How to build a game in a week
by Jay Barnson · in General Discussion · 07/08/2005 (8:11 am) · 6 replies
Well, the article's finally up - coinciding with my site going DOWN! Argh. Murphy is a real mean SOB.
Hopefully I'll be able to get the site back up soon (my contact is out of town right now). In the meantime, enjoy the article:
www.gamedev.net/reference/business/features/gameinaweek/
Hopefully I'll be able to get the site back up soon (my contact is out of town right now). In the meantime, enjoy the article:
www.gamedev.net/reference/business/features/gameinaweek/
About the author
Jay has been a mainstream and indie game developer for a... uh, long time. His professional start came in 1994 developing titles for the then-unknown and upcoming Sony Playstation. He runs Rampant Games and blogs at Tales of the Rampant Coyote.
#2
07/08/2005 (11:14 am)
Nice read, man. Even though I'm not a coder, gives nice insight and perspective. I think that if you were working in pair with someone, coder or artist, doesnt really matter, you'd have been even more productive. Although, who knows, depends on person.
#3
I'm falling into a very similar situation right now with my "real" project - I'm devoting a lot of time into making models & levels, figuring out the intricities of QuArK + Torque, etc. I think I have the potential to create a halfway decent level and some incidental models - but I'll still need a real artist for doing main characters, monsters, "signature" levels, or anything else that the player will focus on. And what work I am doing is way less productive than if I was just programming.
But I'm a big believer that indies can't afford to specialize too much. A programmer should know what the modelers and artists go through, at the very least, and vice versa.
I had two goals with this article:
One was to show that it doesn't take fancy tools, a big budget, or even a whole lot of time to get started with game development. I hear so many "wannabes" complaining about the price of tools (even when they are dirt-cheap, like Torque), or about how they need a whole bunch of other people to help them to even get STARTED. I wanted to show that it's possible to start with practically nothing at all, all by yourself, with no budget, and get even a relatively complicated game up-and-running in a fairly short time. It doesn't take ANYTHING but the will to get it done.
The other goal was to kind of put the game development cycle under a microscope, in a very short time-frame, and show all the kinds of decisions, challenges, and DETAILS that have to be addressed to finish a project. I still don't consider Hackenslash to be finished, by any stretch, but it's playable. So hopefully new and experienced developers can take a peek at the hour-by-hour notes and see what goes into something like this.
I should also note that this is a HIGHLY stripped-down version of my original notes. But my original documentation on this project was very dry and boring, and *I* didn't even want to read it.
07/08/2005 (11:43 am)
Oh, I KNOW I'd have been more productive working in tandem with an artist. Not only would the art have been better (and probably more plentiful, since a skilled artist would probably be much faster), but that's about six hours or so I'd have been able to spend on programming instead of creating art.I'm falling into a very similar situation right now with my "real" project - I'm devoting a lot of time into making models & levels, figuring out the intricities of QuArK + Torque, etc. I think I have the potential to create a halfway decent level and some incidental models - but I'll still need a real artist for doing main characters, monsters, "signature" levels, or anything else that the player will focus on. And what work I am doing is way less productive than if I was just programming.
But I'm a big believer that indies can't afford to specialize too much. A programmer should know what the modelers and artists go through, at the very least, and vice versa.
I had two goals with this article:
One was to show that it doesn't take fancy tools, a big budget, or even a whole lot of time to get started with game development. I hear so many "wannabes" complaining about the price of tools (even when they are dirt-cheap, like Torque), or about how they need a whole bunch of other people to help them to even get STARTED. I wanted to show that it's possible to start with practically nothing at all, all by yourself, with no budget, and get even a relatively complicated game up-and-running in a fairly short time. It doesn't take ANYTHING but the will to get it done.
The other goal was to kind of put the game development cycle under a microscope, in a very short time-frame, and show all the kinds of decisions, challenges, and DETAILS that have to be addressed to finish a project. I still don't consider Hackenslash to be finished, by any stretch, but it's playable. So hopefully new and experienced developers can take a peek at the hour-by-hour notes and see what goes into something like this.
I should also note that this is a HIGHLY stripped-down version of my original notes. But my original documentation on this project was very dry and boring, and *I* didn't even want to read it.
#4
What I'd really like to see is a Torque game created in such an amount of time. (not the GameInADays though...) Regardless, the article was definitely informative.
07/08/2005 (12:30 pm)
I found the article to be really interesting. What I'd really like to see is a Torque game created in such an amount of time. (not the GameInADays though...) Regardless, the article was definitely informative.
#5
Good job, and thanks again.
07/08/2005 (8:00 pm)
Thanks Jay! I also found this article very interesting. On top of that, i found it quite motivational! I've been trying to make my own games for quite some time now, and every time i get started on something, i start moping around and pussy-footing and thinking to myself that i can't do it. This shows me that, in fact, i can do it!Good job, and thanks again.
#6
Brian: Well, it's not exactly the same thing, but I did put up a blog this morning of my misadventures in Torque over the weekend. Although I think in part it's more of a cry for help :)
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=8222
07/11/2005 (8:50 am)
Andrew: If it was motivating to you, then it was an unqualified success!Brian: Well, it's not exactly the same thing, but I did put up a blog this morning of my misadventures in Torque over the weekend. Although I think in part it's more of a cry for help :)
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=resource&page=view&qid=8222
Torque 3D Owner Gareth Davies
I've only done 2 GID's and I've learnt a few of those lessons from them, but extending it out to a week seems to have highlighted areas i'd not noticed before.