Mode7 on what it takes to be an indie game dev

[BravadoWaffle]

Awesome article on what it takes to be an indie game developer. My favorite part is this:

There is something about game design which makes people believe that they can do it, even if they have never done it before. I’m not precisely sure what quality it has which makes it appear so easy: it is incredibly difficult.

http://www.mode7games.com/blog/2012/...ame-developer/

[PixelEnvision]

Nice one, thanks for sharing...

[makaGeorge]

Good article! That's an interesting quote... I agree: designing a game is not easy but I don't think the fact you've done it before or not matters that much, especially given the fact that many games from big companies play pretty bad too...

I think understanding what makes a game fun on a deeper level is what's important...but it's not easy. I think having played many different games does help, though... especially if you stop and think about what makes each game fun/not fun... but ultimately it's such a subjective issue, it's hard to know in advance if a given idea will be successful...

[yellowmonkeystudios]

Good article, and thank you for sharing Mr. Waffle !

Obligatory "Frozen Synapse is fantastic."

Edit: And I completely agree with makaGeorge~

[Moonjump]

Originally Posted by makaGeorge

Good article! That's an interesting quote... I agree: designing a game is not easy but I don't think the fact you've done it before or not matters that much, especially given the fact that many games from big companies play pretty bad too...

I think understanding what makes a game fun on a deeper level is what's important...but it's not easy. I think having played many different games does help, though... especially if you stop and think about what makes each game fun/not fun... but ultimately it's such a subjective issue, it's hard to know in advance if a given idea will be successful...

As someone who has been a game designer in big companies, I know there are a lot of managers who think design is easy, and that their ideas will benefit the game. They often get their way because they are higher ranked.

Letting the design team do the work is at least as important as having a good design team. Not all companies realise this, to the detriment of their games.

[makaGeorge]

wow... thanks for the insight... it must be so frustrating when that happens...

[Ndemic Creations]

Originally Posted by BravadoWaffle

There is something about game design which makes people believe that they can do it, even if they have never done it before. I’m not precisely sure what quality it has which makes it appear so easy: it is incredibly difficult.

http://www.mode7games.com/blog/2012/...ame-developer/

That is a really good article.

However, I disagree completely with that quote, it is unduly negative and will put people off.

I never made a game before or was involved in any game making team and yet my app went to #1 paid iphone/ipad app in the US in 5 days and has stayed there ever since...

[Blackharon]

Originally Posted by Ndemic Creations

That is a really good article.

However, I disagree completely with that quote, it is unduly negative and will put people off.

I never made a game before or was involved in any game making team and yet my app went to #1 paid iphone/ipad app in the US in 5 days and has stayed there ever since...

Just like anything, it IS difficult to most but comes naturally to others. Congrats on being the exception to the rule!

For me, I'm still learning after 2 and a half years in the industry. Though I'm getting better, there are days where I feel like I'm taking a step backwards in order to take 2 more forward.

The article is a fantastic read, and agree with a good chunk of it!

[BravadoWaffle]

Originally Posted by Ndemic Creations

That is a really good article.

However, I disagree completely with that quote, it is unduly negative and will put people off.

I never made a game before or was involved in any game making team and yet my app went to #1 paid iphone/ipad app in the US in 5 days and has stayed there ever since...

I agree with Blackharon (who is very successful in his own right), congrats on being the exception! It is seriously impressive what you've achieved! Especially for your first game! Now I'm even more jealous...

Speaking from personal experience I would say that I learned far more about the designing, making, and marketing games than I could ever have imagined by seeing RoboHero through. I am taking all those lessons and experience and transferring them into projects right now that have vastly more potential.

Ultimately the best way to learn about what it takes to make games is to make games. And some people have a knack for it.

However, now that you are in the scene, you will probably have people pitching ideas to you left and right about their "genius" game ideas that you should "totally" make, most of which aren't worth the air it took to speak them.

[David Phan]

Originally Posted by Ndemic Creations

That is a really good article.

However, I disagree completely with that quote, it is unduly negative and will put people off.

I never made a game before or was involved in any game making team and yet my app went to #1 paid iphone/ipad app in the US in 5 days and has stayed there ever since...

With all due respect, your game Plague is "inspired" by Pandemic. Some folks would use harsher terms than "inspired", but my intent isn't to generate hate. Just saying that if you heavily borrow from another game's design then keep it real .

DP