The 24 Hour Game Experiment
by Bruno Campolo · in Torque Game Builder · 10/21/2009 (5:56 pm) · 18 replies
Teaser:
I’m going to create a game in 24 hours and then sell it by whatever means possible!
Background:
This experiment was prompted by one of my previous posts, “Casual Game Price Point: $6.99 and Falling“. There are obvious price wars going on in the casual market and while consumers are always happy about lower prices, the developer and any affiliates feel the burden. While my long term plan is to create an MMO (currently in the early stages of development), I thought it would be a pretty cool ‘experiment’ to see if I can create a game from start to finish in 24 man hours and then sell it via whatever channels require the least amount of effort. If the portals want to sell all of their games for bargain prices, then I’m going to develop something that’s fitting of that price. I’m certainly not going to spend $10,000 – 100,000 and 2 years of development time to have my product dropped in the bargain bin after a week! :mad:
Purpose:
I guess the purpose of this experiment is 2-fold…
1. Can I create a game with acceptable production values in 24 hours?
2. Will it meet publisher’s standards and actually make money?
Hypothesis:
I’m torn on this one… either I will not be able to complete a game with acceptable production values in 24 hours or I will and it will make about $5000. Either way I’ll probably feel like a huge sell out at the end and go back to working on my MMO. :o
Materials:
Torque Game Builder Pro v1.7.4
Artwork/Audio that I can purchase royalty-free (creating the rest myself)
Method:
If you’ll notice above, I said 24 MAN hours. I have a full time job and I’m fairly busy on the weekends, plus I don’t really think I can be productive for 24 hours straight, so I’ve decided to split up the 24 hours a bit. I have a vacation day this Friday (10/23) and plan on spending at least 12 hours then. The remainder of the time will be spent on Saturday or Sunday for as much as I can squeeze in. I know… not as exciting as 24 hours straight, but I’m almost 30 and my Jolt days are over!
Observations:
I will be posting my updates on my blog after each work session.
Conclusions:
I will be posting a final update on my blog once I have completed all 24 man hours.
Wish me luck!
I’m going to create a game in 24 hours and then sell it by whatever means possible!
Background:
This experiment was prompted by one of my previous posts, “Casual Game Price Point: $6.99 and Falling“. There are obvious price wars going on in the casual market and while consumers are always happy about lower prices, the developer and any affiliates feel the burden. While my long term plan is to create an MMO (currently in the early stages of development), I thought it would be a pretty cool ‘experiment’ to see if I can create a game from start to finish in 24 man hours and then sell it via whatever channels require the least amount of effort. If the portals want to sell all of their games for bargain prices, then I’m going to develop something that’s fitting of that price. I’m certainly not going to spend $10,000 – 100,000 and 2 years of development time to have my product dropped in the bargain bin after a week! :mad:
Purpose:
I guess the purpose of this experiment is 2-fold…
1. Can I create a game with acceptable production values in 24 hours?
2. Will it meet publisher’s standards and actually make money?
Hypothesis:
I’m torn on this one… either I will not be able to complete a game with acceptable production values in 24 hours or I will and it will make about $5000. Either way I’ll probably feel like a huge sell out at the end and go back to working on my MMO. :o
Materials:
Torque Game Builder Pro v1.7.4
Artwork/Audio that I can purchase royalty-free (creating the rest myself)
Method:
If you’ll notice above, I said 24 MAN hours. I have a full time job and I’m fairly busy on the weekends, plus I don’t really think I can be productive for 24 hours straight, so I’ve decided to split up the 24 hours a bit. I have a vacation day this Friday (10/23) and plan on spending at least 12 hours then. The remainder of the time will be spent on Saturday or Sunday for as much as I can squeeze in. I know… not as exciting as 24 hours straight, but I’m almost 30 and my Jolt days are over!
Observations:
I will be posting my updates on my blog after each work session.
Conclusions:
I will be posting a final update on my blog once I have completed all 24 man hours.
Wish me luck!
About the author
Creator of Bantam City Games, a one-man independent game development studio. To learn more, check out 'A Game Developer's Saga', a game development blog at: http://www.bantamcity.com/blog
#2
10/21/2009 (6:05 pm)
Best of luck!
#3
10/21/2009 (9:30 pm)
Thanks, I'm kinda worried, but excited at the same time. 
#4
10/21/2009 (9:33 pm)
Looking forward to hearing how you do. Although I think a better (more reasonable) experiment is if you can create a sellable game in 2-4 weeks. 24 hours is simply too little time to make a game anyone would want to actually play. 
#5
Several GID's actually became sellable games afterward, so it's not unfeasible. I actually want to get GID's resurrected here in the community at some point in the future.
10/22/2009 (12:12 am)
Good luck, I look forward to the results. You may want to search the site for Game in a Day (GID) for some tips and pratfalls to stay away from. GID's were events that used to happen here in the community where the goal was to create a game within 24 man hours and team sizes ranged from one man shows to several people.Several GID's actually became sellable games afterward, so it's not unfeasible. I actually want to get GID's resurrected here in the community at some point in the future.
#6
10/22/2009 (4:48 am)
Now that's a real challenge! Good luck man I'll be reading the blog :O)
#7
@Scott - Thanks for the tip about GID and thanks for the encouragement!
@Joe - Thanks, I look forward to seeing your comments on the blog as the experiment progresses.
