Pray to the binary gods... My developers story...
StormyStudio
United KingdomMember Posts: 3,989
After reading a similar story on a developers blog I decided to write my own...then decided to share it with the Forum...
My developer life...an unorganised, accidental route to potential millions.
• Think up numerous game ideas through out the year, jot them down quickly using a semi-broken pen in a knackered sketch book
• Choose project X, build on it, doodle some rough game layouts in my notebook...get distracted forget about it.
• Repeat a few times until an idea fully takes hold.
• Make a quick prototype of the gameplay and test myself and on a few friends. Is it fun enough to play...."No.." ... ignore them (and myself) and carry on anyway.
• Decide I want to finish the game quickly, produce mediocre graphics, get tied up perfecting gameplay and the idea starts to grow..and grow.
• Think the game is finished, then decide it deserves better graphics...so spend many days and nights re-making graphics, perfecting gameplay, adding some polish, (buttons that change with 'pressed' and 'released'). Change the title of the game, again..and again...then go back to the original. Go onto App store to reserve the app name, find out its taken...think up a new one again...reserve the app name.
• Keep playing the game whilst on the loo, or walking home from the train, or when about to goto bed. Make notes each time I see something that could be improved. e.g. stop 'menu' button appearing so early that if pressed it breaks the game, make new sound effect for actor.Z, make a png sequence on the title text shimmering with light. etc etc...
• Decide the game needs more depth, add more levels/high scores/unlockables, new weapons etc etc...
• Remake the static loading screen for the 20th time... not because it needs it...but because its quick to do and makes me feel like I've achieved something momentous each time I do it.
• Finally get round to looking at audio, hastily search the internet for a cool 8 bit sound track thats cheap, chuck it in... it's good enough..add sound effects that work. ( I never take the time it deserves for something so beneficial to a good game).
• Hold back development of the game, I've heard some cool feature is coming to GameSalad soon.
• Finally stop waiting, and tidy up what remains of the game..instead of taking a day...it takes a month.
• Add a link to my other games (to maximise magnetisation or some rubbish like that).
• Eventually after spending 5000 hours more than originally anticipated working on this small game, I feel its ready to unleash on the world. But first I should perfect the icon for the app store (lose 2 days), write a description (re-write, try to be clever...is it cheesy, boring, cheap... is less more?).
• Submit the app, "oh !@#$%! I should try and do some PR ready for the game getting approved and going live." Put my full time job skills into action and throw together an animated promo video, put it on youtube, start a thread about the game on TouchArcade. And send out a press release to every damn review site I can find....get 3 excited replies on the touch arcade forum and nothing from the review sites.
• Pray to the binary gods that maybe just maybe, my game submission will be approved, will appear in the new releases chart, that apple will ask to feature it, that touch arcade will review it and it cracks the top 100 of a few categories and has a half chance of gaining some decent sales and finding a semi permanent home in the Royal Paid overall top 100...
• It gets approved... I spend the next month checking the sales 5 times a day before 12pm even though its only updated once a day afterwards.
• Tell myself to work on a 'lite' version after I finish the game. I write a note in my book that will be ignored for the next 3 months...only to be found with a 'oh..yeah should have done that.. oh well maybe next time'.
• Look back at the game a year later... "wow! I could have made the whole thing better if I had just done...."
• The feature I was waiting for from GameSalad is added...tell myself to "use it in the next game".
• Fail to make potential millions, earn enough to pay for a GameSalad Pro Licence but it disappears into overdrafts, mortgages and bills....
• Tell people at weddings, funerals, parties, pubs that I make iphone games as a hobby. They tell me their brilliant idea...it sucks...and it's already been done...
• Start the whole cycle again..this time it'll be a success... "I'm better a GameSalad" , "I know more about game design", "I know more about marketing", "this could be the one"
Every 1,000,000,000 seconds
LOOP
:-)
My Audio Invaders game, is so nearly ready... and will be submitted some time between the next week and April...I just want to add that one more thing..
My developer life...an unorganised, accidental route to potential millions.
• Think up numerous game ideas through out the year, jot them down quickly using a semi-broken pen in a knackered sketch book
• Choose project X, build on it, doodle some rough game layouts in my notebook...get distracted forget about it.
• Repeat a few times until an idea fully takes hold.
• Make a quick prototype of the gameplay and test myself and on a few friends. Is it fun enough to play...."No.." ... ignore them (and myself) and carry on anyway.
