Test your game everywhere
Is your game tested and ready?
During development of your game it is easy to forget how important it is to test the game regularly. Not just on your own development pc but on lots of computers. When the game runs fine on your own pc it can be a good indication of how finished and polished the game is but it will tell you almost nothing about how the game runs on other systems. What happens when the game suddenly has to work with a much faster and newer or slower and older processor or graphics card? Does it keep its intended speed or will it vary wildly – you don’t know until you actually try it. Guessing is not an option if you are serious about letting other people play your game.
Try to test on systems that at least expose the following differences from your own pc:
Operating system. If you developed on Windows 7 then test on Windows XP and Vista. If you support Linux or Mac then remember to actually test on a variety of these systems too.
Screen resolution. If you made the game on a wide screen monitor then test how it looks on an older 4:3 format screen at different resolutions. 1024x768 is still the most commonly used resolution for games so make sure the game runs perfectly for people using this resolution.
DirectX version. Depending on your chosen game engine and what version of Windows you are using then you probably need to consider what version of DirectX will be required to run your game. Windows XP only supports DirectX 9 while Windows 7 and Vista support DirectX 11. If you need your game to run on as many pc’s as possible then avoid engines that require more than DirectX 9. A lot of pc’s don’t have the necessary software updates or the graphics card to go any higher.
A remaining problem is that you probably don’t have access to enough computers. The best thing for a hobbyist game developer is therefore to upload a demo to a website and have the most people possible play your game. Tell people to write if they experience any problems and to share any details of the problem along with their basic system specifications. One excellent website for getting user feedback is ModDB where you can create a page for your game and upload demos, videos and screenshots. Not only will you find problems faster but you will also get increased exposure for your game and hopefully some fans.
How do you get your game ideas?
Where does your inspiration for new game ideas come from? Is it from your favorite movie or book? It could also be from some real life situations. Maybe a snowball fight gave you an idea that could work out as a great game. Do you simply get ideas that seem to come from nowhere?
I know where I get most of my inspiration and ideas from. Since I was little I have always loved science fiction. It does not matter much if it is stories in movies, books, comics or computer games but I prefer the ones focused on ethical questions we might have to deal with in the future. Stories about artificial intelligence, robots, new technologies, space travel and alien life forms have always caught my attention and nearly all my favorite movies can all be found on the Internet Movie Database top 50 sci-fi movies.
Harrison Ford in Blade Runner (1982)
Even though I am not currently working on any sci-fi related game it is still where the largest amount of my ideas are and I know that someday it will turn into a real game. That or an interactive story set in something that would feel a bit like a game. The important thing is that it is a good sci-fi story that I can be proud of.
Even the simplest game idea can be a hit
When designing new computer games from scratch it is easy to start adding lots of features to make the game better. By instinct we think that ‘more is better’ and that a game needs a bit of everything to be great. The truth is that this can easily ruin your game and keep you from ever finishing it.
While some big open world games, like World of WarCraft, Grand Theft Auto or The Sims, have succeeded in having many different features most games actually rely on very few to engage the player. Think of first person shooters who may have advanced visually since the days of the first Wolfenstein and Doom games but the core gameplay is still basically the same. Even Doom had multiplayer and within a few years jumping and mouse looking had also become standard. Heck, even the first person shooter Maze War from 1974 had built in maps and multiplayer.
One of the best examples of a simple idea made successful is the casual games subgenre known as ‘hidden object games’. If you know the children’s books Where’s Wally (Waldo in North America) where you need to find Wally in large double page illustration then that is the basic idea of the hidden object game genre. You get a list of certain objects and need to find them in a room filled with different objects. Some are easy to find but usually you need to spend some time locating the last two or three objects because they blend in with the other objects and the room itself.
The first hidden object game was Mystery Case Files: Huntsville released in 2006 by Big Fish Games. It set the player as a crime solving detective and required you to move from scene to scene in a town. Huntsville was a success and soon after many other game developers were making games with similar gameplay to feed the many fans of this new genre.
Mystery Case Files: Huntsville
Huntsville itself has had several follow up games including MCF: Ravenhearst, MCF: Return to Ravenhearst and MCF: Dire Grove. Especially these three can be a good way for newcomers to explore the genre and how it has evolved slowly by adding extra types of puzzles since the original Huntsville.
What is really important to understand is how hidden object games have been a success by going for the ‘less is more’ recipe. While the genre has evolved since MCF: Huntsville it is the simple core gameplay that drives the now largest and best selling genre in casual games. Remember this the next time you think about adding a feature to your game and ask yourself if it really is needed or at least if some other feature should be cut out. Achieve a great design by limitations rather than total freedom one could say.
Ten don’t do’s for hobby game developers
When making computer games there are lots of hurdles in your way. Sometimes it is easy for a beginner or hobbyist to start on the wrong foot so this is a list of the worst ways you can treat your game.
