Plan for David Dougher
by David Dougher · 01/01/2005 (12:45 pm) · 5 comments
My own observations after another year with Adellion.
I started writing this after reading Phil's Truth's in his Plan file. My own thoughts tend to parallel his, but working on a massive game with a fairly small team (for a massive game) leads to some additional conclusions.
Truth 1. You are an indie. Assess your strengths as a team before you begin designing. If your team is strong in coding then plan on features that require coding. If your team is strong in art, then emphasize art. If you have strong musical strengths then make sure that you exercise those talents. NEVER waste talent.
Truth 2. You are an indie. Not every feature is your friend. There are many features that can be added to a game. Many are very cool. Some are nice to have. Really successful games focus on one or two areas and try to do those better than anybody else. So, look at your strengths (Truth 1 above) and then identify those features your game MUST have to be playable, add those features, then move on to add the neat stuff based on your strengths.
Truth 3. You are an indie. NEVER add a feature because your competition has it. Only add a feature because your game REQUIRES it. Big publishers make developer teams add features until their products fill imaginary lists they think the public wants. They are wrong. Magazines want those features - not players. The players want games that are fun to play. Big publishers can afford to pay for the delays adding new features causes -- Indies can't.
Truth 4. You are an indie. Be aware. No one ever estimates his time correctly. Always budget more time. Cut busy people slack on a schedule, more than they ask for. People want to get it done quickly, they don't want to hold others back. Give them extra time and they will reward you with fewer errors and a happier attitude.
Truth 5. You are an indie. You are in the entertainment industry - if your coworkers are not happy you will not make entertaining products. Treat everyone you meet with respect and courtesy, even if they do not seem to offer the same to you. People remember a class act.
Truth 6. You are an indie. Big companies have more options. They can add people, they can outsource, they can buy expensive tools. You have one resource - time. You can take more time to get whatever is wrong fixed. So, make sure that when you start, you have pared what you want to accomplish to the absolute minimum to get the job done.
Truth 7. You are an indie. The game is only HALF of your story. Indies are in business. They need to focus as much time on the business as on the game. Remember that when you are laying out your timetable for delivery. Good rule of thumb. Take your worst case for delivery, double it, and add ten days -- that's when it will really be ready.
Ultimate Truth. You are an indie. Never forget that fact. Never be intimidated by the size of your competition. They are afraid of YOU. You can do things they only dream of. You can take your personal dream and shape it and make it available to the general public in a way that no large company can ever do.
So smile. Remember Scrooge McDuck's saying, "Work smarter! Not harder!"
Every day from this day forward the ball is firmly in YOUR hands.
Happy New Year Everyone. May it be joyous, fulfilling and productive.
I started writing this after reading Phil's Truth's in his Plan file. My own thoughts tend to parallel his, but working on a massive game with a fairly small team (for a massive game) leads to some additional conclusions.
Truth 1. You are an indie. Assess your strengths as a team before you begin designing. If your team is strong in coding then plan on features that require coding. If your team is strong in art, then emphasize art. If you have strong musical strengths then make sure that you exercise those talents. NEVER waste talent.
Truth 2. You are an indie. Not every feature is your friend. There are many features that can be added to a game. Many are very cool. Some are nice to have. Really successful games focus on one or two areas and try to do those better than anybody else. So, look at your strengths (Truth 1 above) and then identify those features your game MUST have to be playable, add those features, then move on to add the neat stuff based on your strengths.
Truth 3. You are an indie. NEVER add a feature because your competition has it. Only add a feature because your game REQUIRES it. Big publishers make developer teams add features until their products fill imaginary lists they think the public wants. They are wrong. Magazines want those features - not players. The players want games that are fun to play. Big publishers can afford to pay for the delays adding new features causes -- Indies can't.
Truth 4. You are an indie. Be aware. No one ever estimates his time correctly. Always budget more time. Cut busy people slack on a schedule, more than they ask for. People want to get it done quickly, they don't want to hold others back. Give them extra time and they will reward you with fewer errors and a happier attitude.
Truth 5. You are an indie. You are in the entertainment industry - if your coworkers are not happy you will not make entertaining products. Treat everyone you meet with respect and courtesy, even if they do not seem to offer the same to you. People remember a class act.
Truth 6. You are an indie. Big companies have more options. They can add people, they can outsource, they can buy expensive tools. You have one resource - time. You can take more time to get whatever is wrong fixed. So, make sure that when you start, you have pared what you want to accomplish to the absolute minimum to get the job done.
Truth 7. You are an indie. The game is only HALF of your story. Indies are in business. They need to focus as much time on the business as on the game. Remember that when you are laying out your timetable for delivery. Good rule of thumb. Take your worst case for delivery, double it, and add ten days -- that's when it will really be ready.
Ultimate Truth. You are an indie. Never forget that fact. Never be intimidated by the size of your competition. They are afraid of YOU. You can do things they only dream of. You can take your personal dream and shape it and make it available to the general public in a way that no large company can ever do.
So smile. Remember Scrooge McDuck's saying, "Work smarter! Not harder!"
Every day from this day forward the ball is firmly in YOUR hands.
Happy New Year Everyone. May it be joyous, fulfilling and productive.
#2
They can just buy us, or litigate us out of business.
Anyway, I agree with the rest, and happy new year! :)
01/01/2005 (3:35 pm)
I agree, apart from the competition being afraid. EA isnt afraid of me, you, or anyone else.They can just buy us, or litigate us out of business.
Anyway, I agree with the rest, and happy new year! :)
#3
Sounds like mantras or daily affirmations.
There's an old adage (well, as old as computer programming) that computer programmers are notorious about underestimating the difficulty and time required for features they really want to do, and overestimating the same for features they really don't want to do.
Since we're talking games, and it's work people enjoy (well, at least a good part of the time), assume gross underestimation for all parties.
I'm in the middle of some serious re-evaluation right now of a particular project which I originally estimated six months to completion for. Realizing that I should probably double the schedule, I've now put it behind another project which I estimate three months completion time on. Which means it'll probably take six.
Dang reality!
01/01/2005 (5:03 pm)
Heh - more great advice for indies new and experienced! Thanks David.Sounds like mantras or daily affirmations.
There's an old adage (well, as old as computer programming) that computer programmers are notorious about underestimating the difficulty and time required for features they really want to do, and overestimating the same for features they really don't want to do.
Since we're talking games, and it's work people enjoy (well, at least a good part of the time), assume gross underestimation for all parties.
I'm in the middle of some serious re-evaluation right now of a particular project which I originally estimated six months to completion for. Realizing that I should probably double the schedule, I've now put it behind another project which I estimate three months completion time on. Which means it'll probably take six.
Dang reality!
#4
01/01/2005 (7:20 pm)
nice
Torque Owner Prairie Games
I am an efficiency freak. I get caught up in making the process better and faster. This is a crumb of being an engine/pipeline builder driving a team making multiple games. I am not used to "just doing the work."
2005 is all about just doing the work.
-Josh