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When Someone Has An Idea For A Game...

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Traverity, Feb 25, 2012.

  1. goat

    goat

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    My and a buddy could talk for hours on great ideals not trivial games but we didn't have the ears or the capital to develop them anyway but it was a lot of fun because we knew they were good.

    I'll tell you go ahead develop it because everyone thinks they are a genius but outside of Edison, Tesla, Einstein and a select few others we are more victims of circumstance and the central banks creating 'genius' out of money supply and marketing.

    And it's the early retirement I bet you're really after anyway huh? I can tell you that's what we wanted.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2012
  2. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    Retireing before i even start work :) that sounds nice... just need to fix my darn game :D
     
  3. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    I couldent disagree more to this statement(if we are talking about the first game :)) if you do a superman and do everything it gives a good respect for all aspects, the problem with the colaboration style things, is that onless its someone that is very experianced then its generaly just some duche bags that decide they wanto make a game no nothing and then decide to make a FPS, they just fail because:

    1.They relise it isent just a walk in the park
    2.They relise there idea is horrible
    3.They are the "CEO"
    4.There team gets eperiance then moves on to there own project's because they dont wish to be a pawn in there stupid ideas
    5.They just gather a team... and forget to make the game :(

    I am yet to see a team that has just been made on forums etc that has made a good game.... i have however seen many one man bands making great games.


    Oh and also the main problem is that they take more then they can tackle, i think make nice simple games then widdle it up into more complex games, actualy this is the only way to do it(proboly JustinLloyd or someone will come along and dissagree with me, but in the days that i was making a block mmorpg i got nowere :( but after making a numberline game and then ruku the wiz i felt like a genious i think i learned more from that then my whole game dev life before it :D)
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2012
  4. ivendar

    ivendar

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    After messing around with people working for free for about a year all I can tell you. Better do a small team and have very dedicated people than a big team searching for everyone. Workout a plan with those people how much time everyone can and will have to contribute and test new people who might join first. Give them some jobs to do and don't open up your project too much. If you can, better try to save up money and search for freelancers you can afford instead. Then you will have less problems later about who's owning which rights or such the like.

    Last year we've had a team of 28 people now it's 3. So as you can see basically 3 of 28 people have been willed to work for free on something they like. And that not even have been freelancers. A good freelancer however can provide you with good work much faster as he spends his time in this as his main work.

    On steps to do I would suggest to

    1. Write down any ideas you have for yourself to not forget anything
    2. Make a Design Document . Think about everything you will need ever. Write down, check and write down more. Think about every little detail, gameplay, camera/character movment, gui, target systems, just everything, one step after another.
    3. Get some concept art ready
    4. Get some programmer in team (learn or pay or however to get this solved ^^)
    5. start working out what you've written out
    6. once you need of course 3d art
    7. Iam no lawyer or merchant to tell you ;) Get in contact with some.
    8. Just be happy and pleased about what you do yourself and keep on working on it as long as you think it can be done. GL =)

    Hm yeah. First try to do everything you can do on your own. As long as you can do something yourself it's the best way to make sure you can progress. Trying to motivate people who are not motivated is a big loss of your time. However with those dedicated you should set up forums, a internal wiki and some skype/teamspeak meetings. This all helps people to stay in contact.

    Also for sharing very basic informations that need no NDA you could think about using google docs. Also there's dropbox for file sharing. Talk to your people and determine what's best to use for everyone and I wish you more luck than I've had.

    Last to say. Be patient and fair if people have problems but not too patient. ;-)

    Cheers
     
  5. justinlloyd

    justinlloyd

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    My name is Justin Lloyd, and I approve of this message.
     
  6. TehWut

    TehWut

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    The only way I would do a team is if I knew them in person (good friends for some time).

    Take a look at that Unity FPS by DLG (Drunken Lizard Games). Probably the only "real" project that has been sucessfully worked on by a group of teens like me. I would never join an Internet * "team" for obvious reasons.

    *kids who can't do anything, stealing, no deadlines, no communication, different opinions, and pretty much just stupid.