I'll probably be posting updates on my blog every 6 hours or so (not too often because I don't want to break the rhythm)
10/22/2009 (10:18 am)
@Vern - Thanks, I think you're probably right, but that's why its an experiment :)@Scott - Thanks for the tip about GID and thanks for the encouragement!
@Joe - Thanks, I look forward to seeing your comments on the blog as the experiment progresses.
I'll probably be posting updates on my blog every 6 hours or so (not too often because I don't want to break the rhythm)
#8
10/23/2009 (4:28 pm)
First update posted to the blog...
#9
10/29/2009 (9:08 pm)
I can't find your blog. Can you link to the update? [Edit nevermind -- I see the link now at the top of this page. D'oh!]
#10
For the full postmortem, check out the blog.
11/03/2009 (6:18 pm)
I just posted the final update. For those that thought I couldn't do it... you were right ;) and for those that thought I had a chance in hell, I'm sorry to disappoint. Here is an excerpt from the post:Quote:Well… the experiment is over. I’m sure it comes to no surprise to most of you, that I did not finish the game in time. I think realistically I would need another 72 man hours to make this game sell-able. The problem is that it took me about 2 weeks to get in just 24 man hours and by the time I put in another 72 it would be way too late to get the game out for the holiday rush. Not to mention some of the publishers I’ve contacted say that their queues are already jam-packed for the rest of the year.
...
Overall, I’m glad I did the experiment and I hope to do another one at some point next year (with more realistic expectations). This project made me realize how much I really can get done in such a short amount of time and that maybe being a part-timer isn’t the best way to go. I’ll be putting some serious thought into how I can devote more of my time to game development in the near future. For now, its back to working on my MMO…
For the full postmortem, check out the blog.
#11
Why do you want to make a game in 24 hours? Feasibly, even if you could why would you? It would lack any thought. Most games that I have loved over the years (and therefore bought) I am sure required a lot of thought and care. Not a 24 hour Red Bull Powered frenzy to try and pack in a game "on time".
11/04/2009 (1:22 am)
Question.Why do you want to make a game in 24 hours? Feasibly, even if you could why would you? It would lack any thought. Most games that I have loved over the years (and therefore bought) I am sure required a lot of thought and care. Not a 24 hour Red Bull Powered frenzy to try and pack in a game "on time".
#12
I remember my last Game-In-A-Day. It became the "design document" for Hackers of 2073. I was able to say "this is the game, this is what I want to do with it". The same can probably be said of "Santa's Sleigh Ride Adventure". That alone is worth more than the time you put into this project.
Whether you continue with this or drop it, I really enjoyed following your progress. Best of luck in whatever you do next!
11/04/2009 (3:54 am)
Excellent job, Bruno! I'm really impressed. If anything, you learned the limits of your abilities in a given time period.I remember my last Game-In-A-Day. It became the "design document" for Hackers of 2073. I was able to say "this is the game, this is what I want to do with it". The same can probably be said of "Santa's Sleigh Ride Adventure". That alone is worth more than the time you put into this project.
Whether you continue with this or drop it, I really enjoyed following your progress. Best of luck in whatever you do next!
#13
I'm also impressed to see what you have achieved in such a little time...
I would also be interested to see how you made your basic design doc. But if you're continuing this project for next year, I will wait before asking you to reveal your secrets ;)
Good luck with your mmo :)
11/04/2009 (4:12 am)
It was really really interesting for me to read your 24 man hours adventure. I really enjoyed it, so thank you!I'm also impressed to see what you have achieved in such a little time...
I would also be interested to see how you made your basic design doc. But if you're continuing this project for next year, I will wait before asking you to reveal your secrets ;)
Good luck with your mmo :)
#14
@rennie
That isn't what GIDs (Game-In-a-Day) are about. They're not marathon sessions of 24 straight hours, they're 24 man hours which means the amount of time spent working on the game. The point of GIDs is they are exercises in learning to work more efficiently, learning just how much time it takes to implement features that are taken for granted, as well as coming up with a plan and sticking to it.
Plus they are excellent for forcing one to come up new gameplay ideas that can be implemented in that time frame. Search the site for GIDs or Game In a Day to see past GIDs to get a better idea of the concept.
11/04/2009 (4:51 am)
I'd say you did an excellent job with it being your first GID. Being a one-man show can make those 24 man hours fly by pretty quick. I'm impressed you were able to get so much done with some final art included. Most GIDs, for various reasons, never get past programmer/alpha quality art.@rennie
That isn't what GIDs (Game-In-a-Day) are about. They're not marathon sessions of 24 straight hours, they're 24 man hours which means the amount of time spent working on the game. The point of GIDs is they are exercises in learning to work more efficiently, learning just how much time it takes to implement features that are taken for granted, as well as coming up with a plan and sticking to it.
Plus they are excellent for forcing one to come up new gameplay ideas that can be implemented in that time frame. Search the site for GIDs or Game In a Day to see past GIDs to get a better idea of the concept.
#16
11/04/2009 (2:12 pm)
Sort of. Looking over my post again those are really the benefits from doing a GID. The real point of them, and the whole reason for the concept initially, was to have fun and see what kind of game you could rapidly prototype in 24 hours.
#17
11/04/2009 (4:07 pm)
right.
#18
Thanks again!
11/04/2009 (4:49 pm)
Great to see all of the replies and I'm glad that it was at least somewhat entertaining to follow along! It really is a test of skill and helps you to realize where there are efficiencies to be gained. I'm going to try and finish the game next year and maybe I'll do another experiment around that.Thanks again!
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