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Picking a Game Engine
I’m starting a new game, which game engine is the best?
My advice to anyone setting out making games would be to pick any major engine with a track record (can be broadly construed), stick with it, and just start pumping out games. Start small, like your smallest idea then cut that in half. Complete the game and ship it to Steam. There’s a lot you’ll learn in the last 20%. Grow the scale for the next game slightly. Repeat. If you’re dying to build a dream game, don’t. Save that for the next decade. Yes, decade. That’s when you’re skills will match your ambition. Ultimately, the tech isn’t that important. Project management, scope, persistence, and execution are more important. Flipping around will drain your time, and reduce the rate you get better.
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Narrative x Gameplay
A friend has access to GPT-3, one of those nifty AI text generators, and asked it to pitch “unconventional game ideas.” Here’s what it came up with:
“As a misunderstood robot in a world of humans and mutants, you must navigate the dangerous streets of a retro-futuristic city to survive the end of the world.”
“As a cosmic detective with god-like powers, you must use your abilities to solve bizarre crimes and mysteries in a surreal universe of gods and monsters.”
“As a master of deception in a world of powerful factions, you must use your cunning and guile to outmaneuver your enemies and rise to the top of the sprawling, steampunk-inspired metropolis.”
“As a seemingly ordinary housecat, you must team up with other misfits and outcasts to save the multiverse from a mad, time-traveling scientist.”
“As a ghost haunting a lonely graveyard, you must use your powers to defend your home from the invading humans and their mechanical monstrosities.”
“As a sentient spaceship, you must explore the depths of the universe and uncover its secrets in a fast-paced, roguelike adventure filled with danger and discovery.”
First off, wow AI is cool! I’m impressed. That said, where’s the beef? Not knocking on these because I think they’re good springboards for creativity, but I actually feel they are more narrative premises than game ideas. Like, what is the unique mechanic or compelling moment to moment gameplay that will make these games stand out? Narrative hooks are part of the package but I think without the gameplay stuff you’ll end up having to compete strictly on polish/amount content/novelty of premise, which is doable but pretty hard for indies.
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Strong Signals
After four years working on my retro game nearly full time … with real life playtesters (not friends or family) asking me to reset the game so they could start all over again, I still don’t understand marketing enough to understand what to do differently.
Beware weak, positive signals. We all fall in love with our ideas, so it’s hard enough to pay attention to negative signals. Positive signals are a special sort of problem. They feel good, confirm our biases, and fit into our narratives. But they’re worthless!
A handful of people loving your game is necessary but insufficient for success. You need thousands of people interested in your game. They all need to tell their friends. They need to spend real money for a copy! You can’t reliably infer that will all happen based on a small sample size.
What you really need are strong signals. Signs so incontrovertibly positive that there’s no doubt you’re on the right track. A signed publisher deal, a funded Kickstarter, a hit YouTube video. To be clear, plenty of games have these things and still fail. But at least they had reason to believe they were on the right track. That’s just how hard it is.
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