I've been trying to make a game for the past 4 years. I have not given up yet. I have however, gotten to the point where I feel like I have to create something, anything. That is a game. That's what led me to work on Net Attack as opposed to some of my larger game ideas. Finishing something is going to be huge to my confidence. I remember talking to my cousin about my hobby of making games. She made a remark about how it would be a long time beforfe I actually finished a game. That was back in Januarary of 2004, now some three years ago. This is the year I actually AM going to finish a game.
Looking back on what my cousin said, she was not trying to hurt my feelings. Initially it was hard for anyone in my family to get behind my seemingly odd career choice. It probably would have been much easier for me to convince her of what I could do If I had a game to show at the time. I realized By not having something tangible it's hard for me to prove that my ideas are more than just pretty words and drawings that I've commited to paper. (or to a blog).
I realized this fact again when I tried to have a team help me complete an entry for the Indeppendent Game Festival that is held at the annual Game Developer's Conference. Getting initial interest in a project is not hard, getting people to stick around with just a game document
is nearly impossible.
I also realized that having something to show helps my own morale. Not having any sort of tangible demo or something to play helps self doubt and fear creep into a project. I start to think that I cannot achieve the goals of the game design, that I can't lead a team to actually build a game, or worse yet, the game is not going to be as fun as I think. The only way these questions can be answered is by having some type of playable game at all times.
I used to think that having a game to show meant that I had to have a complete level, and all the features and art had to work as specied in my game design document. I now realize that this is not the case. You don't need fully functional art or features to prove your game concepts. There was a group of students at MIT that did nothing but prototypes to help prove thier design ideas. Proving a game concept can be done with a minimum of art and programming. There's no need to waste lots of time producing art for a concept that may not fly with yourself or your team. Luckily I'm using Torque and 3d Game
Studio for my intial game projects. These are great engines in their own right, but they are nearly invaluable for quickly prototyping something.
I'm using 3d Gamestudio for Net Attack and was able to throw up a quick demo that allowed the player to shoot. I was even able to show it off to someone. Recently a friend asked if I was working on any games, I told him about my idea for Net Attack, his first question was: "Do you have any levels to show off yet?" Since I had been working on a test level while writing the game design document, I was able to answer yes. This was much better than having to say no and then talking about all the features it will have. Nothing is a bigger boost than to have to watch a friend play something you've made.
So what do I have to show you ask? Well here you go: It's not much but it's a start.
Looking back on what my cousin said, she was not trying to hurt my feelings. Initially it was hard for anyone in my family to get behind my seemingly odd career choice. It probably would have been much easier for me to convince her of what I could do If I had a game to show at the time. I realized By not having something tangible it's hard for me to prove that my ideas are more than just pretty words and drawings that I've commited to paper. (or to a blog).
I realized this fact again when I tried to have a team help me complete an entry for the Indeppendent Game Festival that is held at the annual Game Developer's Conference. Getting initial interest in a project is not hard, getting people to stick around with just a game document
is nearly impossible.
I also realized that having something to show helps my own morale. Not having any sort of tangible demo or something to play helps self doubt and fear creep into a project. I start to think that I cannot achieve the goals of the game design, that I can't lead a team to actually build a game, or worse yet, the game is not going to be as fun as I think. The only way these questions can be answered is by having some type of playable game at all times.
I used to think that having a game to show meant that I had to have a complete level, and all the features and art had to work as specied in my game design document. I now realize that this is not the case. You don't need fully functional art or features to prove your game concepts. There was a group of students at MIT that did nothing but prototypes to help prove thier design ideas. Proving a game concept can be done with a minimum of art and programming. There's no need to waste lots of time producing art for a concept that may not fly with yourself or your team. Luckily I'm using Torque and 3d Game
Studio for my intial game projects. These are great engines in their own right, but they are nearly invaluable for quickly prototyping something.I'm using 3d Gamestudio for Net Attack and was able to throw up a quick demo that allowed the player to shoot. I was even able to show it off to someone. Recently a friend asked if I was working on any games, I told him about my idea for Net Attack, his first question was: "Do you have any levels to show off yet?" Since I had been working on a test level while writing the game design document, I was able to answer yes. This was much better than having to say no and then talking about all the features it will have. Nothing is a bigger boost than to have to watch a friend play something you've made.
So what do I have to show you ask? Well here you go: It's not much but it's a start.
