Focus - at last!
by Alan H · 04/28/2006 (10:56 am) · 1 comments
It's been a busy time since I posted my last blog entry 6 weeks ago. I've had to focus almost exclusively on things in the real world, job, family, 2 house sales and 1 house purchase. So I've spent alot of time looking at old game ideas and weighing the whether to strike out on my own (and most likely be myself) or to look for a team to join. I seriously considered joining a particular team who have a great idea and a good start but decided I probably wouldn't be able to invest the amount of time they need me to commit. At the same time a particular idea of mine for a game kept nagging me and wouldn't go away. So I dusted off the original design and looked it over, it was one I had shelved for being to large in scope. It needed one thing to be viable - Focus.
Focus on content, Focus on game play, Focus on fun, and Focus on a smaller scope. So I fired up my word processor and created a new design document. The original project went from about 10 or 15 pages to 100 pages. Everything just fell into place and I was able to write it down coherently. Splash screens, opening movie, menu options, interface layout, main story, characters (both PC and NPC), sub-story setting, assets needed, etc. It all just came together. I bounced it off people I know, friends and non-friends alike, sat on it, looked it over again. Did 2 rewrites, prototyped a little, set realistic milestones and now am moving forward.
Through the bouncing of ideas I met two more people, a husband and wife combo, that do commercial websites and they've com one board to design and create the website. I also met a 2D concept artist who is working up the company logo and on standby for the story boards, and concept art.
I've also purchased the website(s) and this weekend the hosting will be purchased as well.
On top of that I subscribed to Dreamer's website, dusted off my torque books, and got back into the swing of things. No, I'm not making a MMORPG, but I like his code and like to reference it.
6 weeks ago I felt uninspired and down right depressed and about to throw in the towl. Now I have not just a focused game design but a focused mind, vision, and burning desire. I also have a wallet that is roughly $500 lighter due to buying the art assets I needed in addition to what I already had to work up a playable prototype to give to my focus group (believe it or not I have one of those too) to truely test how fun it is and whether I am on to something or dilussional (my wife, the anti-gamer, claims the latter).
Currently I'm refreshing my mind on gamespace which I have owned for almost a year but haven't spent much time in over the last 6 months. My wife has given her buy in on the project as well. All the married fellas will agree with me that having spousal backing is a big thing!
I also start a new shift this coming Monday. Instead of working a 5/8 shift (5 8 hour days a week) I'm going to the odd shift called the 9/80 (which means you work 9 hour days 5 days one week then 4 days the next and get every other friday off while still getting a full 40 hours on each check). This gives me every other Friday off which my wife is already calling my "development day". So I'll get 8 - 10 hours on this day off to develop exclusively on my game project, on top of a few hours here and there at night and on weekends. A Big boon for sure!
So what is this game? It's not an FPS like the Western was, and no, it's not an MMORPG (I have desire not insanity). It's a single player RPG. Right now I don't want to say much more as I plan on posting a full on write up in the snapshot section in a couple weeks.
Focus on content, Focus on game play, Focus on fun, and Focus on a smaller scope. So I fired up my word processor and created a new design document. The original project went from about 10 or 15 pages to 100 pages. Everything just fell into place and I was able to write it down coherently. Splash screens, opening movie, menu options, interface layout, main story, characters (both PC and NPC), sub-story setting, assets needed, etc. It all just came together. I bounced it off people I know, friends and non-friends alike, sat on it, looked it over again. Did 2 rewrites, prototyped a little, set realistic milestones and now am moving forward.
Through the bouncing of ideas I met two more people, a husband and wife combo, that do commercial websites and they've com one board to design and create the website. I also met a 2D concept artist who is working up the company logo and on standby for the story boards, and concept art.
I've also purchased the website(s) and this weekend the hosting will be purchased as well.
On top of that I subscribed to Dreamer's website, dusted off my torque books, and got back into the swing of things. No, I'm not making a MMORPG, but I like his code and like to reference it.
6 weeks ago I felt uninspired and down right depressed and about to throw in the towl. Now I have not just a focused game design but a focused mind, vision, and burning desire. I also have a wallet that is roughly $500 lighter due to buying the art assets I needed in addition to what I already had to work up a playable prototype to give to my focus group (believe it or not I have one of those too) to truely test how fun it is and whether I am on to something or dilussional (my wife, the anti-gamer, claims the latter).
Currently I'm refreshing my mind on gamespace which I have owned for almost a year but haven't spent much time in over the last 6 months. My wife has given her buy in on the project as well. All the married fellas will agree with me that having spousal backing is a big thing!
I also start a new shift this coming Monday. Instead of working a 5/8 shift (5 8 hour days a week) I'm going to the odd shift called the 9/80 (which means you work 9 hour days 5 days one week then 4 days the next and get every other friday off while still getting a full 40 hours on each check). This gives me every other Friday off which my wife is already calling my "development day". So I'll get 8 - 10 hours on this day off to develop exclusively on my game project, on top of a few hours here and there at night and on weekends. A Big boon for sure!
So what is this game? It's not an FPS like the Western was, and no, it's not an MMORPG (I have desire not insanity). It's a single player RPG. Right now I don't want to say much more as I plan on posting a full on write up in the snapshot section in a couple weeks.
About the author
Torque 3D Owner Hokuto