Reasonable Development time....?

PixelPun

So I just had a question and I'm hoping to get some insight from the community. At home I am PixelPun and I make games.... Here at work I was a graphic designer... but somehow it rolled into me solely producing an interactive remake of a classic children's story (which I was eager to do). I am doing all the art and the coding in GS. The book has the same elements that the Alice book has on the ipad store (Stuff you can move and touch) This is very art intensive.... I have been working ont his for about a month and a half. My bosses have no idea how long these things take to produce well... and they are somewhat hounding me about when it will be done... Any ideas of what I should tell them... Or from your own experience how long should I tell them the ETA is from start to finish?

I told them not to hire me to do this specifically because... as I was learning GS... sense I have been working with GS everyday I have grown my knowledge by leaps and bounds... But I just don't think they have realistic expectations. The owner has a printing background...

Any help would be amazing.
Rob

Pictures of the work so far.

IsabelleK

I used to work from 1 to 7 months, depending on the game's size.

PixelPun

Its going to have about 30ish fully interactive pages. And there are going to be 2 smallish mini games.

IsabelleK

If there are animations, and you make everything by yourself - I think it should take up to 2 months.

bazookaBen

i used to take 2 months to crank out complicated games. And nobody played em.

1 week max for new ideas. If it takes too long, it's probably not worth it.

PixelPun

I don't think there would be a way to do this book in weeks time....

IsabelleK

@PixelPun if this is not your full day job, it will take you much longer. I used to work 10-14 hours a day.

JohnPapiomitis

If it takes too long, it's probably not worth it.

Disagree with that.

What you should be doing is first prototyping the idea. You play it test it out let others test and if you think its a fun game and think its worth it to take it further, then you start actual development.

iScet

I have 6 titles I have been working on constantly for about 6 months.
All at the same time prolly wasn't the best bet but hey! It's worked for me and helped me get more ideas and learn better ways to do things! and hopefully soon and very soon... Be releasing them all

debugdesign

3 months average for a simple game...

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Game graphics for budding developers: http://www.graphic-buffet.com
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EatingMyHat

I think I remember your original post when you just started with this project (asking about compensation and revenue sharing). There is no single answer to your question, what you need to do is the following:
1. Take a piece of paper and a pen
2. Write down everything that you have left to do
3. Estimate each item
4. Sum it up and add 25% for testing

PixelPun

Yeah..... Well I appreciate everyones input. I guess I just get frustrated sometimes because the owner just doesn't really pay attention to anything I tell him... he is so lackadaisical about everything and shows no interest 90 percent of the time.

I'm simi thinking that I am going to finish this one and tell them thats it.... Unless it does well.

maxbeaumont

It really depends on what your starting with and how advanced you are with the software. If you start from scratch and are OK with the software then I would say 2-3 months. If you are starting with a template then it might be a different story. It all depends on your situation.

Hope that helps!
-Max

Ebreeze

i get burned out after a few months

Braydon_SFX

My first game took 5 months! Great game, but it didn't do well at all.
My second game took 1 month to create, and it got featured lol.

3xL

A delayed game is better than a rushed game. Miyamoto said that

xforce

8 months into my first game. but its only been about 6 months of actual work. but while ive been doing that ive been working on other games aswell. mainly prototypes. gfx here and there. i estimate my next major project will take at least a year to complete. but ill probably throw out a couple of simpler projects during that time

jonmulcahy

Z is for zombie took 6 weeks
V is for vortex took 8 weeks
Falling took 3 weeks
Obliteration took 8 weeks
Zombie heads took a few weeks
A long way home took 10 mths
Obliteration II has been in the works for 2 mths

Z is for Zombie 2 I spent a few weeks on before moving onto something else, it'll take a few weeks to polish up.

I have an adventure game that will take a long time to finish, I've been just writing the design docs for about 6 mths.

I only get to work on average 1-2 hours a day if I'm lucky, so my time frames are expanded.

viking

Maybe you should do a quick review of how long it has taken you to get where you are up until this point. Then you can compare the amount of work you have left to do to complete the project. (An then add at least 40% more for testing and debugging and polish to get an accurate projection.) It also helps to measure your time on this project so you will know in the future how accurate you are when you try to estimate time to completion. Most of the time we end up being too optimistic

GreenHavenGames

It's impossible to say without knowing how well you understand your tools and how quick you are. My artist is incredibly fast, others I've had, doing the same 30 minute project, could take all day. When I started using GS one year ago, I was slow! Now, after putting over a thousand hours into programming, I literally see my solutions in GS logic. I start everything conceptually on paper. I even write the code on paper in game logic. I then (as Jon said) make a quick prototype to make sure it works. Then I polish the code, put everything to the correct actor scale and then bring in the art. I also have strict naming conventions (that i plan on paper in advance) for sounds, art, and actors that make it easy, when creating final assets, to drop them in and they replace the old stuff without having to do it manually. Between using tables and the many tricks that I have learned to optimize code, things are so much faster. When we are LUA free, and the streamlined UI come out, it will also decrease development by having faster work flow, and better tools.

Don't get frustrated by a boss that doesn't understand. I have a thirty-three point list with my entire workflow written on it. I have used it to show people (that usually don't understand the immensity of creating even a simple game) what the whole process is, where they fit in, and why it takes so darn long. It's modified from my game design days at University and is very helpful to see the whole picture.

Make a plan, stick to it and be grateful that you have all the skills to be a one-man shop. Someday (if you stick with it) you'll make money doing this, and won't need your boss. He will be said when the day comes that he realizes that he did need you!

Good luck,

Sam

PixelPun

Yeah.... I mean I think it is something that I can have done in the next month or so... But I am a perfectionist so... I stress about everything and I would hate to work hard at something and then rush it out for a owner who doesn't have the first clue on how this stuff works. I mean I can understand that he want's it done... I guess I need to just sit down with him and tell him the facts about what I am doing and what is involved......(for the second time...)

THanks for all the help guys!