Any advice on organization?

outasite

When I first became a member, I went and bought a sketch book.

I planed to use it for all of my games, and keep it neat so that if I needed to, I could always come back. First 3 projects (learning blocks), are nice and neat, because I did them one after the other. But now my projects are bigger and bigger, and well I just dont know to to keep it all organized.

I thought I could save some room to complete one and start another project. Then another idea comes to mind.. and so on.

Any advice?

DrGlickert

Get lots of sketch books. One for each project. I have a notepad that has TONS of information in. When I get done with a page that I really like or want to reference the material, then I pull out that page and put it into a folder.

In your case, if you have characters that you draw that you like or whatnot then you can pull those out and put them into a "good" folder or something of the sort.

gyroscope

Hi outasite, you sound very much like me when it comes to GS; I've started no less than 6 apps, all in development, none anywhere near finished. Think I should be called gyro theguythatneverfinishesaproject scope! So one bit of advice is my own advice which I'm trying my best to implement: concentrate on one project at a time. I know this is difficult, as new ideas pop up all the time. Maybe newer ideas just put simple notes + explanations in your sketch book, no more than a couple of pages each. If you find that you're doing more, resist the temptation and get straight back onto your chosen project to actually finish.

If you use an iPad there's a neat app called Penultimate which you might find useful.

Another idea, if you can't curb your enthusiasm for your new projects, buy a (cheap) sketchpad for each project; that way there won't be bits all over the place... or maybe some sort of Mind Map app might help...

Anyhow, good luck, and let's see if you beat me in producing a finished game! (If you haven't already).

:-)

outasite

gyroscope said:
Think I should be called gyro theguythatneverfinishesaproject scope! So one bit of advice is my own advice which I'm trying my best to implement: concentrate on one project at a time.

Ya wow... Right there with you. Changing mine to "outa-my-mind//too-many-projects-in-site"

gyroscope said:
Anyhow, good luck, and let's see if you beat me in producing a finished game! (If you haven't already).

I'll take that challenge (Thanks now that I have something to fight for, I might finish it). I have about 25 more levels to go for my game.

As for the note books, I think I might just go with buying a bunch of them. I'm thinking comp books (I've always liked them and they stack well). Thanks Gyro & DrGlickert

tenrdrmer

Simple. 1 screen for each idea just keep adding screens when you get a new idea

mangaroo

tenrdrmer's solution is the most effective idea reinforcement technique of the lot, no doubt..personally all my designs are on the back of reading material littered in my room...going well though! just make notes in your project templates when there is a bug solution/worth learning tip and make lots of increments. You'll have a nice comprehensive project file at the end..

Photics

I use Photics.com as an archive.

Example...
http://photics.com/back-to-the-drawing-board

The sketch is there for easy access.

WordPress could be set up as an Intranet site, or behind a locked directory on a web server, so it can be private too.

At the bottom of my site, there's a link to Hostrocket. They've been a great web host.

LumpApps

I have most in my head, the only thing I sketch is my artwork.

What I do to organize stuff at the moment is making Photoshop files with lots of layers and groups. I used to work with separate files but having them all in one file gives me more control over proportions.
The nice thing is that Photoshop has groups so I group each scene, in that a group for an actor and in that a group for animations or different appearances.

outasite

Hah thanks, looks like I'm going to need a few screens.

quantumsheep

@tenrdrmer - you look older than I thought you would!

Personally, I have lots of notebooks - and stuff ends up all over the place!

Fortunately, like Ludwig, most of the stuff is in my head, and I use pixelmator's layers to make menu buttons and stuff, keeping most things in one place.

I tend to use textedit a lot as my handwriting's awful, and I can type faster than I can physically write (legibly) with a pen or pencil! It's useful as a 'to do' list, and quickly typing up areas that need improving/fixing as a reminder.

Excel, or the google doc equivalent, will be useful for everyone once we all get GameCentre, especially if you have multiple leaderboards. Make a note of all the info you put into iTunes, so you have it to hand when you're using GameSalad to input the relevant info.

Additionally, use variable names that make sense. Level1Score, for example, or 'HighScore'. Try and input the variables that go well together at the same time, so they're grouped together in the drop-down list.

As to having too many ideas... there's nothing wrong, I think, in spending a couple of hours here and there making prototypes. GameSalad is, of course, visual, so you can map out a level and put in the basic building blocks of your game very quickly and easily to see if that idea that won't go away actually works.

You don't even need graphics or to optimise it. Just test out the idea - see if it works or not at its most base level - then file it away and go back to your main project

Cheers,

QS