• Decide I want to finish the game quickly, produce mediocre graphics, get tied up perfecting gameplay and the idea starts to grow..and grow.
• Think the game is finished, then decide it deserves better graphics...so spend many days and nights re-making graphics, perfecting gameplay, adding some polish, (buttons that change with 'pressed' and 'released'). Change the title of the game, again..and again...then go back to the original. Go onto App store to reserve the app name, find out its taken...think up a new one again...reserve the app name.
• Keep playing the game whilst on the loo, or walking home from the train, or when about to goto bed. Make notes each time I see something that could be improved. e.g. stop 'menu' button appearing so early that if pressed it breaks the game, make new sound effect for actor.Z, make a png sequence on the title text shimmering with light. etc etc...
• Decide the game needs more depth, add more levels/high scores/unlockables, new weapons etc etc...
• Remake the static loading screen for the 20th time... not because it needs it...but because its quick to do and makes me feel like I've achieved something momentous each time I do it.
• Finally get round to looking at audio, hastily search the internet for a cool 8 bit sound track thats cheap, chuck it in... it's good enough..add sound effects that work. ( I never take the time it deserves for something so beneficial to a good game).
• Hold back development of the game, I've heard some cool feature is coming to GameSalad soon.
• Finally stop waiting, and tidy up what remains of the game..instead of taking a day...it takes a month.
• Add a link to my other games (to maximise magnetisation or some rubbish like that).
• Eventually after spending 5000 hours more than originally anticipated working on this small game, I feel its ready to unleash on the world. But first I should perfect the icon for the app store (lose 2 days), write a description (re-write, try to be clever...is it cheesy, boring, cheap... is less more?).
• Submit the app, "oh !@#$%! I should try and do some PR ready for the game getting approved and going live." Put my full time job skills into action and throw together an animated promo video, put it on youtube, start a thread about the game on TouchArcade. And send out a press release to every damn review site I can find....get 3 excited replies on the touch arcade forum and nothing from the review sites.
• Pray to the binary gods that maybe just maybe, my game submission will be approved, will appear in the new releases chart, that apple will ask to feature it, that touch arcade will review it and it cracks the top 100 of a few categories and has a half chance of gaining some decent sales and finding a semi permanent home in the Royal Paid overall top 100...
• It gets approved... I spend the next month checking the sales 5 times a day before 12pm even though its only updated once a day afterwards.
• Tell myself to work on a 'lite' version after I finish the game. I write a note in my book that will be ignored for the next 3 months...only to be found with a 'oh..yeah should have done that.. oh well maybe next time'.
• Look back at the game a year later... "wow! I could have made the whole thing better if I had just done...."
• The feature I was waiting for from GameSalad is added...tell myself to "use it in the next game".
• Fail to make potential millions, earn enough to pay for a GameSalad Pro Licence but it disappears into overdrafts, mortgages and bills....
• Tell people at weddings, funerals, parties, pubs that I make iphone games as a hobby. They tell me their brilliant idea...it sucks...and it's already been done...
• Start the whole cycle again..this time it'll be a success... "I'm better a GameSalad" , "I know more about game design", "I know more about marketing", "this could be the one"
Every 1,000,000,000 seconds
LOOP
:-)
My Audio Invaders game, is so nearly ready... and will be submitted some time between the next week and April...I just want to add that one more thing..
Comments
Really enjoyed reading stormy , i have lots of empathy to this article .
Roy.
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
@FryingBacon yep... most definitely... endless hours of work and any level of talent still doesn't guarantee success... but the more you put in the better your chances.... (or at least I'd hope so).... game development is far far far from a get rich quick scheme... but it does make for a cool hobby... with that tiny chance of giant rewards.
@all Glad you liked the read...
Oooh I'm liking the new smilies ... very errr.. useful
My Boss's from my normal day job as an 'animator/editor' have bought me an ipad 2 as a thank you for 6 years service (joint with my 30th Birthday next Tuesday).
It's turning up tomorrow...but I've go the day off work for my 2 year old daughters birthday!!... so gonna have to wait till Monday !!! ahhh!..
Basically the developer was a one man band and made the game in 7 months...
quick google search found this...I'm sure there is a better article out there....
http://www.cocos2d-iphone.org/forum/topic/13885
http://pitchfork.com/killscreen/132-interview-andreas-illiger-creator-of-tiny-wings/
"Tell people at weddings, funerals, parties, pubs that I make iphone games as a hobby. They tell me their brilliant idea...it sucks...and it's already been done..."
So true.