I Want To Make a Game

I want to make a game with little or minimal graphics, but I don't want it to be another text based game.
Any ideas?

(Side Note: I made a text-based engine once in C++, it was all i ever did before i gave up on that language.)

A platform game, graphics can be strange just ask Cactus.

awasteoflife wrote:I want to make a game with little or minimal graphics, but I don't want it to be another text based game.
Any ideas?

(Side Note: I made a text-based engine once in C++, it was all i ever did before i gave up on that language.)

You could develop your own style of graphics. One that's easy for you. Look at Lab 14, or Karoshi; their graphics aren't necessarily good or complicated, but they certainly work.

maybe you can use RPG maker program. i use that program

Or use really low-res graphics that are retro. I don't personally like the look, but it's way easier.

Game job postings typically list "a passion for gaming" as a prerequisite (along with its partner, "willing to put in extra hours"). Other industries don't do this - you don't see ads requiring "a passion for factory automation software" or "a passion for working on banking systems". Anyway, a devotion to games doesn't necessarily translate to productivity and work ethic.

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Most of the game developers I've worked with were avid gamers but many, including one of the best gamers I've ever met, didn't apply the same concentration and motivation to their work. I've seen plenty of work with obvious defects, even an FMV with a two-second blank gap, either due to inattention or laziness (one artist even told me his video package could reexport his FMV in AVI format, until I stated that was the only format I could process for our target console - then he promptly reexported it).

I'll take professionalism over passion any day. If you need to hire janitorial staff, you're not going to look for some crazy nut who has a passion for toilets - you want responsible people who take pride in doing their job.

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Most of the best game artists I've worked with were only moderately interested in gaming - they were artists first and their results far surpassed those of mediocre artists with high gaming skills. They were conscientious enough to play-test their work during development but once the games were released, typically never touched them again.

Now, game design is one area where presumably an absorption in games would be really useful. But even there, you'll find the best game designers are who have the intellectual breadth and analytical ability to figure out what makes a game fun and to move beyond knockoffs of existing games.

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One designer who was an extremely good skateboarder and skateboard game player decided to differentiate his game from all the Tony Hawk clones by removing the fun parts, resulting in an obvious knockoff that was unplayable.

A common entry route to game development is via QA groups, and I think that is a good one - testing is a good introduction to the game development process without getting in the critical path, and anyone who can't develop the patience and analytical abilities for that role is probably going to do a worse job in a production position.

To put a final point on this, if a passion for gaming is so important for game development, why are so many non-gamers in high-level decision-making positions on game projects? Many, if not most, of the high-level producers I've met are mediocre gamers at best, and it gets worse as you go up the corporate ladder.

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I know of one game prototype that had all kinds of pizzazz thrown in at the producer's request, and then the whole thing had to be scaled down at the last minute so the demo wouldn't confuse the executives who had final approval. (Of course, the producers should have known this)

Programmers are from Mars, Artists are from Venus

The production pipeline is always the bottleneck, so you need people who not only work well, but work well in the context of a production.

Even some experienced and talented game artists do not work well in game development teams. Just throwing assets over the wall and assuming the programmers will fix it wastes time and engenders hostility from the programming team. The more difficult artists I've met were stubborn to the point of belligerence and considered the rest of the game team as staff supporting (or limiting) their artistic accomplishments.

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Some phrases that have lost their novelty - "I didn't change anything", "It's broken - fix it!", "That's how it works in 3D Studio Max".

And while programmers often grouse with justification that artists aren't feeding suitable data into the production pipeline, it is incumbent upon them to provide the proper guidance, in the form of clear documentation and explanation.

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Programmers often don't like to commit to numbers early, but artists and game designers need reliable asset budgets to do their job within the proper constraints, just as programmers need to know the hardware and delivery constraints. If artists and designers actually ask for budgets and guidance on how to optimize assets, then by all means accomodate them.

The Producers

Producers can be useful, if they're not puffed up by the term "producer". They're the only the part of the production pipeline that doesn't actually produce anything (except those producers who produce funding - they get to be called "executive producers"). A better term would be "facilitator".

In the worst case, a producer will just cause more work for everyone else. The last thing a game project needs is a high-maintenance producer.

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I was once plagued by a throng of producers who would hold daily status meetings, carry around lists of tasks and ask everyone to update the number of hours remaining per task on the lists (none of which matched), and stroll around asking, "So...what are you working on?" After may of the producers were laid off due to tightened funding, the project ran more smoothly.

But a knowledgable producer who is focused on keeping things running smoothly is indispensable.

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I was vastly relieved that a survivor of the aforementioned layoff was an assistant producer who did a fantastic job of keeping on top of things. Every time I needed clarification on a game feature, he had the answer, knew where to get it, or could make a reasonable call on the spot. In any case, I had an answer within minutes. And he was the guy who ordered all the late-night meals.

At least producers in development shops have an idea what it actually takes to make a game. Producers who've only worked for publishers are less knowledgable and more self-important.

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One stupid publisher trick: planting a producer at a developer's office during crunch time to make sure they're all working late into the night. When I showed one of these producers, who was camped out in my office during one of these crunches, the set of game design, production and business books on my shelf, he commented his boss had recommended he read some of them. And then he kicked me out of my office so he could have it to himself.