4 ms·

I think your first point is the one that matters the most. The primary thing you should be thinking about here is "how compelling is this going to be to the int

I think your first point is the one that matters the most. The primary thing you should be thinking about here is "how compelling is this going to be to the intended audience?" If you can get to the point where you can hammer out a game in a weekend, which isn't that difficult, I'd suggest building a simple game that showcases the concept that you find compelling and submit it a game jam like Ludum Dare. You're going to get a bunch of people playing it and you'll be able to see if they respond to the concept. If they do, then go ahead and make a larger version of the game. If not, well it just costed you a weekend anyway.

endemic 9y ago
I think a great example of this is Derek Yu's "Spelunky." He made a quick 'n dirty freeware version, which turned out to be massively popular, then remade a polished commercial version. It was easier for him to pitch the publisher since there was already a working, popular prototype.
- chii 9y ago
  >quick 'n dirty freeware version the freeware version wasn't "quick 'n dirty" at all - he spent a lot of time doing it (and tweaking/fiddling the random generation). Ditto with another game that may have been seen as a "quick 'n dirty" prototype - super meat boy (the flash version). These games had lots of time and effort spent polishing the mechanics/controls. That's not to say one shouldn't do quick 'n dirty prototypes, but don't put your own prototypes up against those above, and say it sucks - coz you probably didn't put as much time or effort in it as them!
  - jwdunne 9y ago
    Interestingly, Tommy Refenes, which was written in C++, posted a write up that went over the process. What struck me is that he built a tool to export sprites from Flash because that's what the artist used. It shows an iterative development model, focusing on gameplay features step by step. The big take away "focus on making the character do something": http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyRefenes/20130107/184432/How_do_I_get_started_programming_games.php http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyRefenes/20130107/184432/...

endemic 9y ago

I think a great example of this is Derek Yu's "Spelunky." He made a quick 'n dirty freeware version, which turned out to be massively popular, then remade a polished commercial version. It was easier for him to pitch the publisher since there was already a working, popular prototype.

chii 9y ago
>quick 'n dirty freeware version the freeware version wasn't "quick 'n dirty" at all - he spent a lot of time doing it (and tweaking/fiddling the random generation). Ditto with another game that may have been seen as a "quick 'n dirty" prototype - super meat boy (the flash version). These games had lots of time and effort spent polishing the mechanics/controls. That's not to say one shouldn't do quick 'n dirty prototypes, but don't put your own prototypes up against those above, and say it sucks - coz you probably didn't put as much time or effort in it as them!
- jwdunne 9y ago
  Interestingly, Tommy Refenes, which was written in C++, posted a write up that went over the process. What struck me is that he built a tool to export sprites from Flash because that's what the artist used. It shows an iterative development model, focusing on gameplay features step by step. The big take away "focus on making the character do something": http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyRefenes/20130107/184432/How_do_I_get_started_programming_games.php http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyRefenes/20130107/184432/...