Classical list of helpful tips and warnings
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:19 pm
As per rogerborg's suggestion, here's a new topic to guide newcomers in the industry:
1-KEEP A JOURNAL: Every step you take toward (or backward) you project, write it down. You've found tutorials on a site? Write it down. People were very/not at all helpful on a forum? Write it down. You changed engine for some reason? Write it down. And why. It took you twice as long to do this than you expected, you had to redesign something because you designed it badly, you changed your plans for X and Y. Write it down. Everything. You will be thanking yourself later. Trust me on that.
2-An online game for 2 persons is a different concept than for 3-8 than for 9-64 than for 100s than for 1000s than for 1 000 000. Each needs a completely different design. Plan your thing well and do know that you can't "just adapt it later."
3-If you are not a pro, USE LIBRARIES! Lots of them. Don't think it will make it magically easy. But it just might give you a shot in the long run, save you plenty of time and those, at least, can usually be replaced down the line if the code using them is well encapsulated.
4-Start small. No. That's it. Right there. Small. Everything you plan on doing, cut it in half. Then again. The big studios do it. The small ones too. The indie too. It's easy to have ideas and concepts. It's easy to start a project. It's even easy, to a point, to have a bare prototype. But to complete it, you will need sacrifices. And again. And then some. If you aren't ready to part with more than half of your concepts at least partially, YOU WILL !NOT! COMPLETE YOUR PROJECT!
5-Make a Game Design document before coding a single line. Know everything that will go in your world, everywhere. List all required technologies. Make schemas of the layout of your code. Simplify all that can be, because it will complexify again before you know it. If the name of that NPC in the corner isn't in your Game Design doc, you are not ready. You can use that time to read a c++ book, btw.
6-Order and prioritorize your ideas. If something must go, what will it be. If 2 things are in conflict, how do you resolve it. This list has only one place where you are allowed equal value items, it's the Must Have part which defines your game. Which you should limit to 5 items or less. And no, everything isn't acceptable.
1-KEEP A JOURNAL: Every step you take toward (or backward) you project, write it down. You've found tutorials on a site? Write it down. People were very/not at all helpful on a forum? Write it down. You changed engine for some reason? Write it down. And why. It took you twice as long to do this than you expected, you had to redesign something because you designed it badly, you changed your plans for X and Y. Write it down. Everything. You will be thanking yourself later. Trust me on that.
2-An online game for 2 persons is a different concept than for 3-8 than for 9-64 than for 100s than for 1000s than for 1 000 000. Each needs a completely different design. Plan your thing well and do know that you can't "just adapt it later."
3-If you are not a pro, USE LIBRARIES! Lots of them. Don't think it will make it magically easy. But it just might give you a shot in the long run, save you plenty of time and those, at least, can usually be replaced down the line if the code using them is well encapsulated.
4-Start small. No. That's it. Right there. Small. Everything you plan on doing, cut it in half. Then again. The big studios do it. The small ones too. The indie too. It's easy to have ideas and concepts. It's easy to start a project. It's even easy, to a point, to have a bare prototype. But to complete it, you will need sacrifices. And again. And then some. If you aren't ready to part with more than half of your concepts at least partially, YOU WILL !NOT! COMPLETE YOUR PROJECT!
5-Make a Game Design document before coding a single line. Know everything that will go in your world, everywhere. List all required technologies. Make schemas of the layout of your code. Simplify all that can be, because it will complexify again before you know it. If the name of that NPC in the corner isn't in your Game Design doc, you are not ready. You can use that time to read a c++ book, btw.
6-Order and prioritorize your ideas. If something must go, what will it be. If 2 things are in conflict, how do you resolve it. This list has only one place where you are allowed equal value items, it's the Must Have part which defines your game. Which you should limit to 5 items or less. And no, everything isn't acceptable.
