have you been building it? What was the original scope, and how has it changed?

One of the most valuable things an indie developer can learn is how to reduce scope without destroying the idea. Sometimes cutting half the features is what finally makes shipping possible.

If you've successfully released an indie game, share what surprised you most about the process.

If you haven't released one yet, tell us what you're working on and what you believe is currently stopping you.

Maybe another developer here has already fought the same boss battle.