Plan for Robert Janes

I've finally settled into a nice new job as a Windows XP Engineer (Technician), but unfortunately, the intense few months of training, paper work etc, has really pushed most everything else behind Scheduel.

Currently im in the process of finally registering a company name to begin the wonderful journey of offical Indie Game Developement. After reading various articles from last year's Indie Games Con, I really began to take advice from Davis, and David, and take it step by step, and start small.

Currently I am still working on an online adventure game, found at (www.auroriaonline.net) (yes there is a resemblence to Graal Online, all artwork, coding, etc are all property of myself and rightful owners ;) but if you've been to the site, you've noticed the lack of updates since December. This due to my new job ;) Though i'm finally pushing things back into production. Got a copy of the RTS Starter Kit and Some Contest Packs as well, something to fiddle with when i've got spare time, it's been a while since i've played around in Torque.

I'll be posting things more often on here with my .plan regarding how the starting of an indie company is going, what projects to look forward to etc.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So i've decided to include down below, some advice to anyone out there who's been just an avid...Indie and wants to take it a step further


1) Determine your Goals:
Determine where you want to be as an Independant Developer, such as 1 year from now, 3 years from now and 5 years from now. Setting Goals gives yourself something to aim for, and as long as you continue to set new goals for yourself, there will always be something to keep you occupied. Games aren't created overnight.

2) Developing the Plan:
A plan works hand in hand with setting Goals, once you've got something in mind, as a Final Goal, you are going to need a step by step plan on how to get there. Any programmer knows Developement Documents can be your best friend. Be sure to document every detail about your project, your needs, timelines, etc etc.

3) Assess your skills:
Assess your skills as an Independant Developer, determine what skills you have, and what skills you require, that you may need to "contract" out, or begin to study and learn. Nobody is capable of doing everything theirself, and if they are, the work load is often to hard for 1 to handle. Let me give an example as, I realize I can program and often have several idea's in my head for future projects, this, My skills as an Indie can probably be summarized as "Programming / Game Design"

4) A little help never hurt anybody:
Asking for help never hurt anyone. After accessing yourself and your skills you should have a good idea of where to place yourself in the scheme of things. Once you realize what you currently have at your finger tips, it is a lot easier to determine what else is needed to make the project a success.

5) Team work:
A well organized team is like a well oiled Machine. Keeping good communication between team members can be the key to any project. If your team are new to each other, before rushing into "Game Plans" or "Project Plans", why not get together and actually discuss things about yourself, your background, and get to know each other. A high rapport between team members cause less pressure and less stress, whereas a low rapport between team members can increase pressure and stress.

6) Timing:
As I stated before, Games are not made over night, and life often interferes with Game Developement, espically as an Indie. But the key here is, do not give up, set expected dead lines for yourself and for your team, but not all hope is lost if you fall behind, once, twice, or even all the time.

7) A Job can be your friend ;) - DavidRM
It's true, starting as an indie alone , often does not provide enough revenue to support yourself, or a family, and often for the first while it may not even support the project itself. A full time, or part time job, provides yourself with an income while you begin starting off as an Independant Game Developer. Funding is an important issue of game developement ;)

8) Funding:
Most projects are going to require some sort of income to provide tools, graphics, sound, and everything else to make the game itself a success. Thus we realize the importance of having a job as well. Sometimes funding may be short, but make due with what you have. If you need to save up from several pays so that you can hire an Artist, or Higher a programmer, do so. The more you spend , both financially and with time put into the project, the better income you will achieve.

9) Developement:
The biggest step, but the shortest notes ;) Try and stay focus and keep to your "Developement" documentation. The more organized you are in the beginning, the less you get confused and begin to "Re-think" during developement.

10) There is no such thing as failure
Starting off as an indie, your first few projects may never make it out of planning, never off a piece of paper etc. Do not let this discouage you though, most Indies have experienced it, it comes with the territory. Keep plugging away with your project (s), you may find you will hit road blocks along the way, but keep focused, find work arounds, and just don't quit because something goes wrong ;) Quitting is the only failure (Again, another great saying from DavidRM ;)

Hope this helps any new "developers" out there, I know it can be rough starting off, dreaming of becoming an Indie but never knowing where to start. It all starts with yourself...and a Little planning

-Robert Janes
rob@auroriaonline.net