A Nobody with a good idea - Why cant we have a crack at game design too?
Tom sloper. I read your site. And this thread falls in the lessons you show on your site.
What case falls nozyspy in?
Small recap.
Unexperienced want to be set on top of a professional team as game designer doing a attemp of his great idea to production. Why not?
Your site shows a lot of reasonable point why it is a big not done.
What case falls nozyspy in?
Small recap.
Unexperienced want to be set on top of a professional team as game designer doing a attemp of his great idea to production. Why not?
Your site shows a lot of reasonable point why it is a big not done.
I like playing Flash games online. A lot of them have good ideas, good graphics and good programming, so I try them out.
But they're not fun. A lot of them have obviously never been playtested except by their creators. They're difficult to understand (because the designer seems to think that an instruction manual is enough), difficult to play (because the designer seems to think that "difficult to win" is the same as "difficult to play") and have rough edges worthy of stone age flint arrowheads.
The real job of a game designer is not to pitch an initial idea—that first step is always deceivingly easy. What a game designer does is solve problems: when a playtester finds that a certain feature in a game is not fun, the game designer should swallow his pride, accept that his design is flawed, and propose a solution which retains the flavor of the game, fits in with all the other elements, and is fun.
I personally find this aspect of game development boring to no end (and I've done it on at least one commercial title), and I strongly suspect that anyone would find it immensely annoying when you have to think of seven different designs and reject all of them beta after beta, and ultimately give up on that idea because you've finally come to accept that it can't be fun. In fact, if I thought you were able to handle that, then I'd certainly pay you to do the work. But are you able to do it?
But they're not fun. A lot of them have obviously never been playtested except by their creators. They're difficult to understand (because the designer seems to think that an instruction manual is enough), difficult to play (because the designer seems to think that "difficult to win" is the same as "difficult to play") and have rough edges worthy of stone age flint arrowheads.
The real job of a game designer is not to pitch an initial idea—that first step is always deceivingly easy. What a game designer does is solve problems: when a playtester finds that a certain feature in a game is not fun, the game designer should swallow his pride, accept that his design is flawed, and propose a solution which retains the flavor of the game, fits in with all the other elements, and is fun.
I personally find this aspect of game development boring to no end (and I've done it on at least one commercial title), and I strongly suspect that anyone would find it immensely annoying when you have to think of seven different designs and reject all of them beta after beta, and ultimately give up on that idea because you've finally come to accept that it can't be fun. In fact, if I thought you were able to handle that, then I'd certainly pay you to do the work. But are you able to do it?
I'd like to reply in a manner unrelated to my other replies.
Have a crack at game design. Why not? Anyone can have a crack at programming, at modelling and at music composition. So go ahead and have a crack at game design, no one's stopping you. If you want to make it your career, you need to know how the industry works. Like, how ideas are worthless. And, how money is a ruling factor. But go ahead, try it anyway. You can make games without having a 100-man team and $10,000,000 behind you.
Have a crack at game design. Why not? Anyone can have a crack at programming, at modelling and at music composition. So go ahead and have a crack at game design, no one's stopping you. If you want to make it your career, you need to know how the industry works. Like, how ideas are worthless. And, how money is a ruling factor. But go ahead, try it anyway. You can make games without having a 100-man team and $10,000,000 behind you.
Tom Sloper! Start making games again! With XBLA, PSN, and the iPhone out there, you have no excuse! We miss you Tom.
Quote:Original post by QuantifyFun
Tom Sloper! Start making games again! With XBLA, PSN, and the iPhone out there, you have no excuse! We miss you Tom.
Don't need no excuse. I'm working on an XBLA/PSN game, so what's to miss?
Quote:Original post by Tom SloperQuote:Original post by QuantifyFun
Tom Sloper! Start making games again! With XBLA, PSN, and the iPhone out there, you have no excuse! We miss you Tom.
Don't need no excuse. I'm working on an XBLA/PSN game, so what's to miss?
Music to my ears.
Get to know people in the business.
It's not hard.
Then, when it comes down to it and you're desperate enough, use their connections to get you those five minutes.
If people with experience respect you and put a good word in for you, it's almost the same as having all that experience yourself.
This works for most types of media.
I've never actually tried.
I don't want to start wearing a wig before I'm 20.
It's not hard.
Then, when it comes down to it and you're desperate enough, use their connections to get you those five minutes.
If people with experience respect you and put a good word in for you, it's almost the same as having all that experience yourself.
This works for most types of media.
I've never actually tried.
I don't want to start wearing a wig before I'm 20.
Quote:Original post by Cpt Mothballs
Get to know people in the business.
It's not hard.
Then, when it comes down to it and you're desperate enough, use their connections to get you those five minutes.
If people with experience respect you and put a good word in for you, it's almost the same as having all that experience yourself.
This works for most types of media.
I've never actually tried.
I don't want to start wearing a wig before I'm 20.
Actually, this forum -IS- your access to people in the business.
What's interesting to me is that most of the aspiring designers here seem to be ignoring that blessing. The advice is always the same - start modding, build some experience and prestige within the community, go to one of the game schools, etc. But the majority never do this. They appear to be chasing some shortcut that doesn't exist. Your post reads like a shining example of just that.
So, in a way, you've already had your five minutes. It was spent with somebody telling you to -DO SOMETHING- with your aspirations.
You're not going to get a meeting with Producers at a Publisher or a Game Developer to pitch your big idea. Doesn't happen. You need to use one of the many existing avenues to demonstrate your creativity, or just give up.
Haha.
It's funny because you think the world is this giant ball of law and order.
I'm sure there are billions of examples of what I've just said.
People already in a business, giving you a leg up.
I seem to remember reading about something like that a while ago...
It had something to do with a designer or producer of Tabula Rasa.
He had a girlfriend who was an artist or something and she gave him a job at the studio.
Sure it's not jumping straight into a design position.
But you could only ever do that if the producers or designers were like family or something.
Extended family might work.
But hey, you know.
Totally disregard what I'm saying because you underestimate the power of connections.
It's funny because you think the world is this giant ball of law and order.
I'm sure there are billions of examples of what I've just said.
People already in a business, giving you a leg up.
I seem to remember reading about something like that a while ago...
It had something to do with a designer or producer of Tabula Rasa.
He had a girlfriend who was an artist or something and she gave him a job at the studio.
Sure it's not jumping straight into a design position.
But you could only ever do that if the producers or designers were like family or something.
Extended family might work.
But hey, you know.
Totally disregard what I'm saying because you underestimate the power of connections.
This topic is closed to new replies.
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