Ok, so let's doom your game project:
1. Aim for the stars
Why make a clone of Pong as your first game when you could be making the next big MMO game? Don’t worry yourself about never having made a computer game before, just come up with the biggest game idea you possibly can and start developing it.
2. Do it for fame and money
Lots of people have made money and become famous in this world so why shouldn’t you? Since your game idea is the best the world has ever seen you should start planning on what to spend all the money on that you are about to make and what hot Hollywood star you want to date.
3. Be secretive and paranoid
You have this crazy idea that will turn into the world’s best game once you develop it. Make sure not to tell anyone about it, not even your mom or dog, but make sure that everybody knows that you are working on something truly great and that it is going to be huge when you release it. Men in black will most likely be watching you so trust no one.
4. ONLY listen to yourself
Never listen to feedback about your game. It is the players who are getting it wrong and they must be dumb since they can’t figure out your brilliant rules, controls and story. If your game crashes on most systems then tell the players to throw out their old pc’s and go buy new ones.
5. Rip music and graphics from all your favourite games
Remember that Metal Gear Solid game with awesome music? Why not use that music in your next big game where Mario has to fight Master Chief and save Lara Croft? Copyright laws don’t apply to brilliant people. Imagine how all those great characters finally will come to life when you take control and the original developers will wish they had got that idea first.
6. Only focus on incredible graphics
We all know the only reason a new FPS game can sell a million copies is either because it got lucky or because of how good it looks. Having photorealistic graphics is surely the most important part of a game today so you should spend more time doing graphics than on anything else in the game. Everybody knows that good graphics equals a good game. Gameplay is so last year.
7. Quit on first sign of trouble
There is no reason to continue working on a game if it requires you to learn new skills. Run away as fast as you can and start on a new game project that is bigger and better. In fact you should delete the old project from your hard drive and pretend it never even existed.
8. People should pay to play your game
Try to avoid all the cheapskates of the world by requiring people to purchase your game if they want to play it. Free is for hippies and ads are for sissies. If you decide to have a demo version it should only contain a single screen with a buy button for the full version of your awesome game.
9. Sell you big ideas to the professional game companies and make loads of money
When working on your own über cool game you need some money to feed you and pay the bills so why not make a living by bombarding all the big developers with all your other world class ideas for new games? Don’t stop just because none of them ever reply, send even more ideas and think of the millions you are going to make.
10. Quit your job or education to make games
Be a pro and quit on your normal everyday activities like school or your job. Remove anything from your life that detracts from making games. Maybe you will finally be happy once all those annoying people and duties are out of your way. Burn all bridges and never look back.
Maybe that last rule will destroy not only your hobby making games but your life too actually.
Oh, and do remember that there is also that other perspective… It is probably better to look at game development from a positive perspective.
Share your game on ModDB
In the Hobbyist Game Developer Manifesto I mentioned how important it was to share your game. An excellent way of improving your game is to share it early in the process so that you get feedback from interested players. This will let you improve your game in areas you might otherwise not focus on and hopefully you will end up with a better game in the long run.
One really great place to share your game is on the website ModDB.com. The site is primarily focused on mods for existing games (a 'mod' is a modification of a usually popular computer game) but it also allows users to add stand-alone games. ModDB.com is a social Web 2.0 style website with each game having the option to add descriptions, videos, downloads, images and articles. As a developer you can even see daily stats and how many users are following your game as it is updated.
I have been using the site myself for a few years now and have always been very satisfied with the experience. I have found a wide range of games on the site that I probably wouldn't have played without it. I have also added quite a few of my own student and spare time game projects. You can see how I have used a lot of the possibilities ModDB offer on my Sands of Myth page.
If you decide to use ModDB as development page for your game then remember to read the guidelines for proper posting. Normally completely newly added games go through a check by moderators to see if they are legitimate and supported by the developer. You need to prove that you are serious about your game and can show some form of gameplay. A video or a small demo is typically a good thing to add along with some nice in-game screenshots.
Board games are good for game designers
You probably already know this but it is important for a game developer to play different games and learn from them. This will teach important lessons about what works and what does not in games. Unfortunately many forget that not only computer games count as games. One place in particular to find good games are in board games where classics like Chess and Monopoly can be excellent learning experiences. But actually these two games don't even tell half the story of what board games are today.
Board games are often great examples of how a limited set of rules and physical game pieces can create fun and exciting gameplay. Chess has nearly endless strategic choices and Monopoly will play different every time and feels different if more or fewer players are added to the session.
The important thing is that board games have evolved tremendously over the last decades. Newer games like Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Space Hulk or Arkham Horror all prove that board games have come a long way since Monopoly.
Board games today also mimic some of the themes and gameplay from well known computer games. Examples here are World of WarCraft, StarCraft and Doom, or popular tv series like Battlestar Galactica.
If you haven’t played a board game in a long time you should take a look at some of the new offerings the genre has and give them a try. You might learn some valuable lessons about game design from it and become a better designer yourself.
