The Fountain of Eternal Motivation

My main motivator is definitely the search for ever-stimulating work. I need my tasks to provide some sort of intellectual interest, or at least allow for it while being performed. Using terms from the Two-factor theory perhaps it could be said to exist somewhere inside a three-point area of Achievement, Work itself and (personal) Growth.

An instant prototype for a multiple-screen rotation-based puzzle game.
Does involve leading trains of cute creatures past lethal traps.

This can of course be achieved in different ways through different types of work. Inside the realm of game design I have found that the greatest enabler of this is the possibility of exchanging thoughts and ideas with design-interested peers, regardless of the specific work done. For me, discussing game design at a theoretical level can be equally as interesting as creating actual systems and detailed mechanics. Having a discussion on a theoretical level gives the luxury of exploring, where you can do whatever without having the need for it to actually “work” in a sense. The joy of theory where everything works and no compromises have to be made, neither technological nor economical. One can dream.

A defeatist attitude brings nothing to a project.
There are always fixes to be made, often bringing a large payoff with little effort.
The tricky thing is to identify them.

While I do specialize in system and mechanics design I have found that I can be useful when it comes to evaluating and iterating assets when cooperating with group-members with other fields of specialization, mostly from a larger end-design perspective. Having some experience with both code and 3D-modeling I at least know the limitations, which is usually enough to give constructive (and more important realistic within the production) feedback and at all costs staying away from ever trying to micro-manage others work. Trying to hunt down those small fixes that bring huge positive effect for little work is greatly rewarding, both for the end-product and team morale. When working like this it helps greatly not to be in charge of management and scheduling, something that I try to avoid. In the best of worlds should a designer never manage the time and resources of a project but simply focus on improvement at all levels.