I am discouraged
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I know it's a bit of a beast, but I have a big project in mind. I'm studying hard to start this project, but I'm discouraged ... I know this has happened to other people and they have given up! I also know that among 5 people who start a project, 3 do not finish. I want to complete and overcome this mental barrier. Here there are very experienced guys Duion, JeffR, Azaezel, Skipper .... , what solutions can I take so that this does not become a nightmare.
It is more like from 5 people who start a project 4.5 do not finish.
This is not to discourage you, just to be realistic. I think most people fail is because their projects were never realistic to begin with, like those people who want to make an MMO.
For example small games like a mobile game or 2D game takes 1 year to make and an MMO is more like 10 years or more to make, average time to develop a video game is like 3 years, you have to be aware of that and this counts for teams, so alone you have to downscale a lot to get it finished in that time. Additionally this is only, if you already have some skills in programming and/or in art, if you don't you can add even more years to the schedule.
So most important before you start is to pick realistic goals and make a plan what you want to achieve and set yourself a time limit. Write down the most important elements of your game and then start to develop them one by one, not doing anything else inbetween, then you get a feeling of your own skills and how long it takes you and you get something done, which helps to motivate you.
This is not to discourage you, just to be realistic. I think most people fail is because their projects were never realistic to begin with, like those people who want to make an MMO.
For example small games like a mobile game or 2D game takes 1 year to make and an MMO is more like 10 years or more to make, average time to develop a video game is like 3 years, you have to be aware of that and this counts for teams, so alone you have to downscale a lot to get it finished in that time. Additionally this is only, if you already have some skills in programming and/or in art, if you don't you can add even more years to the schedule.
So most important before you start is to pick realistic goals and make a plan what you want to achieve and set yourself a time limit. Write down the most important elements of your game and then start to develop them one by one, not doing anything else inbetween, then you get a feeling of your own skills and how long it takes you and you get something done, which helps to motivate you.
I have been in the gamedev game for a long time and met many different indie gamedevs, most work solo.
The way i see it there are about four possible outcomes.
It may seem quite pessimistic, but thats just what it is like, nobody who isnt crazy enough to fuck up their life for their creativity should start with this kind of thing at all.
If you arent rich enough to buy a team of developers you have to consider the chance that you simply wont find anyone to do your work for you and in order to have success you need to be a one man game studio.
The way i see it there are about four possible outcomes.
- The game usually amounts to not much and goes under in a sea of flopped cheap games.
- The game takes many years of hard work to develop and goes unnoticed.
- Some kind of genius move manages to gain momentum and somehow a whole team gets assembled and pulls it trough.
- The game never gets into public beta and dies.
It may seem quite pessimistic, but thats just what it is like, nobody who isnt crazy enough to fuck up their life for their creativity should start with this kind of thing at all.
If you arent rich enough to buy a team of developers you have to consider the chance that you simply wont find anyone to do your work for you and in order to have success you need to be a one man game studio.
I remember when I started molecular biology for my major (forever and a half ago). On the first day of class my professor told everyone to look to the person on their left and right because one of those people won't finish out their degree. It was scary to hear and he was right of course, but don't let statistics like that get you down. Some people took job offers in different fields, some got married and moved out of state, others decided they liked their minors more and switched majors, etc. The point is that there are enumerable reasons for people to switch/abandon projects, and not all of them are because they "failed." As @ Duion said, set realistic goals. If you do that then there's no reason you can't finish your game. My advice would be to keep learning as much as possible, and keep going. If you enjoy what you're doing then don't stop just because other developers didn't reach their goals.
Good luck!
Good luck!
As others have eluded to, try and stay away from creating the next 'big game', it is just not a realistic goal. That doesn't mean you can't get stuck in and make an awesome and fun game, just keep your expectations under control. As inspiration, the best example you will ever come across is minecraft, it is the highest selling PC game and second highest selling game of all time, all created by one person. Just keep it simple, keep it realistic and have fun, the second it becomes a chore it is game over 
I am very happy ... I just have to thank you for the honor of participating in this great community. You ( @ Duion, @ Code_Man , @ Caleb and @
Timmy) really helped a person, because a simple word can destroy or build a human being. I hope that other people who are going through the same situation as mine can see these great teachings!
Thank you very much!
Thank you very much!
Others have already said to keep the project realistic, so I'd like to emphasize a particular point of that to build on as they covered it otherwise rather well:
Scope.
It's kind of a vague word, but ultimately, it means to keep in mind the total amount of work involved to complete the project down to a level you can accomplish.
Obviously, there's the cost-effort triangle which influences what scope is reasonable. You know the one, "It can be fast, cheap or good - pick two". If you're able to take your time on a project, for example, then you can definitely do stuff in a much wider scope than if you're trying to crunch something out for a game jam.
But all that is just to help you think about the scope of your game and keep it as reasonable as possible. Separate out features that MUST happen(not much of an FPS if you can't shoot things) and WOULD BE NICE to happen(full crafting system allowing you to make fancy cakes) and keep them separate. Same thing with art, sound, etc. You need the player to have a walk cycle, but it doesn't have to be so smooth and flawless as to bring tears to the eye and so on.
Once you have a good breakdown of the needs, you'll usually find that the scope of what you need to do to get a game out is a lot smaller. And from there, you can begin to tackle parts of that list knowing that you don't have to worry about literally everything being done - at least not yet.
Managing scope is absolutely a skill and it's something that takes time and practice to learn. Don't expect to do perfect on your first shot, just understand that if something goes wrong or acts as a roadblock you an use it to learn and be even better the next time something comes up
Scope.
It's kind of a vague word, but ultimately, it means to keep in mind the total amount of work involved to complete the project down to a level you can accomplish.
Obviously, there's the cost-effort triangle which influences what scope is reasonable. You know the one, "It can be fast, cheap or good - pick two". If you're able to take your time on a project, for example, then you can definitely do stuff in a much wider scope than if you're trying to crunch something out for a game jam.
But all that is just to help you think about the scope of your game and keep it as reasonable as possible. Separate out features that MUST happen(not much of an FPS if you can't shoot things) and WOULD BE NICE to happen(full crafting system allowing you to make fancy cakes) and keep them separate. Same thing with art, sound, etc. You need the player to have a walk cycle, but it doesn't have to be so smooth and flawless as to bring tears to the eye and so on.
Once you have a good breakdown of the needs, you'll usually find that the scope of what you need to do to get a game out is a lot smaller. And from there, you can begin to tackle parts of that list knowing that you don't have to worry about literally everything being done - at least not yet.
Managing scope is absolutely a skill and it's something that takes time and practice to learn. Don't expect to do perfect on your first shot, just understand that if something goes wrong or acts as a roadblock you an use it to learn and be even better the next time something comes up
I came to thank only after a week lol!
Many thanks @ JeffR for giving that "pinch of salt" that was missing to give that final taste. The cool thing is that people who are going through the same situation, will be able to find a solution in this matter.
Many thanks @
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