Hello Everyone!
I think you all know me pretty well by now, from my scenes or calls (“cries” sounds so negative) for help.
I need some advice Game Designer to Game Designer(s).
I know how to do everything needed to create a game, but I just can’t make one decision.
Do I do the ethical thing and start to make smaller games or go with the game that’s a bit more innovative?
The thing is I love both of the designs I have in my head, but… well I like my small game idea, but there really is a true passion for the other.
The thing is every time I want to start the other I just keep thinking the same stuff “will this work?” " do I have enough experience?" “is this too hard to do?”
I know the smaller game is easier… but the real passion I feel always makes me go back to it.
Its like picking between your girlfriend and your best friend that also happens to be a girl.
You love one, but the other has you burning (I had to come up with some analogy).
So in your own experience or knowledge… what would you guys go with?
The one game that you know you love, but is difficult or the smaller, more ethical indie-effect game?
I personally would go with the more innovative game, because there you can improve your knowledge and you dont just create a small game which is developed in some weeks/months + when you are stuck with something during the development process, you can always ask us here in the forum
Of course it will take longer + it’s probably a little bit depressing when you create an awesome system which wont work in the end, but your learning curve will increase drastically
You could try a game that would be able to start out small and if you accomplish that then you add more. Then you’re more likely to complete something and if it is successful then you’ll be able to be more ambitious with it by continuing to improve and expand.
“Do I do the ethical thing and start to make smaller games” Always try to do the ethical thing. I don’t know how that would apply to your game?
And, why not do both?
Start with the small one, knock it out, then do the big un.
Easy for me to say.
Roll on!
Hello,
As both seem interesting for you maybe can you begin quietly by preparing both of them like 4 hours of work on each, time to list what you’ll have to do, create a short game design document, maybe a bit more and then look at both and make an opinion with more stuff in your hands.
(but if it was me i would choice the innovative as crazy and funny as possible^^)
Especially when you choose the innovative one a GDD is really important to keep the overview (best would be with all important steps listed in the document -> so keep it small)
Don’t create any documents.
At least ones that are longer than two pages. Have your ideas stored somewhere, but in game dev, nothing is better than battle testing trough iteration.
Hey guys thank you for all the help so far and the quick replies.
I think the best way to go about this would probably go with creating some documentation.
Not a GDD yet, but instead maybe a One-Sheet or even a (short) Ten-Pager if need be, that way I can rough out the details without going too much into detail…
If I still can’t figure it out then I’ll just get into them, a few hours (probably one level) of work on each.
If I find myself making one and saying “I have to complete this that way I can make the other…” I’ll know which to choose.
Hopefully I can settle this soon so I can get to work.
Thanks for the help so far!
I’ll keep you updated.
I’m in a similar situation, where I have two game ideas that I want to work on, and one is a small, simple game that would probably be well suited to mobile, while the other would be a huge, ambitious project. I’m still learning the engine, so I decided to work on the small game so I can get my hands dirty with it and get comfortable working with the engine before I try tackling the bigger project.
I’m pretty excited about both game ideas, though, so it’s not an issue of choosing something easy over choosing something I’m passionate about (the small game is something easy that I’m ALSO passionate about :D). If you’re really passionate about making your bigger project and not so much about the small one, my choice might not necessarily be right for you. In the end, I think you have to work on what excites you. If you’re not excited about a game you’re making, you’ll probably have a hard time finishing it.
Now that I got a bit of a handle on it all I would say that you could do both at the same time. For that matter you could work on a lot of different games at the same time and it only takes a few clicks of the mouse to totally change the game play mechanics.
I think having two or three projects at once is the best. When you start getting burnt out on one you can move to another and bounce back and forth. I’m in the same boat as you and I’m working on a simple side scroller as well as a more complicated FPS. It’s nice and refreshing to bounce out of one and into the other when you need a change of pace or scenery.
Hmmm, I just thought of something based on what you guys have been saying.
Since the bigger project would need a GDD maybe I can tackle my small project on the side while I do the GDD.
I mean, no one likes paper work so if I can do something fun with it… that would be pretty cool (well, check that, GDDs are fun to make, but I mean development fun).
Do you guys think if I do a GDD I should solely do the GDD or do you think I can work a around it a bit?
I think it’s totally do able and even Epic has personal project Friday An interesting side effect is the more assets and resources that you collect from just the market place the clear it comes on how easy it would be to fork and recycle into other projects. Tappy Bird for example was done in a single day.
The Mixamo animation pack is another thing to look at as you can prove to yourself that you can quickly switch the art concept on a dime and work on two different movement systems at the same time. Once the Market Place is open I’ll give it a year before someone with software sense will will be able to make a AAA title game on their own. (or of at least say Two Brothers quality)
I suggest start small, be surprised how well simple small games do. Which can help you with finishing out larger projects. Also gives you a bit of street cred for when you need assistance from others for doing things you might not have strong skill sets in.
