From just an idea to full release in 1.5 months

Buy Low Sell High is a stock market game made to be easy to learn, fast-paced, and fun. Click here to check it out!

Phase 1: IDEA

Do not overthink the idea! This very brief exchange is all the planning we did before sitting down and saying, “Okay, how can we make this thing.” It wasn’t until later that we found out there might be an opening in the market for this sort of game. We simply wanted to make something that we were both passionate about, and that’s where all our motivation came from.

Good execution is everything. That’s why detailed planning and good ideas only go so far. Todd Howard says that “Great games are played, not made” and that’s the approach we took.

Phase 2: GAME JAM

-Dwight Schrute

A game jam is an event for creating video games in a very short span of time. We weren’t participating in an event, but we did have 3 days to focus all our effort on making something cool.

The key to success here is to keep it simple, stupid (K.I.S.S.). Urgency is the best tool for fighting perfectionism and procrastination that constantly try to derail projects. When the deadline is just a few days away, prioritization and cutting unnecessary work becomes a nessessity.

As a result, lots of the ideas we came up with for the game had to be cut and never got made. This sacrifice is a good thing because in just three days, we had created a complete and well made game.

Phase 3: ALPHA LAUNCH

With a little bit of marketing, we launched our game on itch.io. Itch is like the minor leagues of game development. It’s a good place for up-and-coming titles that aren’t quite ready for pros. Going through this work helped with gaining experience in marketing, gathering player feedback, and gauging market interest. All of which is helpful when going through the process again for the actual release.

Phase 4: ADDITIONAL CONTENT & REDESIGN

Thank you u/cameron21345 ❤

Game developers often discuss how much player feedback should influence decision making. I’ve heard that you should always fix problems that your players experience, but it’s up to you to find the best solutions(link to great video on this). However on this project it felt like we did an even split: 50% changes based on player suggestions and 50% made on our own. This allowed us to complete our vision, and make changes that players found important.