| (Exactly) three months ago I quit my job to work full time in my game. I've yet to know how well It'll do. But maybe my input can help. # Do. Then do it well. I usually work like this: 1- Hack something as quickly as possible
2- See if it "works for the game"
- If it does, GOTO 3
- If not, abort and go do something else
3- Refactor, re-architect and polish
# Make it so that you can iterate FASTBeing able to change and test an element or a feature individually is crucial. I have taken a data driven approach to some of the game elements. So I have a big JSON file with the data of monsters and moves. When iterating, I simply change values here, relaunch the game and check if I like the result. I also use this file for "design debugging", starting in a later level, making the character immortal, etc. I'm using Godot, where each custom element can be a Scene. This means that if I, for example, create my special kind of button, this button is a Scene and I can run it on it's own. I also have code that runs only when running as scene like this. I usually add buttons of keyboard input handlers to "simulate interactions" with the element. # Everything is a prototype Nothing is set is stone. Nothing is final. Everything is a prototype. Many times, a new mechanic changes completely how the others feel. Don't be afraid to change previous elements to accommodate the new one. The same applies to code. ATM I'm in my third "rewrite" of my game's Battle UI and UI logic. The new UI arrived[0] and it was somewhat different of the old one. I just create a new file named "NewBattleUI" and start copy pasting and changing stuff from the old one. Don't get attached to anything. # "Feel" is the objective woko and yetihehe's shared talks explain this way better that I can:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26247832
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26248964 My game has a Pokemon-like battle system. After watching those talks I implements visual effects for the moves. They changed nothing for the "raw numerical gameplay" but totally changed the feel of battles. # Post Scriptum My game is called One Way Dungeon. It is a linear dungeon crawler with Pokemon-like battles.
It's being developed for Android, but you can try the latest web build here: https://vaskivodev.gitlab.io/onewaydungeon/builds/2021-02-19... [0] I've hired a UI/UX designer to help me design it. |