The best advice I could give you is to simply follow your heart. If you have enough experience that you are able to do more than just a small game then don’t be afraid to go all out. I think starting small is great if you have a game idea that works well for that but don’t be afraid to take a major risk. It’s hard and I can completely relate to how you feel. I left a great job back in March to follow my dreams of starting my own video game company. Back in 2008, I was going to have a publishing contract and unfortunately lost it when Blizzard/Activision merged with Vivendi and shut Sierra Online down who I was working with at the time. Back then, if you weren’t an established studio, it was extremely hard as the indie space wasn’t fully developed to get any respect. I worked very hard on that for well over 2 years sacrificing and it was an extremely hard thing to go through after it felt like my dreams were going to take off, to put in all the blood, sweat and tears to loos it all in the end. Between the fall of Sierra and some other personal matters I was dealing with at that time, I needed to take a step back and refocus my efforts.
I was at my recent job and couldn’t stop obsessing about it and getting off the ground and after Microsoft invited me out there last Oct for the ID@Seattle event, I came back more inspired than ever to kick this off. Right now, I’ve basically started everyday very early and I go to bed around 5am almost every night and I have to sacrifice seeing friends or having remotely any sort of life. I’ve also lost friends because I am now considered the friend that never wants to come out. I do have a lot of close friends that completely understand and support it but not everyone does. I saved up close to 35-40K before I left my job and I’m basically on a do or die mission. It’s all or nothing and I believe I can do it and ever since getting the Nintendo back in '86, my life was truly never the same.
But to relate, I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights I have where I worry if I am doing too much or not focusing on the right areas. It’s a hard thing to experience and sometimes no one out there but you will understand how tough it really is. At the moment, I’m doing everything from the programming, art, modeling, uv mapping, audio fx/music comp, etc you name it but will eventually focus on being a great CEO and Creative Director once I can get a proper team established. Ever since I was young, I dedicated my life to learning everything I could about game development so it really helps at this early stage in the game (pun intended ;)) but still, there are so many times I sometimes fall into doubt. I have meetings with some major publishers lined up and I have probably a matter of 6 months to nail things down and get investment. It’s the scariest thing in the world but yet really exciting.
Also, I agree with Iniside not to get too caught up on design documents and I’ll tell you a funny story. When I met with the execs at Vivendi/Sierra back in 2008, I spent literally weeks on my design docs and it literally was I think well over 50 pages of stuff. I remember walking in to first meet Ross Erickson, who was actually 1 of 5 gentlemen at Microsoft’s Xbox Team that launched XBLA and decided their initial lineup before moving to Sierra so I was really excited just for the opportunity to talk with him. I first walked in and passed around stapled copies of my docs for my older XNA title and without batting an eye, became drink coasters for all of them. Inside, I was saying, man… that took a long time to make haha but quickly I learned design docs didn’t matter much and Ross was a great guy through out the meeting regardless of that. The reason why, at least in this instance, they wanted to play my demo and talk about it. The 15 min pitch turned into an hour of talking about the project and covered more within the first 15 minutes than the entire doc. It’s possible they looked at the docs later but I doubt it. I think in the end docs are good for an initial outline but they can also create early limitations and barriers so try to be as open ended as you can as long as it doesn’t negatively affect your ability to stay productive.
But from one dev to another my man, follow your heart and believe in yourself buddy and fight the doubt. No matter how hard it gets, just make sure you are prepared for the sacrifices you may have to make in your early strides to get your game off the ground. And don’t pick the easier game only because it’s less work, because amazing things can always happen from taking big risks in life. I feel for you Jason and I wish you the best of luck on your journey. I am not sure who says this quote or if I’m quoting it accurately but I’ll leave you with this my friend… take care
Also, I’d be open to helping start a group out here in LA with some of you from the community and having some meetups for some of us trying to start a company, share our stories or simply to recruit some team members. And to everyone else out there going through the struggle, stay strong, keep dreaming big and reach for the stars.
I would say that the dream game is what will keep you up at night, working to get it done. This kind of motivation is a powerful thing.
However, you will also learn a lot from making lots of small games. Do you really want your big magnum opus to be the first thing you make? How bad will it be, if you have not learned from your previous mistakes? If it was the first time you packaged/marketed it?
I’ve coded a noughts-and-crosses (tic-tac-toe, for you colonials ) game, and learned plenty from that. About code re-use, refactoring, how to document it, so you remember what you were doing when you put that semi-colon in, at 2am on Monday morning last month.
My favoured Hitman game is currently my side project, as I learn about the systems that I need to make it. Those systems are making other smaller games.
I guess what I am trying to say is don’t look at these small games as diversions. They are stepping stones, getting you to where you want to be, just not as directly as you would want.
Good luck!
P.S. If your girlfriend is not your best friend, you’re doing it wrong. (I know, it was only an analogy )
tl;dr - the author explains why it is important to work on stuff you have a passion for, and why working on things you do not truly have a passion for (i.e. mobile development in his case) is not a good idea.
There’s something I’ve been told repeatedly, and it’s that the first 10 games you make are going to suck, so get through them as fast as you can. You learn from your mistakes, so I’d start by making small games. There’s nothing worse than starting passionately on a project and then coming to hate it because it’s going terribly wrong. Things are still probably going to go terribly wrong, but it won’t be in the beginning with simple stuff at least.
) game, and learned plenty from that. About code re-use, refactoring, how to document it, so you remember what you were doing when you put that semi-colon in, at 2am on Monday morning last month.