    Except Terraria might be the only exception. Not to say they didn't do a whole lot of planning

    just my thoughts.
     
  7. FusionGames

    FusionGames

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    Yes, but that was not the point. I agree that most people who just go "oh, I want to make a game. Let's make an MMO or an FPS!" will not get very far. This is true regardless of whether they decide to make a team or do it alone. Generally speaking, these kinds of things fail very quickly once they realize that they have no clue about what to do. I'm not saying that you shouldn't ever make things yourself (for smaller projects this is great) but once you've made a few small things and want to move on to something bigger, building a team is something one should seriously consider.

    Generally douchebags who just "decide" to make rip-offs of popular games (COD clones etc.) will last about 2 seconds. First of all because they have no experience, second of all because they have no creativity, and third because they're lazy. The teams these people will gather will most likely be their personal friends. I can't see a decent, experienced team being created by anybody like that.

    My point is that Traverity does not appear to be one of these people. They are asking on advice on how building/leading a proper team, how to properly lay out a planning pipeline, etc. Obviously, not some random person who just decided to make an MMO/zombie shooter/FPS just yesterday.

    Really. Name a few decently sized "one man" games that have actually made it to commercial/free release. Also, the fact that you said "teams that have just been made on the forums" means that the teams would not have had any time to develop their projects.

    Agreed. However, a team makes a project more manageable, so people can get more accomplished instead of the "I can't do this all by myself!!!" frustration that happens to many individual developers working on big projects.

    Of course. And the team they assembled doesn't remind them about the game; no, they just decide to go along with the flow and forget the entire reason they were assembled...

    This statement assumes that you are extremely proficient in every aspect of game development (modeling, texturing, animating, rigging, scripting, storywriting, character development, sound effects, music, level design, etc.) However, I highly doubt that the majority of the Unity community are entirely proficient in all these areas. Also, even if they were "superman" like, I highly doubt that very many would want to waste a good 5-6 years on their life on something that they could have accomplished in less than one with a team.
     
  8. kingcharizard

    kingcharizard

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    +1

    I have an idea for a RPG, not not a MMO just an RPG but before I begin to develop that idea I have much to learn. So I've remade some arcade games learning some skills and techniques along the way. Currently I'm making DonkeyKong and I learned something new while making it, I know by the end of this project i'll have learn a few more new things.. My point is, depending on the difficulty, shelf your idea start small and come back to it when you know without a doubt your ready to develop that game.
     
  9. drewradley

    drewradley

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    Ideas are cheap. Good ideas are not.
     
  10. Starsman Games

    Starsman Games

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    Minecraft. Tiny Wings. Doodle Jump. Trism. Off course, it all depends what you call "decently sized", but MineCraft is as large as it gets. I did Bomber Cat entirely alone (everything but music, and even that I did the editing on) and that has 120 levels, was not done overnight, though.

    The app store is full of significantly sized games entirely made by one man teams.

    I dont think anyone questions this (although you NEED some one with team management experience or initiative to make it work.) What is disputed is that one-man-shops cant finish projects.

    *looks to all sides*

    I dont think I'm any more respected than anyone else in these forums. Just because you make your game on your own does not mean you will gain popularity of any sort. Maybe I'm marketing myself wrong, though... but if I hire a marketing guy I'm no longer a one man shop!!! CURSES!!! :p
     
  11. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    I dont think you quite get what i was trying to say :), i meen respect for the difernt elements of game design(eg. modeling, programing and level desgin) so by doing it all its like a platter of game development and then people wont say something is easier(if you do it well)
     
  12. Starsman Games

    Starsman Games

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    Ah you mean the developer in question develops the respect, gotcha. I guess you do are right in that! :)

    Respect, and FEAR! :p
     
  13. FusionGames

    FusionGames

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    You do have a point there...my point though was that tritanty said that nobody should ever make a team, like, at all. My point is that it is a viable option. Both are options, actually. It's really up to the main developer I guess.
     
