#28911 - poslundc - Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:36 pm
I am currently meditating on the future of the game I've been working on for the past year or so.
My hope was to have a demo out to potential publishers months ago, but my new job has taken up way more time and energy than I was expecting it would, and I've fallen severely behind.
For the record, my game is wicked-exciting-awesome enough that I think I would have eventually found a publisher, in spite of the staggering odds that normally exist for an indie developer. But now with the market going the way it is and the release of the DS and PSP both just around the corner I am having serious doubts that anyone would still take an interest, no matter how marketable it may be.
I think I could still have the demo ready if I devoted tons of energy to it for, like, two months straight. But I am majorly demoralized at this point, and thinking I should just chuck the GBA version and look for a new platform to develop for.
Unfortunately, both the DS and PSP will probably be impenetrable to homebrew dev-ers for several years to come, at which point it'll likely be the same problem all over again. I had a look at the Tapwave, but with the $400 price tag and both the DS and PSP hitting shelves I highly doubt there'll be anyone to play my game (can anyone say Turbo Express)? I'm not interested in developing it for desktop PCs, since I don't believe I'm able to keep up with hardware growth as a hobbyist. (My 466 MHz G4 Mac and 500 MHz PII laptop are both already relics.)
So I'm caught in a real dilemma here... any other developers want to share their advice/insight?
Thanks,
Dan.
#28913 - ampz - Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:40 pm
It took about a year before the GBA was "cracked".
I expect it to take about the same time or less until the DS is "cracked".
It depends alot on if there is encryption in place or not.
#28915 - poslundc - Mon Nov 08, 2004 5:50 pm
| ampz wrote: |
It took about a year before the GBA was "cracked".
I expect it to take about the same time or less until the DS is "cracked".
It depends alot on if there is encryption in place or not. |
There's also the issue of affordable homebrew hardware, time for suitable development of a dev kit, decent-quality emulators, etc.
Not to say that I am a lazy bum who wouldn't be willing to assist the process, but I expect it to take some considerable time still before things are at a state where I can easily pick up devving for the DS. I mean, heck, when I started on the GBA there was stuff like Pern and Cowbite to coddle me through practically everything from audio to Mode 7.
Dan.
#28919 - expos1994 - Mon Nov 08, 2004 6:09 pm
How far along are you?
If you are far enough along to say your game is "wicked-exciting-awesome enough" then you might be able to throw together a demo?
Are you making an RPG? That would be my guess since you need months and months to put it in a playable state.
If it is an RPG, ditch the story. Or scale it down drastically.
What I mean is, let's say you have a town and a battle system. But your idea calls for ten towns and 50 different monsters, and 10 bosses. And 20 NPCs with emotional bonds. Well lock that up in a box.
Make your game something like: The 5 different monsters you do have come and attack the 1 town that you do have. The one NPC you have is getting all emotional because she's the queen of the town. In steps you to save the day because you are tough and noble (and also because the queen has a nice rack).
There you go.. you show off your battle system, your town, maybe even your dialog system. Whatever you got, only you don't need months and months of content. You can put all that in a document.
You could also turn an RPG into an RPG-arcade game. Where you go around and whip as many monsters as you can in a certain amount of time.
So I guess my question is, what type of game are you trying to demo and how much of it have you completed? Maybe somebody here can help give you ideas. But my vote is for not giving up. No excuses man, finish the demo. You owe it to the rest of the world.
#28921 - poslundc - Mon Nov 08, 2004 6:42 pm
It is an RPG. The content is a relatively minor issue for the demo; there is only about half an hour of play time required for it. The figure I quoted (two months) is actually irregardless of content; it's about how long I figure it would take to have enough of the engine in place to handle that nominal amount of content.
Unfortunately, much of the "wicked-awesome-exciting enough" is still stuff that's still on the drawing board, or lying in pieces that have yet to be incorporated in any significant way into the whole.
I have at this point completed the sound engine, the graphics engine and many of the more complicated and hardware-demanding aspects of the game's infrastructure (things like random terrain generation, software sprite-scaling, text and menu system, etc.). Still to go is most of the battle engine (that's a real biggie), the navigation system (smaller but non-trivial) and the scripting engine (which I'm currently working on).
Then on the content side there is getting and incorporating artwork and music. I have people for both of these although I'm no longer sure where the art guy stands. There are also special effects, which worry me in terms of how much time they will consume to design (there would have to be at least a few of these for the demo).
I'd like to finish it, but like I said at this point it's hard to envision anyone picking it up, no matter how awesome it is. It's hard for me to justify the time to work on it at this point if there's any way I could be getting a head start on transplanting it to a different platform.
Dan.
#28922 - Lord Graga - Mon Nov 08, 2004 7:32 pm
Just use a few days of your holiday to code like a mad baboon.
