Lone ranger

[ekagauranga]

Hi all

since long time I'm trying to finish at least a game and i alway end up letting it rot.
so from your experience what is the best way to start a project?

I mean design documents, prototype, etc...

Suggestions accepted

Eka

[PsySal]

I am a true lone ranger that has finished a number of games. Anyhow the first thing is, being a lone ranger sucks! Find somebody to help with graphics and sound, at least. But beyond that, just code code code. Try and start with a very simple base game and add to it, playing as you go. Don't try and design an entire game from the top down, instead realize that you'll end up creating a game that is going to be different than you would have originally envisioned anyhow, and use your flexibilty to your advantage. One of the biggest advantages to working alone is NOT having to do a million design documents, but being able to be flexible!

[Sybixsus]

I'm not sure how useful my experience is. I am a lone ranger and I have finished a number of games, but I have a tendency to do things "the wrong way" according to everyone else ;)

Hey, for what it's worth, right?

I don't do design docs. I don't do prototypes. I always start with whatever I suppose will be the most difficult or most tedious parts. If there's a part of a project I can't imagine how I'll do, I do that first. If there's a ton of boring tedious stuff that will drive me nuts when I already have a lovely little demo working, I do it long before getting to the lovely little demo stage.

[Indiepath]

Indiepath is a one-man band also - I design, develop, prototype everything myself. I always use design docs and product prototypes at least I did do until I made my most recent game. I'm a planner and I like to make good use of the limited time I have (there are only so many hours in a day). My advice is to set yourself milestones and have a goal. There is no point starting to write a game if you don't know how to finish it, or what the finished product should be.

[PsySal]

Design docs are good, but I think for a new developer, a modest project that you just dive into is more instructive. Design docs have a few shortcomings:

1. It's hard to know if your design will be fun.
2. I guess that's mainly it.

So do design docs, sure, but keep them light. That's my advice. I do use design docs and that, but what I don't do anymore is design a game from the top-down. Heavier design docs or even just heaver program design (i.e., you implement a character structure with 50 different stats) is a recipe for disaster because not only will your design perhaps not be very fun in practice, but you will feel obligated to stick to it and so when you do have great ideas later on in development you won't make adjustments because they conflict with too much earlier code and/or design.

I guess I would say keep it light. Use documents, but keep your code fairly light and flexible and keep your documents the same way. You aren't managing a team of 50 people so you don't need everybody to be on the same page.

[Christian]

Im a lone indie too, and my advice is: Learn about game design first, then create a design that you absolutelly go crazy to see finished, thats the best way to keep motivated to keep working on it even in the worst times of development.

If you are alone, and you dont want to learn to do everything yourself, then you have no otherchoice but to find someone else to help you, paid if posible, because finding the right people to work for free is extremely hard.

If you are alone, and have th guts to learn to program, marketing, design, art, and game design, then, start learning :), and as i said before, choose something you are absolutelly sure you want to see finished, and also, dont focus on content making, because thats the thing that takes most of work and time of a development, i mean, try to not make games that are based on levels, art, dialogues, cinematics, and the like, unless its a very simple design that allows to have extremelly simple levels.

Also, you need to learn hwo to increase your motivation, your self confidence, your knowledge, since you are a one man band, you have to get better as a person too, you know, its a pretty hard thing to be a lone indie so you need special knowledge about how to be self-suficient, visit www.stevepavlina.com to get some very good ideas.
Good luck.

[electronicStar]

There are many enemies for the creator and one of them is sometime the fear of actually finishing a project when it takes too much importance for the creator.
Try to chose a VERY small project (maybe something that you are sure to finish in less than a week) and something that you don't give too much interest in, and then do it. Complete it.
That might help you fight this 'fear of completion' if you happen to suffer from that.
When you have finished the project examine your state of mind and examine the new things you'll have to do after the creative process is finished. See if there are no insurpassable obstacle that might trigger a subconscious procrastination. That might help you to see what went wrong previously.
Hi all

since long time I'm trying to finish at least a game and i alway end up letting it rot.
so from your experience what is the best way to start a project?

I mean design documents, prototype, etc...

Suggestions accepted

Eka

[ekagauranga]

Hi all

I really appreciate all the responses here. it was my first post and i got so many well intentioned answers.

thanks again.

Eka

[Sharpfish]

Some really good replies in this thread. I too am a one-man-band developer, but I won't add anymore as it's already been said (better) in the posts above! :)

[Artinum]

I used to make plans for businesses, computer games, all sorts of stuff. They'd be detailed and rethought over and over until I got stuck somewhere and gave up on them.

