15 tips to help you successfully develop a small game

Too many games have been abandoned by the authors when they have not yet been developed. Independent Game "Angela's song" author Derek Yu, this article lists 15 tips on how to successfully complete a game. These tips can help a wide range of game developers to identify the problems they face during the development process and discuss how to solve them.

Complete a game

While I was trying to finish my game, I was thinking about how to do the project in general. I've noticed that there are a lot of good developers who are having trouble getting the game done. To tell the truth, I have left behind a long series of unfinished games ... I think everyone has it. For a variety of reasons, not every project can be fruitful. But if you find that you've been halfway through your potential game, it's worth considering taking a step back and examining why this is happening.

We have a feeling in at least one game, comic, movie, etc-"Wow, I can do better than him, he's overrated." But step back and think, hey, they finished the project on time, that's the point, and I didn't. It's at least one thing they do better than me, and that's probably why they get good reviews. If you look at "completion" as a skill, not just a step in the process, you will not only realize that you can do better in this matter, but also get your own habits and ways of thinking.

I don't think there is a right way to play a game. This is a creative attempt, so there is no immutable dogma. But as a game developer, a guy who talks to other game developers about this, I think there are some psychological pitfalls that we're stuck with at some point, especially when we first started. Recognizing the existence of these traps is an important first step towards successful completion. (You and I, the idea of putting these ideas into words is, in a way, my way of overcoming them.) )

So ADO, here are 15 tips for completing the game:

1. Choose Potential Ideas

I found that there are three types of games that interest me: The Games I want to play, the games I fantasize about doing and the games I'm good at doing.

The game I want to play is the ones that look fun for themselves. It may be that its mechanism is interesting to experience, or that there is a character that I particularly want to portray.

The games I fantasize about are the ones that are more interested in the result than the finish. It may be an "unlimited" concept ("gosh, the Grand Theft rider joins the Final Fantasy to join StarCraft ...)." Or it's just a good idea, but it's not necessarily fun to realize.

I am good at making the game is suitable for my personality, I also have the production experience of the game. Perhaps there is a type of game you are particularly longing for, you can well understand its rhythm and flow.

In my opinion, the idea of having the greatest potential (if it can be done) can be divided into these three types, in addition to satisfying "I have the time and resources to make it."

2. Really start this damn game

Writing down your thoughts doesn't mean starting the damn game. Writing a design document is not equal to starting that game. Setting up a team doesn't mean starting the damn game. Even making pictures and sounds doesn't mean starting the damn game. "Getting ready for that damn game" and "starting that damn game" are confusing. But just remember: a damn game can play. But if you haven't made something that you can play with, you can't call it a fucking game!

So, hell, even if you make a game engine, it's not necessary to start the damn game. I put this in the next tip ...

3. Do not do unnecessary independent research and development technology

Writing your own engine has pros and cons. But ask yourself, is it really necessary? What are you doing now that you can't do on the basis of what you're doing, or are you reinventing the wheel? Of course, if you write your own engine, you can do well in your own favor. But honestly, how long will it take you to move from the engine to the game itself? Do you find yourself making engines instead of games?

I used game maker to make the original version of Spelunky, a "finished product" that eventually gave me the opportunity to make a Xbox360 version of my work. So don't think game-making tools or some other fool's tools are some kind of unprofessional approach. The important thing is the game itself.

RELATED Links: The independent Gaming Forums technical Forums

4. Prototype

This corresponds to the second: the prototype, first of all, take advantage of anything you can get. Sometimes you'll find out right away that this is a bad idea. Sometimes you find a better idea by chance. Either way, I usually find it hard to decide which one to choose until I really start to do it. So make something!

5. Ensuring that core mechanisms are interesting

Make sure it's fun to play around the core mechanism. Just running the most basic interaction should be fun, because that's the part that the player always does when playing your game. Ultimately, you want the core mechanism to drive your development. It will be easier for you to delete the game content at the end of the day-you can always get it back to the core mechanism.

It is entirely possible that in the prototyping process, you find a better game than the original mechanism-consider making that new core mechanism!

6. Choose a good partner (or stick to a manual)

Looking for a good game-making partner is like dating in many ways. You might think that skill is the only thing to consider: "Oh wow, cool, I'm a programmer, this guy is an art ... Let's get started! "but don't, there are other things to consider, such as personality, experience, time and mutual interest. Like a romantic relationship, you certainly don't want to play a role that is not focused on yourself or her. Use a few small projects to test each other, because the key figure in the development of a few months or years to leave will become a real disaster.

Completing a project Another important thing is that your partner understands your abilities and your partner feels comfortable with you. It's hard to convince an experienced person to work with you for an idea alone. Consider the few ideas that can really be found (how difficult it is to perceive the value of ideas before they can be run). A good partner wants to see the game you've completed. So finish them!

Also, look for free graphics and music on the web, at least as placeholders (at the independent Gaming source we have a game where we create a lot of free art and music). Use ASCII, if you must. As a fine art, I know I prefer to contribute to a project that has been completed but lacks the art resources. If you need a programmer ... Consider learning your own programming (if I can, then you can too!) Or pick a few game-making software (see article III).

