the problem i have when making games with artists is that i can never fully agree with the artist's ideas about a game. I could be a dictator and tell him that it's my idea and he's not changing it, but then he won't be as inspired as he would be otherwise, and the game will probably fail. The same applies for me; even if all I do is write code, which some people don't think is an art at all, I do have my aspirations for the game. Most of the time when I'm motivated to work on a game, it's because i've "seen" the game in action in my head, whether it's in a dream, hallucination after drugs, or just that i had the idea while sitting on my fat ass eating chips.
When I "see" my games in my head, it always looks so perfect, with amazing graphics, and full packed action. Heck, sometimes I have ideas for games and only then when i open flash I realise that the idea i had requires 3D and I can't code 3D shooters.