crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
I never wanted to admit it was possible to become overly ambitious. I now realize my error. Im just sick of project ideas, whole projects, just being discarded because there's no time or it gets old or its too hard. I would like to be part of a serious developement team for a change. i guess that would require me to have actual skills. If anyone feels the need to comment, please do. SHARE MY MISERY!!! jk. ------------------ |
en972 Member Posts: 562 From: NOT TELLING! Registered: 08-27-2004 |
I don't get it.... ------------------ |
ArchAngel Member Posts: 3450 From: SV, CA, USA Registered: 01-29-2002 |
I totally agree with you. I've sufferend that countless times. I keep getting smaller and smaller projects for Soterion Studios. First Bean and Rye, and adventure game, too big. so we down grade our project into a arcade shooter, Viet Cong. still too big. now we're making a really small dueling game, Bathtub Buccaneers. hopefully, we got this one. ------------------ |
Brandon Member Posts: 594 From: Kansas City, Mo, USA Registered: 02-02-2004 |
First off, I'm no veteran or anything, but from experience I'd say that starting the projects is always the "cool" part. Even the design phase, but actually finishing it will take some serious effort, and soon you begin to realize that it will take work and not play! There will be times when you wish you'd never started the project, but keep on pushing anyway. And take your time to make sure that it's right too. ------------------ |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
yeah. there is a small group of my frineds that I work with. We decided to make a game, and it was going well, but we ended up ditching it. There was this one guy who always had alot of great ideas, but brought nothing to the table. I had to actually end up "letting him go" because we wee always overwhelmed with lofty visions of grand games we were going to make, and spent about 90% of the time doing this, not actually getiin things done. So we basically downsized our group to an extreme and decided to go with a big flash movie. We have a guy who knows flash, and an up and coming 3-D modeler. (both things I can't do) so yeah. its gonna be about and hour and a half. 30 minutes an episode, 3 episodes. we aren't going to make them all at once, so as not to overwhelm ourselves. you can check out some stuff our flash guy has done by looking up the Maximum Ninja and Madness series on sites like flashplayer.com he goes by capnkrinkles, (im not sure about caps and spacing)
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
hey arch... why is your site's forum dead, since like,... last october? i was gonna post, then realized, there's nothing to say... ------------------ |
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ArchAngel Member Posts: 3450 From: SV, CA, USA Registered: 01-29-2002 |
um.... last october? I was posting on it yesterday. ------------------ |
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kevryan Member Posts: 37 From: Shaver Lake, CA Registered: 07-20-2001 |
My advice to everyone that hasn't completed a game yet is always to choose a project that is fairly small and then complete it 100%. Pretend you are planning on selling it - even if you aren't. You will learn more in finishing the last 5% that you will in working on the first 95%. ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
You got me on this topic ... I started an adventure game in ... 1998! It still isn't done, only about 40%. It is a LOT of work to do and I have day job, family, God and other priorities. However, with the help of a good brother that wrote the engine (http://Academics3d.com ) and my minister who helped with the lessons, we have shipped Interactive Parables ( http://InteractiveParables.com ). FYI, Stone who wrote the engine is interested in getting other projects done with it. Definitely listen to Kevin's advice above! He knows what he is talking about as he has shipped many, many games. I know I learned a LOT about everything when trying to wrap Parables up to ship. In fact, that is where I incurred my first real dollars spent into the project (artwork for packaging). Also, when forming your team, be sure to gauge everyone's level of commitment. And even skill level. God bless, ------------------ |
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ArchAngel Member Posts: 3450 From: SV, CA, USA Registered: 01-29-2002 |
so the Interactive parables was you! whoa. cool. remember stumbling across it and was like, oh cool. never saw the Graceworks on it tho. ------------------ |
D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
I think Krylar has a really good article that really worth looking at regarding game development on here, and seeing projects through to the end. Realities of Game Development or something. --D-SIPL ------------------ |
Simon_Templar Member Posts: 330 From: Eau Claire, WI USA Registered: 10-25-2004 |
I just came from reading d-sipl's thread on the forum returning more to its coding base.. or at least having more coding discussion, content, and over all activity. It prompted me to a thought that has occured a number of times since I came to this forum. I thought it would be more on topic in this thread so I'm posting it here. First off, I'm not really a coder, what brought me here was that I was looking for a christian community that talked about game design which is something I'm interested in, and something I've done as a hobby, just because I like coming up with ideas and designs. The problem of course is thats the aspect of making games that everyone seems to want to do and to like to do most. I don't even know if such a thing is really possible. Maybe the difficulties involved are too great to overcome. But I guess you'll never know that for sure till you try. Anyway, just an idea. ------------------ |
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D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
Great post simon_templar i couldn't agree more. Everybody is involved in their own little projects and as you say i would be surprised if 10% of those saw the light-of-day. If we all pulled our resources together we could all get a project done, the only problem is, someone will have to oversee the project, everyone has to agree on a language and engine. The type of game has to be agreed. I think if everyone was allowed to chip in, even some of those new to programming we could probably make a pretty decent project to show the world. --D-SIPL ------------------ |
