During this time i am going to try and develop a working prototype of a game design i have been planning for a while.
As I'm sure many people do, i tend to think that if i didn't have a job i would be able to develop games much quicker. I'd be able to concentrate on a solid 8 hours (or more) of game-dev a day.
Unfortunately i am an accomplished procrastinator and as such i am unconvinced that this would actually happen
so..
I am going to spend the next 11 days as if i was a full time indie game developer (or at least what i imagine it would be like)
Hopefully i will achieve my goal and prove to myself that i can do it (at least for a short amount of time)
I will be journaling my progress, hopefully with screenshots.
First up on my list is a quick overhaul and refinement of the cacophony of notes i have compiled on this game, in summary it's a small TRPG with a simple skill/magic system.
There is a lot more to the final design but this is the subset of features i will be concentrating on during this stint.
I have a clearly defined outcome for this stint of development and that is:
- A small working prototype of a single level
- 3 Different classes of character
- Simple skill system for attacking/defending
- Focusing on completing the demo in the time allocated
- As opposed to making everything with the underlying engine as the focus
Coming from a background as a background systems developer(both applications and games) i tend to design and develop with re-usability and utility in mind, however for this project i am trying to move more towards a "as long as it works" then i can focus on the refinement after the fact(after the 11 days). Not because i believe my previous methods of working aren't good but because i wish to try other ways of working to see if i can find some crossover skills i can use.
As you would imagine there will be at least 11 updates in the next 11 days (perhaps more), if you're interested come back tomorrow for more adventures.
- Working on your game is not just time at your desk, use every minute you can find to write notes, draw sketches, plan, plan, plan.
- When you sit down to do some "real" work make sure you have a clear to-do list. I can't stress this enough. This will also help with not spending too much time on one thing.
- Once you have your task list do a bit of an estimate of how long it's going to take. Then double it. This is really just to see if it's achieveable in your 11 days. You'll find you'll be better at doing the more important tasks first.
We all stuff from procrastination sometimes, but it's really only one of the many struggles that stop us from being able to develop games full time. Assuming you can figure out how many hours it's going to take to complete your game, you still have to support yourself until the game is finished and then it needs to sell enough to cover all the time you could have been working.
That said, I think what your doing is a great idea and you should make a good start on a game. Once you go back to work hopefully you'll learn a few things about managing your time so that you can complete it part time.
Good luck! I'll be watching