  14. lmbarns

    lmbarns

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    read a project management book.

    Honestly I had to take a crappy Project+ cert for school and after the first chapter I quickly rewrote several weeks worth of designs into a clear, well defined layout, identified deliverables, scope, goals, and had a more productive week than the previous 4 combined.
     
  15. goat

    goat

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    This thread makes me laugh but I hope we're all having fun. I'm not quite 300lbs but I'm so lazy, with Unity I could be publishing a game a week. I guess I should start swimming again.

    Anyway if I haven't said it already running my mouth on another thread as far as making a game with Unity goes AND you're a greenhorn (or even if you're not); learn systems integration.
     
  16. goat

    goat

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    Dude, at 10 years old I was walking the streets for pop cans and pop bottles to make money and kidding myself that I could get a job in want ads.

    You're not supposed to want to retire early until you've had a job. :)
     
  17. Traverity

    Traverity

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    The conversation was fun, but can we please get back to the question? :D
    (For those that already gave their wisdom, just wait until I ask a new question xP)
     
  18. Traverity

    Traverity

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    No more words on that subject it looks like.

    So, new question!

    Is planning a project important? Or is it better to just jump in and iterate as you go?
     
  19. TehWut

    TehWut

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    Is this some sort of trick question?
     
  20. Traverity

    Traverity

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    Some people think that planning is vital to a project, while others think that all you need is a general concept before creating a quick prototype; iterating on the designs as you go along.

    I don't do trick questions.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2012
  21. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    There should alwawys be somekind of planing.... i doubt that you could make a game without planing even if you dont relise you have a plan!
     
  22. Traverity

    Traverity

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    Alright, then let me change the question to...

    How much should you plan for your game project? What are some of the things that your plan absolutely needs? How much detail should the initial plans have? Any prerequisites to consider? Any advice?
     
  23. lmbarns

    lmbarns

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    In my case, I was adding piece by piece as the idea came to me, while writing down a general chart of categories with lists of items and interactions...which I thought was going well.

    But then after a project management class, I went back to the start, figured out the deliverables required as if I had stakeholders funding it, what would I need for them to sign off on the project as completed. Once I figured out what I wanted to build, it was trivial to fill out the required components to meet that goal. Prior to this, I just had an open ended game that was going in a lot of directions. If you run it as a project, you have to think through any additions you add to the scope, I think it keeps things on track as well as makes it easier to define what needs to be done and what changes are worthwhile or not (thinking pareto).
     
  24. TylerPerry

    TylerPerry

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    It is far to dependent on the kind of game... a puzlee game may only need some planing for levels gameplay etc were a RPG needs like the story planed out to make sure it has no flaws..

    (both these need alot more but you get the gist :D)
     
  25. George Foot

    George Foot

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    It depends if you want to ship or not. If you want to ship a finished product, think hard at the start, make decisions, and don't stray from them unless you have good reason. If you find yourself wanting to stray for a good reason, still think again - should you actually finish the first project, then make something else that uses your fancy new idea?

    However, if you've thought yourself into a corner, don't be afraid to write some code and prototype some cases that you're stuck on. It might help you make your decision, or give you something you can show to somebody else to get their opinion.

    If you're not set on shipping a product in a fixed timescale, you have more flexibility to iterate during development, and can afford to plan less thoroughly. Still, this can turn into a monumental waste of time and effort, as you will often write code and then throw it away. So try to avoid heavyweight coding in a prototype of a design idea that might not work at all. Either invest the heavy coding in a library that you might be able to use again on another game, even if you decide not to keep it for this one, or prototype the concept in a lightweight fashion so you lose less by throwing it away when it doesn't suit the game.

    If you do it right, though, iterative prototyping is a valuable part of planning, whether it's right at the start of a project, or halfway through when you're considering adding a feature you hadn't thought of at first.

    Above all, whether you do it through prototypes or not, isn't it better to spend a day planning and finding something doesn't work, rather than spending weeks implementing it only to come to the same conclusion? So - plan the difficult bits first! And implement the difficult bits first!