bennythebear Member Posts: 1225 From: kentucky,usa Registered: 12-13-2003 |
i like the idea. i was thinking about something like that, at least a project that is/was going on in arch's forums made me think about that. whoever was in charge of the organization would have to be one very responsible person though, and obviously good at organizing. people do projects across the web a lot don't they? ------------------ www.gfa.org - Gospel for Asia www.persecution.com - Voice of the Martyrs |
GUMP Member Posts: 1335 From: Melbourne, FL USA Registered: 11-09-2002 |
Originally I wasn't going to bring this up since I thought it would be an unpopular topic... How I joined TGS: If I was going to work in the game industry I wanted to produce games that not only entertained but could teach a solid Bible-themed message. Along with a group of other people I started a company called Gamers Underground Movement Productions. To make a long story short that endeavor failed and I decided to set aside my own plans in favor of furthering the Christian game industry in whatever capacity was available. I believe that one of the largest issues facing the Christian game industry is the fragmentation of the talent pool, since everyone seems to want to develop their own little pet project. At this point the industry realistically cannot support that. So I set about looking for a solid Christian game developer that seemed to have a good track record. I submitted my resume to TGS and was immediately accepted. Now I'm not saying that everyone should run out and join TGS (though that would be nice since we really need some level designers at this time) but I don't see small groups as a sustainable business plan in today's market. If a group had 100 people working part-time on the side it would be approximately equal to about 20-25 full-time workers. Of course, managing all that would be crazy and be a full time position by itself but at least it would be possible to competitive with the secular industry and thus financially successful (or at least capable of finishing a project in the first place!). "Also, something like this would require humility from alot of people probably to recognize that maybe others are more qualified and you'd have to take their direction." Personally I'd love to get hold of an experienced MBA who could handle all that nasty business stuff for TGS and allow the rest of us to concentrate on game development. [This message has been edited by Gump (edited February 18, 2005).] |
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crazyishone Member Posts: 1685 From: Registered: 08-25-2004 |
i too have always been in favor of bringing all of our talents together. i suggest that someday we work on a big project. BIG ISSUE: we all live in different parts of the world. sometimes a telephone call or chat session doesn't do the trick like an actual face to face meeting of the team. this fact kind of renders the idea impractical. im sure there are solutions tho. ------------------ |
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GUMP Member Posts: 1335 From: Melbourne, FL USA Registered: 11-09-2002 |
Why form new groups for a new "big project"? There are plenty of already existing groups starving for much-needed talent. |
HeardTheWord Member Posts: 224 From: Des Moines, IA Registered: 08-16-2004 |
I keep hearing about all these places that need help with their project. I have talked to a few people and am usually directed in a different location (although Matt Teboe has been helpful). Is their a christian company that is looking for a christian programmer? This wouldn't bother me so much if I knew who the companies are. Then I could send out my resume. Unfortunately, I have been looking at the secular market and thinking about applying for a job there. So please correct me if I am wrong, are there really that many opportunities? |
Ereon Member Posts: 1018 From: Ohio, United States Registered: 04-12-2005 |
I've never worked with a team before, but alot of the advice here sounds good. Planning IS the fun and easy part, but finishing is even better. Its just that little stretch of rough road in the middle that makes your behind ache. I find that setting a schedule works. (I actually found this out after my parents restricted me to 30 minutes of game design time a day  ) If you set aside an hour of time a day to work on your game, or if you have more time maybe an hour at a time with 20-30 minute breaks inbetween. If you do this and "make" yourself do just a set amount a day, you'll find that it helps you plan out what you're going to do more completely. The second tip I've have is a process called "tabbing in". This can be applied to a large amound of processes. It involves setting up placeholders in the process. As you go along, you replace each placeholder with its proper idea, snippet of code, or model. If you do this you won't be overwhelemed, and you'll have something to enjoy for your effort. Ok, last suggestion. Try to always have something to play. Even if its am EXTREMELY stinky version of your game, always have a working version ready for play. That way, when your frustrated and your ideas seem WAY over the top, you can play "your" game, and it'll help refresh you. Then again there are times when you did go to far and you just have to rip it all down and simplfy.....*sob*....Oh well, life goes on, hope that helped. ------------------ |
Realm Master Member Posts: 1971 From: USA Registered: 05-15-2005 |
Failure? Ha, i cant even finish my work...
I just wanna have a breakthrough. ------------------ ...no duh |
kiwee Member Posts: 578 From: oxfordshire, england Registered: 04-17-2004 |
wise proverb of the day; you only fail when you give up ------------------ |
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en972 Member Posts: 562 From: NOT TELLING! Registered: 08-27-2004 |
and you only give up when you fail lol....sorry for the discouraging words ------------------ |
bwoogie Member Posts: 380 From: kansas usa Registered: 03-12-2005 |
yesterday at church i learned... FAILURE ISNT FINAL! ------------------ |
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en972 Member Posts: 562 From: NOT TELLING! Registered: 08-27-2004 |
AMEN BROTHER! ------------------ |
