I sold my house 'bout to finance a game development

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44 comments, last by Dan Violet Sagmiller 4 years, 11 months ago

Googleneart already does that what he wants is there a particular reason he wants to bring his idea to life?

Just answer me 

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The graphics aren't the greatest, but you can check out a planet rendering library called Proland at https://proland.inrialpes.fr/.  I'm not sure where you could find programmers though.  I can program, but I have no experience with Proland.

I am an indie game developer who enjoys pixel art games.

4 hours ago, Pepsidog said:

The graphics aren't the greatest, but you can check out a planet rendering library called Proland at https://proland.inrialpes.fr/.  I'm not sure where you could find programmers though.  I can program, but I have no experience with Proland.

That is nice, will definitely look into it. Thanks a lot Pepsidog, that's a nice cat... 

Has your question been answered well enough @AlanDontAsk? anything else we can help you with?

On 5/13/2019 at 4:26 PM, AlanDontAsk said:

I can't believe how much negativity on the forum. Thank you so much for being different and sharing your opinion instead of just hitting the dislike or telling me to pay a programmer and keep my mouth shut. 

You started to be negative, impolite and arrogant as reaction to a harmless and informative post. This is why you get these reactions.

 

On 5/13/2019 at 5:00 AM, AlanDontAsk said:

Keep in mind, other than playing some games I have 0 experience in these things especially coding.

So when I meet some programmers, I have to tell them what to do. What technique is best for this? what coding language? What game engine? Is Unreal engine suitable for this?

On 5/13/2019 at 7:24 AM, AlanDontAsk said:

You know Tom, if I have 5 programmers telling me different things, how can i tell them apart? Are they supposably ALL good? Maybe you need to realize you're ignorant before judging peoples questions. BYE! You can lock my account with that attitude. I never said I'd be telling them what engine to use but I'd try to remotely understand what they are telling me and which one is right and which one is not.

There is no answer to this, what is best depends on the development team, budget and time. Of course you get different answers; every Programmer is different and has different experiences.

Nobody here has a clue what your game really is like and without reading your concept and asking 1000 questions nobody can judge the scope and requirements of your project. Yet alone if you are willing to spend 10k or 500k.

You need someone that has experience and a track record of shipped titles, ideally similar to your project. The more you are willing to spend the higher the chances are that it will work out well. But to find that one is up to you, it can be like roulette.

I know you don't want to read it but having "0 experience" is the #1 reason projects like yours will fail. It is not about if it is theoretically possible to achieve a complex project with a few people or if the concept is actually good. Projects fail because the lack of experience in handling them. If you have never completed a project the chances are high that you make wrong decisions.

Communication is a big issue which is often underestimated. Bringing your ideas into the heads of your team can be harder than you might think. Also Programmers need to tell you what works and what doesn't within the budget and time frame and when you start being that aggressive to "nay sayers", which good programmers tend to be, it will be disastrous for your project.

So my real advice, as someone who has seen many projects failing is: get small games done, maybe work with different people on them. Once you find a team that works well get on to the big dreams. Every step towards finishing a project is a potential pitfall for someone unexperienced and you better fall low.

@AlanDontAsk I've looked over this and would like to offer some friendly advice.

1st.  I have to agree with a lot of the 'trolls' that it seems you are not ready for this.  (I agree that any response that is basically just an insult without anything constructive is a troll.  But that included you anytime someone said something you didn't like, and of course you calling people trolls who actually said quite valid and useful things)  

2nd.  I hope the following advice will help, and I sincerely mean it.

  • When people are criticizing, even if done harshly, you really need to listen.  Not that the naysayers are right, but look at what they say as potential risks.  
  • Given your first response on the forum, you seem very difficult to work with.  And through out, the lack of clarity will likely make any developer you hire have a hard time trying to please you.
  • Get the sales pitch down to one short clear sentence.  What exactly will people be playing?  
  • Why will people want to play your game.  Seriously think about that.  Someone will see an ad for your game, lets say 30 seconds of time.  in that 30 seconds, what can you show that will attract a player to download it, or look more into it?  Think about how often you see a short ad video for a game, and how likely you are to go after it.  And the ads that do interest you, why?  being able to clearly explain why people will want to give you money is paramount to understanding how to design a financially viable anything.  
  • What is the FUN?  the 30 second commercial might be why people will try the game, but now answer what will keep them, what will get the good reviews?  I.e. interesting visuals in an ad are easily just a novelty that will wear off after 10 minutes of game play.  What will be the drive to continue.  If you can't answer these questions, then you need to take a step back and figure out what those answers are.  Why people will buy it, and why people will keep playing it are pivotal knowledge to everything you create.
  • You need to identify what the smallest piece to go to market can be.  I.e. That you can see the earth (or other planet) and then zoom in, and it auto generates cities along the way?  This should also be in line with the top most value from Why people will get the game and Why people will keep playing.  This should be small. 
  • You REALLY need to be able to accept criticisms to your idea.  That is often the audience flat out telling you what they want and don't want.  This is also will play out in testing.  I strongly recommend you figure out the key fun and sell-able points to your game.  What is the one thing that brings it together, and make the smallest proof of it (hire someone to write it).  Get that in front of random people who are not friends/family (as they will often just say good job whether they like it or not).  And then accept the information they give you with a grain of salt.  Some players will just be upset that your game isn't a clone of angry birds, and it doesn't matter what they say.  If a couple users tell you something, then its probably ok to ignore it.  but if most of the people are telling you the same issues, then you should pay attention. 
  • When working with programmers, the more clarity the better.  If you are not clear on a topic, or have so many design ideas without clarity bringing them together, then you will likely not get anything you actually intended.  I recommend thinking through an exact experience a user will have.  Exactly what the user does to interact, exactly what they see in the UI and environment.  And hand that off to a programmer.  Make it short.   KISS.  Keep It Simple Stupid.  And learn from it.  your first interactions of what you said vs what you got should be eye opening as to the difference of what you envisioned.  
  • Start taking snap shops or pictures of things online that represent elements of what you want to see.  Paste them into a document with line or two for each one expressing what you like or don't like about it.  This will help you clarify a vision for you and others you work with. 

Moltar - "Do you even know how to use that?"

Space Ghost - “Moltar, I have a giant brain that is able to reduce any complex machine into a simple yes or no answer."

Dan - "Best Description of AI ever."

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