Black Golem

When I started out making 3D models for Nordenfelt I made all design sketches, 3D models and rendered sprites public. I thought it would be a clever way to get feedback what's good and what's not. Theoretically not a bad idea. Practically: it was worth nothing.

Due to the fact that I was a newbie game artist back then I was not aware of what's essential for game graphics. Nordenfelt's visual style is "simplified realism", alike Baldur's Gate. So I thought making somewhat realistic graphics would be sufficient. As you may guess the fuzzy word "somewhat" turned out to be a stumbling block.

Whenever I presented an asset people started to argue that the angles of the Gatling guns were not realistic, that steam engines need boilers or that there's no hint how the machine was able to float in the air (e.g. visible propellers). In my naivety I followed these hints and altered my assets for the sake of realism.

I remember having a forum discussion about the cockpit shape of the player ship. A guy argued my design was flawed because there never has been any real-life aircraft with a cockpit shaped like my 3D model's cockpit. That was the moment I asked myself: What does all this not-plausible-in-real-life carping have to do with my game? It doesn't make an iota of difference to the gameplay.

The problem with showing assets in isolation is that the formative design rules are not obvious. Above all assets have to carry the gameplay. If necessary paint tanks and war planes in pink and red if it helps to distinguish them from the background (what would be disastrous in real war). It's irrelevant if propellers are too small to carry the weight of a hover bomber. It's more important that they don't cover other enemies which may become a real threat then.

Finally feedback on assets is just "noise". Everybody has a different taste and idea of what your assets or game should look like. Therefore it's a waste of time to adapt assets to other things than gameplay and overall style. As soon as people see your assets in motion and interaction with each other the scope of feedback jumps to a way more helpful level: how good the GAME is/looks.

Don't get trapped on the details level.

Cheers,
Thomas

This is the fourth chapter in the series of tips for people starting their career in game development right now. Be sure to read chapter 1, chapter 2 and chapter 3 as well.

Good games have to provide fun. Aside graphical fireworks, realistic enemy behaviour and twisting storylines games have to be enjoyable. That's THE basic rule each game designer should obey. To prevent yourself wasting too much time try to find it fast.

Game Dev Newbie Tip 9:

Find the fun in your game ASAP.

Add cool graphics, sounds and whatnot later. Go for the essence first. Well known genres are shortcuts in this regard. Reuse their approved rules which are known to be fun and save time.

In case you completed your game (congrats!) and you want to sell it you may feel embarrassed charging money for it. Doubts like "it's not as good as I've planed" or "other games are much better than mine" may cross your mind. You know what? Many games are not as good as their designers wanted them to be. And there will always be game X which is better than game Y. Nevertheless they sell. Some more, others less. Forget these nagging feelings. Check out the current price level for your game and name your own price.

Game Dev Newbie Tip 10:

Don't fear demanding cash. Name your game's price.

When you get used to selling you will become aware that prices are just the measurement of supply and demand. Emotional attacks from complainers will occur. What the heck! Apple is the subject of relentless criticism. Nevertheless people buy their stuff because they want it. Just adapt a price when it does not work for you, not because people think it's not fair. Monitor your conversion rate and adapt accordingly.

Nevertheless don't underestimate the gain you can get from giving away a game for free. People download and play free games more likely than non-free ones. It's a no-brainer. This way your game can spread way faster than if it would go for money. When people like it they will check out your next game as well, even if it has a price tag attached. Or you can transform your free game into a more polished, extended version and sell it. In both cases people will pay because you gave them something good for free beforehand.

Free stuff is a no-brainer which can spread out like wildfire. Exploit this if you wanna get known.

Game Dev Newbie Tip 11:

Gain a foothold with free games.

Different price tags have different advantages and disadvantages. Don't fear to experiment with them and find the best solution for your needs.

Cheers,
Thomas

Here we go with the 3rd installment of tips for game development fledglings. Chapter 1 is here, chapter 2 is over there.

Promises are dangerous. They are like a bet on your reliability. If you meet the forecast goal in time, budget and quality people will see you as a person who keeps word. If you don't meet the deadline your reputation may suffer. Not much but it may get less. Scheduling software development is hard, especially for the inexperienced. Therefore reneging is very likely for rookies. Do it several times and nobody will listen to your plans any more.