7. The drudgery is normal-take this factor into your plan

Many game productions are tedious, downright fun. It's not a game, it's work (that's why you should strangle anyone, the one who says "Play games all Day" jokes.) )。 Sometimes you suddenly realize that when you plan your projects and prototypes, all of the content here is not considered at the time--such as menus, page transitions, storing and reading files, and so on. I've been thinking about this amazing world that I've been creating, or an interesting mechanism I've experienced in the past. I didn't think I was going to spend weeks making a menu of features so that it didn't look like crap! Or, you know, there are things that are interesting in a small number of situations, such as making character animations, but when you realize that you're animating 100 different characters, it's like a nightmare.

Once you have completed a few times, you will realize how important these things are to extend your project so that you don't spend too much time in the inevitable mire ("too much time" depends on when you quit). You will realize that these boring things make the whole game complete! A beautiful title page can make the game professional.

8. Will be awards, competitions and other activities as a real cut-off time

When Alec and I were working on Angela's song, the deadline for the submission of the independent game section forced us to make difficult decisions, including the direction we had been discussing and forcing us to deal with the schedule more realistically. If we don't have that deadline, I'm not entirely sure we can do it. It's important to play because the deadlines are realistic, rewards (fame, prizes, and possibly money) are very realistic. They can also bring you ways to connect like-minded people in your community.

RELATED links: Independent Games Festival, Ludum Dare

9. Forward

Feeling stuck? Then go on. Start making the next checkpoint, the next enemy, the next So-and-so thing. It not only helps to be motivated, you want to feel the whole game unfold. It's like writing--if you want to make sure every word is perfect before writing the next sentence, you don't want to write it down in the same sentence. You write down an outline.

10. Take good care of your physical and mental health.

When you focus on completing a game, it is surprisingly difficult to take care of yourself. But to be honest, by not sleeping, not exercising, not eating on time these ways, you are doing a damage to the production of the game. At the best of circumstances, you will hinder your ability to exert full potential at work and make it easier for you to give up. There are some questions about your project that are taken for granted, but persistent frustration and sickness certainly don't count. When your brain and body feel like a lump of junk, you certainly don't want to continue working on the project you're dreaming of.

11. Don't start looking for excuses.

"My Code is a mess. Besides, I've learned a lot. If I start again, then I can do it faster and better, and the rest of the game will be developed faster!

Stop,no. This is more or less the real situation in each game development. Your code is always a mess. You will learn a lot of things. It can never be perfect. If you start all over again, you will find yourself repeating the same. Could think of it as a terrible trap.

Here's a joke: A man spends his life making a game engine, the engine is perfect, and the perfect game just presses a button to produce it. In fact, this is not a joke, because the real point of laughter is that he never finished! There is no such engine or game at all.

If the bad organizational structure really slows you down, then go back and do some surgery on it, which will make you feel good. Even if there are some hack methods, if it works, then go on!

12. Record for the next game

You'll have a great new idea in the development process that will surprise everyone, but you'll have to redo the whole game to make it happen? Write it down for the next game! I hope this is not your last game. So write it down, prepare for the next game, finish it now!

13. Excluding

Oh, damn, you're behind schedule. You have a lot of ideas that they can colonize Mars before you can accomplish half of them. Oh, you're unfortunate, but wait!

Well, it's great, yes! Because now you have to decide what is really important content, for your game, what content you can delete. In fact, if we have unlimited resources and infinite time, we will make the same bad, misinterpret all the games, we have no reason to play it. Limited resources and time force us to make a compact game that people feel is purposeful.

If you've been building some of the core concepts that have been proven fun, you just have to keep cutting it out until you leave that part of the core concept. Others are optional items that you don't need to make. What's worse is that these non-essential elements prevent people from discovering the best part of your game.

14. If not done, reduce the size, rather than increase

Okay, sometimes it's time to declare a project stop. Maybe it's because you're never going to get it done. Maybe your team has been disbanded. I wrote down these items to help people avoid this possibility, but, hey, maybe you just shut down a project like this. Sometimes you just stepped on a piece of crap.

If you're not going to save it, at least make sure you reduce the size of the next project. It's easy to keep your eyes high, even when your project becomes more and more impossible to complete. "My skills have improved!" I learned from my failure, "is a common excuse." That's why I think it's important to take completion as a skill.

(So, go down, down, down, down, down to a point, you might find that it doesn't fit your identity in some way.) For example, do not jump from 4X space simulations to three-dimensional 4X space simulations, try a good game and focus on a small space simulation element. If you can't finish it, try to do some games like asteroids. It is likely that it will take more effort than you expected. (and/or more fun to do than you expected)!

15. The final 10%

Some say the last 10% is really 90%, which is exactly right for game making. Details can take a long time. Of course, maybe you could write a complete combat system within one weeks ... But make it better, do it complicated (no bugs) ... These things can take months. The real truth is that you might do a lot of the so-called "last lap" sprint before you're going to do the last lap.

If that sounds depressing, it shouldn't be. Although the last 10% was tragic, I found it was a very satisfying time in development. Because it's often the case that if you've spent the right time, then those things really look like they're combined at the end, and it's a magical feeling to turn a bunch of clutter of ideas and content into a tasty game snack.

That's all the details.

Finally ... Posted!

Damn, you released a game! Congratulations, you upgraded, this is an important moment. The rewards are: the promotion of confidence, the ability to complete the project's reputation, understand the whole process of game production! But most of all, you have a wonderful little game that I can enjoy! Like making games, I really like to play games.

Friends, stop watching: You are a game developer.