#28941 - Touchstone - Mon Nov 08, 2004 11:27 pm
If I were you I'd try and have the game made for another platform. Try and create a playable proof-of-concept for all your cool stuff. If you are aiming for the PSP for instance I think it's sufficient with a PC version, just to show of your ultra-cool features before you have the possibility to actually code for the actual hardware. Any decent game publisher would be able to see through that it's currently played on a PC and envision the game for the target platform (altough I have to admit most publishers aren't that bright)
If you should write your POC for the PC I think it's important that you show of that the game could actually be made for the PSP. Make sure your meshes don't use more polygons than what you'd expect to push on the psp, use a window/hud with the same resolution as the psp, don't use effects that can't be created for your target platform, etc. If you have something playable for the GBA I think that strengthen your credibility when you have to prove that you can actually pull the whole thing off.
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#28946 - zazery - Tue Nov 09, 2004 1:08 am
I've got the same problem, although I never really completed the game engine. I decided that I would like to make it for the Nintendo DS. I think within less than a year we might be able to program it. It's a gamble of course.
I do have a suggestion though. If you would like to program it for the Nintendo DS, then make a demo for the computer that has 2 windows to simulate the duel screens. From that you could show it to a publisher and possibly get a dev kit to start programming it. It would increase your chances if you were a small gaming studio though. (A few adults who have much experience in programming and design)
#28947 - keldon - Tue Nov 09, 2004 1:54 am
So long as your project is complete, and your approach is correct; a development team may not be necessary to seal a deal. How established you are will only add to charisma.
What is your target market? What is your target sales figure? Think like a publisher, and then you can talk to them on their level. Also when looking for a publisher, these are questions you will have to ask.
I think game publishing works by you selling them the right to copy your product, and they give you a return of the profits. However if you can distribute some games (cartridge or dowloads) and prove you have interest in it then they are more likely to take the risk of your project.
I agree with what everyone else is saying about getting it working on another platform and then porting over to DS when necessary. You could even stick with the GBA version, and make a port to another platform to prove your ability of porting.
#28948 - Krakken - Tue Nov 09, 2004 1:59 am
If you have the game mostly finished and have been working on it for almost a year, whats to stop you? The absolute worst thing that can happen is that no publisher will pick it up and I know you have made the game for that purpose but any work that is finished and exciting like you say yours is going to be is an asset to your future. Think how satisfied you would feel when finishing it after putting so much effort into it.
If you can prove to a publisher that you are perfectly capable of doing the things you say you can they are much more likely to listen. They might even commission you to make a version for another platform such as the DS because they like it so much.
I'm just saying, you've come so far, don't give up yet. If you finish it you have nothing to lose (other than time) and a lot to gain.
#28954 - Abscissa - Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:33 am
| Krakken wrote: |
| If you finish it you have nothing to lose (other than time) and a lot to gain. |
Well, with a full-time job, time is something that there just isn't very much of.
#28955 - sgeos - Tue Nov 09, 2004 5:39 am
How many man monthes do you think it would take to complete your demo? How many man monthes would it take to complete the game? Can your team be expanded to crush the number of real world monthes it would take to complete the game? Ditto keldon on tarket marget, projected sales and thinking like a publisher.
-Brendan
#28960 - ScottLininger - Tue Nov 09, 2004 7:00 am
Don't give up! You'll at least have the audience of your fellow gbadevers. I mean, do you really need the carrot of a vaguely possible publishing deal to complete your vision? Surely you didn't start the project to "make money?" And even if you did, won't a complete, unpublished game be a great portfolio piece? It might someday land you your dream job.
Fortune favors the foolish!
However, it sounds to me like the "no publishing deal" may just be an excuse you're telling yourself because the project just isn't fun anymore. If you want to reinvigorate the thing, I'd do like others have suggested and seek out collaborators. Having new folks who are freshly amazed with the features you've come to see as blase can really help.
-Scott
#28965 - Krakken - Tue Nov 09, 2004 8:04 am
| Abscissa wrote: |
| Krakken wrote: | | If you finish it you have nothing to lose (other than time) and a lot to gain. |
Well, with a full-time job, time is something that there just isn't very much of. |
I have a full time job. Time is something there is enough of. What's it going to hurt to lose it anyway? He has come so far, and has a comleted game in his sights. He has spent a lot of time on it already and if he gives up now, all that was in vain.
#28973 - keldon - Tue Nov 09, 2004 2:37 pm
I think that since he's mentioned it he has no choice but to complete it, otherwise he will have an unfinished game =D How you go about this game is detirmined by what purpose it should fulfill.
The purpose driven approach would close up all the seams. For example, I know I wish to penetrate the industry with my own form of games. I will do this by building an arsenal of gaming structures, and working on my ability to create more. I will also penetrate the market through my own distribution of a game. I will pay for distribution by my Job. This game is the game that will penetrate the market.
I don't think it is a powerful move to release a game without an alterior motive, otherwise it will fall short of perspective. I'm not asking you to turn into a middle aged journal junkie, with a toilet appointment at 3:30pm; but I just hope you, and all developers for that matter will take this approach.