Game Dev Newbie Tip 6:

Don't make promises. Show what you have when you have it. That will do.

As mentioned above estimating a game's effort in time and money is really hard. It needs quite some practice and experience to make an educated guess, for example when your game comes out. A good advice I can give ...

Game Dev Newbie Tip 7:

Write down everything you do.

OK, everything may be too much. But there are some important things you should track at least:

• work time and what you did
• sales statistics
• website visitors
• design decisions, why you decided that way
• cost of software, hardware, books, etc.
• cost of assets like graphics or music

Why should you deal with all these stats? Simply because the next advice won't work without such data:

Game Dev Newbie Tip 8:

You can't improve what you don't measure. Record, compare and advance accordingly.

Work time and sales may give the best example in this regard. When you don't know how much time you spent on your game how should you know if it is profitable? Similar conclusions can be drawn from almost each point of the list above. Over time you will find out which statistics are important for you and which you can abandon.

Cheers,
Thomas

This is the second bunch of game development tips for rising game makers. Read the first shot here.

Starting a new project is always great. You have many ideas floating around in your head about what you're going to make, how great it will be and how much fame and money you'll get. Fueled by these thoughts you work and work and work and work and ... recognize it's too much work. Games easily escalate when it comes to the effort you have to put into them.

Game Dev Newbie Tip 3:

Start smaller than intended. Then cut off even more. If it's just Tetris you did it right.

After a while designing/coding/drawing your game you may lose the fuzzy feeling which pushed you forward so far. An essential truth hit you at this point: making games is work, not a game itself. Now you see a fork in the road: cancel it and start something new (promising fun again) or stay the course.

Game Dev Newbie Tip 4:

Half-done games = nonexisting games. Finish it, eased by tip 3.

During your game development career you will learn many, many things. As a result of this your games will get better and better. This means your last game will be way better than your first one. You don't have to fear to be rejected as a game developer just because your startup trials are crap. Look over to successful people and their history of games. Some of their attempts will make you smile because you're already up to do better. Check out old games of Cliffski, Jeff Vogel, Wolfire or Notch. Nothing really famous there, isn't it?

Game Dev Newbie Tip 5:

Your first shots won't make you rich and famous. But their potential to do so will rise.

Each craft gets mastered by practice. So start small and grow bigger. Most famous game makers started like you. You're in good company.

Cheers,
Thomas

When you proudly present the first version of your game people will carp at the graphics immediately. If not you're either no newbie or you have a very, very good artist who knows what to do before you know.

It's your audience's job to point out wrong stuff. The problem is that they are just humans which are obsessed with appearances. No surprise, our instincts are dominated by visual input. Further the internet delivers primarily optical impressions. So it's no surprise that most voices talk about your game's graphics and nothing else.

Game Dev Newbie Tip #1:

Don't take critiques about graphics that seriously.

First of all: ask 10 people and you will get 10 opinions. There is no way to satisfy every taste.

Second: just listen to repeating signals. Solve issues which get pointed out over and over. Don't please singletons.

Last but not least: successful games may have the same flaws as yours but their makers don't bother. Why? Because they know what's unimportant. I remember people complaining about the water tiles in Nordenfelt: "It looks like the land is floating above". They (I think 2) were right. It really looked wrong. But you know what? Eschalon Book II has the same "problem" and Basilisk Games makes buckets of cash with it. Just because it's a good game and such details are irrelevant.

Game Dev Newbie Tip #2:

Keep a critique list, sort it by occurrence, work it off top-down.

Unimportant issues will starve at the bottom. You can't satisfy everyone but you can satisfy the majority.

Edited, thanks to @schonstal:

Maybe the most important thing in game development is your own style, your character. Generic games are a dime a dozen but personality keeps your audience coming back for more. Critics will try to convince you, following their path instead of your own. This does not mean they are evil. They just don't have a clue what your vision is. Thus...

Game Dev Newbie Tip #2b

Apply your own priorities in the critique list. Otherwise you are at the mercy of the wild sea.

Be the guardian of your own believes. People appreciate strong attitude.

Cheers,
Thomas