So when I started www.indieproofing.co.uk I threw out my old method and just leapt in with both feet. I bought the domain name (only a few pounds, but still a proper investment) and threw together a website. Some kind people on this forum might remember it. The words "hideous" and "purple" are good descriptions.

So my advice is this - do something, do anything that gets you moving. By all means research things a little and do the best you can with it, but get something out there and worry about the details later!

[wazoo]

Hurrah for the one-man bands!!

I'm not sure if I suffer from a mild attention deficit disorder, but I find that I end up tackling a project quite similar to a bitorrent file:

I'm constantly moving around between different sections and working on them for short periods of time.

It can be frustrating, but can also be rewarding and stimulating...

But the other suggestions here are excellent as well. I guess it's all a matter of "fine tuning" the processes that work for you and your own thinking / work style.

Above all, persevere.

hth,

[Surrealix]

Hurrah for the one-man bands!!

I'm not sure if I suffer from a mild attention deficit disorder, but I find that I end up tackling a project quite similar to a bitorrent file:
I'm constantly moving around between different sections and working on them for short periods of time.

Sounds like me, I'm a 'lone ranger', and work on my projects haphazardly at best. I find it much easier to work on whatever I'm in the mood for, rather than constraining myself to just one area. I don't bother with design documents, but I do have a few rushed scribbles (well, quite nice scribbles) on paper from the beginning of my project to keep the features in check, and keep me on track.

I agree with electronicStar - Finish a small project first. I wrote a quick project in a week (hence about 2 months including all the bug fixes, extra features, promotion, documentation, etc), and find it really helps having finished a couple of games to keep the motivation to finish what I'm working on.

[amaranth]

Hi all

since long time I'm trying to finish at least a game and i alway end up letting it rot.
so from your experience what is the best way to start a project?

I mean design documents, prototype, etc...

Suggestions accepted

Eka

Hi there, I was wondering... can you tell us which stage of the project you usually quit at? Can you tell us a little about some of the games that you've started and not finished? I don't think your problem is starting...

[ekagauranga]

Long ago i started a sequel of an argentinean game called Crisis (C&C clone) it was a sequel from regnum II that got a price in japan... i didn't participate in Regnum. For crisis i ported all the DOS code to DirectX 5 (long ago '96). the group dismantled cause it was made in the spare time, it was working already, little to finish it but cause differences in the group and cause we were giving only our spare time it was leave to oblivion.
After that i tried to do some small games by myself almost finish a breakout clone (the map editor was finished) (DX 5 '98).
An RPG that got into design phase.
A race game (1/3 done) for cell phones with a friend, since we didn't agree in many things i got discourage.
A tetris clone with a twist (1/3). A strange match a color game i never saw (prototype working) in Java.
And now following advice i started last week a Pong clone to see if i can finish it. It is 2/3 to completion, very simple but nice, it is done in Java using the Slick (http://slick.cokeandcode.com/index.php) lib that works over LWJGL (OpenGL). I really like java and i think it's really good for game dev. i hope i can finish this small Pong clone!

I think i forget some games. but this is a brief.

sorry for my bad english

Eka

[ekagauranga]

Also forgot to tell that all that time i was working full time, even now.

ahh and a puyo puyo clone in java , it was a test for a job.

[amaranth]

The first thing I would do is find a small game that you like and clone it. I think this could help you with your block. :)

[CabalDoug]

Great replies! I've recently started grabbing a simple concept out of thin air, and then try to come up with as many very small, simple game ideas for the concept as possible. I put all of the features of the game in a short bullet point list, pick the one I like most, and then start prototyping it. For example, right now I'm gathering ideas on "falling objects." I have one idea that I like above the others so far.

[Christian]

Hey, i was just thinking (dreaming), maybe we should get together and form some kind special forum targeted at us since we lone indies are so special and cute and all that (actually we have special needs right?), we are the indies of indies :), what you say?.

[Sharpfish]

Hey, i was just thinking (dreaming), maybe we should get together and form some kind special forum targeted at us since we lone indies are so special and cute and all that (actually we have special needs right?), we are the indies of indies :), what you say?.

I say a sub-forum of this one would be nice. ;)

[ekagauranga]

My first game finished.... it took something like 10hrs... but spreaded around 3 weeks :P so you can imagine!

RetroPong (http://www.myjavaserver.com/~ekagauranga/games/retropong/retropong.jnlp)

working on my second!!

cheers


Eka