AUGUST GOAL REVIEWS AND 8-18 to 9-11 UPDATE
- monthly review
Hello and good afternoon friends!
I apologize that this is late! It was a bit chaotic last week and I lost track of time! It didn’t help that I had a bad pain flare up (that I’m still recovering from) so I was down and out for a good portion of the week. So sadly, I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to. But, it’s always good to keep in mind that health should always come first (I begrudgingly admit this)! I want to reiterate this, make sure to take breaks! In the past, I had a VERY bad habit of pushing off my health and sleep to focus on my projects until I became a pile of goo and it hurt me in the long run in several ways. I don’t want you guys to follow the same path so, I’m putting a sign at the start of your journey that says do not enter with caution tape blocking your way for this route! 😀
So, what did I manage to do this week you ask? I did manage to do a good chunk of research that is helping me reorganize information, view certain phases of development in a different light, and develop my prototype a certain way. I came across a Youtuber called Indie Game Clinic that I HIGHLY recommend. They really opened my eyes on how to develop a minimalist game doc, prototype and a vertical slice of your game.I actually went and joined their Discord and Patreon as well (that I am excited to go through). To be frank, after watching these videos, I realized I had the concept of vertical slice/demo/prototype all mushed together in my brain. So I asked the Indie Game Clinic’s Discord to help me define the difference. I had two people help me break it down. One person stated that “A prototype is a rough, early version of a game used to test out a core idea/mechanic. It’s usually made quickly with placeholder art and lots of missing features. The goal is to see if the concept is fun or viable before investing more time or resources. A vertical slice is a fully polished, small section of the game that represents what the final product will look and feel like. Think of it like a slice of cake: just one piece, but complete with all the layers (gameplay, visuals, sound, UI, etc). It’s usually used to prove the team’s ability to execute the vision, for pitching or internal validation. A demo is a publicly playable sample of the game, given to potential players to generate interest and drive wishlists. Its goal is to hook players, but isn’t the full game. The focus is on marketing and engagement, not just internal testing.” Another user broke prototyping down further, by stating “A prototype must answer one or a few very specific questions that must have been stated before beginning to work on the prototype. “Is this mechanic fun?” “Will this engine be enough?” “Can I actually code this mechanic?” “Is that art style working for this kind of game?” etc. Once you have answered the question, the prototype should be used as a reference and not as the actual game’s base. Archive it but don’t build on it.” It made me realize that I had been tackling my game very inefficiently on both fronts. So, my goal this week is to redo both games’ game doc, and see how I can make a vertical slice for both projects.
Game Doc Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBxYGFRi-S4&list=PL3n3ExgUASw7rKPy3RV6i6QxbN16m0_Yo&ab_channel=IndieGameClinic
Vertical Slice Video:
I also found this video stating that prototypes should be ugly. Which was an interesting perspective that I highly agree with (as I have experienced a lot of the issues he pointed out in my current project and previous failed projects). Unfortunately, my old habits refuse to die (refusing to die like a freaking cockroach) and I have a tendency to focus on polishing too early which has been slowing down my progress on everything significantly. In my hidden object game, I was hyper fixating on making super clean art for a prototype that will be greatly adjusted and changed which was very…inefficient (dang you inner perfectionism!) This video also explained the difference between roadmaps and game documents. Once I finish the game docs for both games, I want to make a roadmap of them as well as try to do this with my other projects. I have roughly done this with the PDF I bought off Etsy mentioned in my previous post.
Prototyping Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YSqhfjqfgs&t=80s&ab_channel=FastForwardMyGame
It is a bit frustrating that I have to go back a few steps in my journey, going back the way I came, in order to do things over but, that will happen. I know I need to build knowledge and experience. I will fail and make mistakes and that’s okay. It’s part of the learning process that is necessary. It’s about the journey, not just the destination!
I was able to work on completing a piece of a room for the hidden object game. I am trying very hard to keep my sketches loose and to set everything up as placeholders as we define and test mechanics and puzzles. (I will show a few pictures once the roughly planned room is complete). I had one person on Reddit point out that I was all over the place style wise for my Wonderland game in two American Mcgee Reddit threads and they made excellent suggestions that helped steer me into a specific direction. I found I wanted something creepy yet whimsical for character concepts that have a dash of the classic 90’s anime feeling. I will have to test, post and get feedback to make sure I hit these goals with my concepts. So, I decided to try something with the Cheshire Cat which I have shown below. The first image, I posted to Reddit and received feedback and then redrew it with my goals more defined. This picture has several different concepts that I did during a doodle brainstorm where I just dump ideas down to get the ball rolling. The image with one style was the direction I wanted to test out. I am divided on whether to make him a small cat or as big as a panther. I will have to do an additional drawing to compare the two and figure out what purpose does the Cheshire cat have in the game. To relax a bit, I decided to have fun trying to do a frame by frame animation of light movement for the Cheshire cat’s concept (and boy, am I rusty in animation!) But, it was a fun exercise that got me thinking about different things for the project. I want to try to show how the Cheshire disappears because I have a specific way I want that to be done but, it is going to take me a while to figure out how to do it. I think showing character animations will be a fun way to hone skills in my drawing so it’s more of a fun side project of when I want to do something artsy but relax more (I’ll post the Cheshire cat’s tail and ears moving in a gif once I polish it a bit more.)
This week I hope to really make some progress on quite a few things. How did your projects go? I’d love to hear your progress in the comments below! 🙂
Good luck with your week and I’ll see you guys again on Sunday!
Squeaky
