Recently a colleague of mine asked me to join him in a game making endeavour. YES! I find it to be one of the most liberating things. Game Design, that is. Taking an idea and turning it into a plan and then into a game. The process is truly a labour of love, and it paves the way for a strong emotional attachment to the project.



I’m thankful that Lord Sharpe would want to include me in this incredible ride.



Where to start with this? We began by presenting and sifting through numerous potential game ideas. Some fairly well fleshed out… others, not so much. However it’s safe to say, that we were in agreement, and decided to make a top down 2d survival horror game.



Our process began with the creation and full population of a (technical) design document. I sort of forced this a little on Lord Sharpe, but there was really no push back. This step in the process is quite crucial, and so I’m thankful that we did it right. It’s the one document that we’ll be able to refer to as the game continues to get refined.



All of you aspiring Indies out there… Seriously: Make a design document.



This allows you to initially scope out the work. From this point you can scope out components, setup schedules, assign work… and… start working!



Before finishing up, I’d like again identify a few things that should help Indies (such as myself):

Bitbucket: Great repo hosting service! It provides a issue tracker, a wiki, great formatting, even provides hooks into build systems (Jenkins). Do it up!

Ace Project: Great for overall project management. Set private milestones, keep track of modules and components. Highly recommended, though it may add more overhead.

Blog: Not necessary, but a fantastic release. And generate a potential user base.

Be Honest: If there is an issue, or you don’t know.. be honest with yourself and your team.

Have frequent meetings: IMO, it’s the best way to keep everyone focused.



Last thing is that Lord Sharpe and I have decided to make this a shared blog. You’ll notice his point directly under mine here. That’s all for now. Thanks again for reading!

RT



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