hello, i have a question : is prototyping always essential for finding out if a game idea is good , if not can you make examples? thanks
is prototyping always necessary ?
No. you could go straight to programming if you prefer. But at the end of 3 months-3 years, you might end up with a dud. Prototyping is just a means to ensure that your idea has enough merit to put in those long hours. If the prototype stinks, think of the time you saved that could be put to better use.
hello, i have a question : is prototyping always essential for finding out if a game idea is good , if not can you make examples? thanks
its the quickest(and thus the cheapest) way of finding out, for most games you can throw up a prototype testing any unique ideas or combinations in a few days, sometimes just a few hours if you use appropriate tools.
Prototyping is best used when you're not sure about something. If something will obviously work, no prototyping is needed. if its obviously bad, it won't even come into consideration. its only when you are unsure, and therefore must test before you can proceed with confidence.
a good rule of thumb for when to prototype:
when evaluating a game design, feature, or idea, if the answer to "is this good / ok / doable ?" comes back "dunno. try it and find out." then (and probably only then) is a prototype called for. think of a prototype as an experiment you conduct to answer a question which you can answer by no other means, or at least not easily by other means.
I've done something like 15 games in 25 years, and i've only had to do maybe three rapid prototypes ever.
but when you "dunno", you gotta do it!
Well, it's a bit like sketching thumbnails for a drawing before you commit to a final form.
If you already have a clear picture in your mind's eye then you can just go ahead and make the game.
In a situation where the gameplay is a bit more experimental or the idea hasn't fully formed yet then prototyping allows you to explore the mechanics without having to invest the time and effort into a finished product. It can also be helpful in cases where you're working with new tech (testing out the "playback" feature for a game like braid, for example).
The good thing about prototyping is that often, you'll think of things that you might not have otherwise (for example, a curious bug in the code might end up becoming a gameplay mechanic)
In the end it's really up to how confident you are that you're willing to spend time on the idea you have in your head.
hello, i have a question : is prototyping always essential for finding out if a game idea is good , if not can you make examples? thanks
I do not know what you call a prototype, If by prototype you call an early stage of the game needed to gather a thinking what way the game would be evolved that it seem to me that such early stage feedback is almost always neccesary.
(so you going through prototype)
This is I mean that making of the game is iterative and almost all game are such that next stage shape depends on the results of the previous stage not just depending of the clear vision of some the stage zero not being in some way redirected by mid stages.
What do other people think about that ?
As an indie, making a prototype is good because if you decide you are going to implement the whole game, you can salvage a large part of the prototype and use it into the final game. If you decide you want to go for a prototype, really focus on game mechanics and put ugly place-holders instead of everything else (boxes/squares should be your friends :) )
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