Plan for Phil Carlisle
by Phil Carlisle · 02/12/2004 (5:43 am) · 2 comments
Well, what a difference that makes.
Its been about a week or so since I got into the habit of posting my todo list in its new form, I'm REALLY impressed with the results.
I guess just some kind of mental change helps you to see things in a new perspective. But anyway, its very positive.
My current todo list:
Players name is displayed properly when killing someone
Player can select from n weapons in spawn interface
Weapon selection of ship in game works
Fix Editor to allow "Ship" class vehicles
Update/Merge codebase to current torque head.
fixup datablock values so death is less instant..
Add better damage indication so we know how bad a ship is hit
Those are 100% "Must have" items.
The difference is that the todo list focusses on the functionality rather than the process. Its a statement of intent more than anything else. By keeping it to this very necassary work, I focus on things that are driving the game forward.
This week Ive broken out my other todo lists into different documents. One for each major project I'm working on (3 right now, with a possible 4th item).
This allows me to judge and make progress on all of them in a nice round robin fashion (do the top item on each list in turn).
Try it! you might get that mental change that Ive had and get into the zen state where youre actually being productive rather than worrying about being non-productive.
I also began the long plod towards getting a demo ready for GDC this week. This includes getting some early feedback from friends, making sure my todo lists are up to date and contain the most valuable items.
I'm hoping to get enough of a demo to at least be credible with guys like NVidia when I'm hitting them up for hardware.
So far its coming along well.
I'll post some shots of the game next plan.
Its been about a week or so since I got into the habit of posting my todo list in its new form, I'm REALLY impressed with the results.
I guess just some kind of mental change helps you to see things in a new perspective. But anyway, its very positive.
My current todo list:
Players name is displayed properly when killing someone
Player can select from n weapons in spawn interface
Weapon selection of ship in game works
Fix Editor to allow "Ship" class vehicles
Update/Merge codebase to current torque head.
fixup datablock values so death is less instant..
Add better damage indication so we know how bad a ship is hit
Those are 100% "Must have" items.
The difference is that the todo list focusses on the functionality rather than the process. Its a statement of intent more than anything else. By keeping it to this very necassary work, I focus on things that are driving the game forward.
This week Ive broken out my other todo lists into different documents. One for each major project I'm working on (3 right now, with a possible 4th item).
This allows me to judge and make progress on all of them in a nice round robin fashion (do the top item on each list in turn).
Try it! you might get that mental change that Ive had and get into the zen state where youre actually being productive rather than worrying about being non-productive.
I also began the long plod towards getting a demo ready for GDC this week. This includes getting some early feedback from friends, making sure my todo lists are up to date and contain the most valuable items.
I'm hoping to get enough of a demo to at least be credible with guys like NVidia when I'm hitting them up for hardware.
So far its coming along well.
I'll post some shots of the game next plan.
About the author
#2
My other approach is a bit different. Aerial Antics was a more straight forward project than True-Vol so instead I created a little physics demo and some basic gameplay. Then I simply played with that for months and took just a few notes. I thought perhaps I wasn't being productive but it turned out that ...
After a few months I knew exactly what I wanted (my brain compiled all the information into a coherent mound). I was able to sit down and code/model 12 hours a day for a few weeks and have the alpha game. I didn't have to make design changes, the whole plan was ready and I knew exactly what had to be done without reading a list. That only netted me an alpha version of the game but that's the first big hump to get over.
When we got into the nitty gritty tiny details I again broke out the list because when it gets into the details you simply must jot them down and tackle each one separately. Sometimes the tiniest detail can be a whole project in itself depending on how you set yourself up to begin with. Also you're back to that necessary item listing because you could get lost in the whole project base just as you can get lost in your idea base to begin with.
With me it really does depend on the project but I've learned that *sometimes* (other times you do need to push yourself to write that list and take little steps) when I don't seem to be moving forward, not to worry because my brain is going through the motions and coming up with a plan.
02/12/2004 (8:32 pm)
I've noticed that I take two approaches depending on the game. With True-Vol I did just what you were saying from the beginning with listing my items (the very necessary ones) and then tackling them. It helped drive the project forward, which was needed because I wasn't exactly sure when it would end. The game concept wasn't complete in my head.My other approach is a bit different. Aerial Antics was a more straight forward project than True-Vol so instead I created a little physics demo and some basic gameplay. Then I simply played with that for months and took just a few notes. I thought perhaps I wasn't being productive but it turned out that ...
After a few months I knew exactly what I wanted (my brain compiled all the information into a coherent mound). I was able to sit down and code/model 12 hours a day for a few weeks and have the alpha game. I didn't have to make design changes, the whole plan was ready and I knew exactly what had to be done without reading a list. That only netted me an alpha version of the game but that's the first big hump to get over.
When we got into the nitty gritty tiny details I again broke out the list because when it gets into the details you simply must jot them down and tackle each one separately. Sometimes the tiniest detail can be a whole project in itself depending on how you set yourself up to begin with. Also you're back to that necessary item listing because you could get lost in the whole project base just as you can get lost in your idea base to begin with.
With me it really does depend on the project but I've learned that *sometimes* (other times you do need to push yourself to write that list and take little steps) when I don't seem to be moving forward, not to worry because my brain is going through the motions and coming up with a plan.
Torque 3D Owner Michael Cozzolino
Big Monk Games