So, I've finally done it! Quit my part time job, took a full week off of my regular one, starting this coming Monday. It's going to be very much a 'stay-cation' allowing me to catch up on cleaning and yardwork and most importantly...I'll be able to spend some serious time writing again!

I may not manage it but my ultimate goal is to take that 'tiny test game' (which took on a life of its own and is now preventing me from tackling other projects...) and hit it hard and just tear right through to the finish line one way or another.

So, anybody ever written a game under a deadline? Got tips for a chronic procrastinator? Life is short. Need to get my butt in gear and start getting things done once and for all.

Hmmm... I think if I had to meet a deadline for myself for game writing, I'd burn myself out on it. So, I let the bug come to me. I know that's not helpful. Sorry.

But, I have noticed that if I get stuck on a problem getting a script to work, I take a break and add rooms, objects, and their descriptions. It's a nice surprise once I get to the point when I need those things, they're already done. I've found that really speeds things up. For example, about 90% of all my items and rooms in game two are completely ready for use. Now I just need to grind through the code.

I've considered making a game ONLY using scripts I'm comfortable using. If I did that, I'm not sure it's be a great game but a could churn out a decent one in a couple days.

Now that I re-read all that junk, I realize how unhelpful I've really been!! Glad I could help! Lol

Good luck!

I've been reading a bit on game making, and I think the most important thing I've read is this:

immediately make a functional game, put in the bare bones needed to have a playable game. Once that is done, then you go back and expand on it. This way, you've always got a finished product, and any extra work, just adds~enhances~expands the game. So, if you're making a RPG, make as simple code game~RPG systems as you can, you just want them to be functional, nothing fancy. Then, once you got your game playable, then you can go back and improve those systems. By always having a playable game, it keeps you motivated, as you can immediately play and see the things that you expanded on. You got a game, and it jsut grows larger, more fun, more customiz'able, more complex, better, and etc, with time and work.

this really makes sense, and is probably the best method with game making.

HegemonKhan wrote:I've been reading a bit on game making, and I think the most important thing I've read is this:

immediately make a functional game, put in the bare bones needed to have a playable game. Once that is done, then you go back and expand on it. This way, you've always got a finished product, and any extra work, just adds~enhances~expands the game. So, if you're making a RPG, make as simple code game~RPG systems as you can, you just want them to be functional, nothing fancy. Then, once you got your game playable, then you can go back and improve those systems. By always having a playable game, it keeps you motivated, as you can immediately play and see the things that you expanded on. You got a game, and it jsut grows larger, more fun, more customiz'able, more complex, better, and etc, with time and work.

this really makes sense, and is probably the best method with game making.

This is advice I've read before (even given before!) and I believe it really is the best thing for getting a game finished. The problem is I always hit a wall somewhere trying to figure out a technical issue and switch over to something easier, like descriptions. And the longer you let a half-broken area of the game sit the more you forget about where you were or what you'd tried on it in the first place.

ya, tell me about it... I really feel knowing (or having a good) programm'ing(~er), is the most important thing with making a game, better to not have to worry about coding in whatever you want, because when you don't know how to code (or how to best code) in something, it really puts a complete stop on your game making, laughs. As without programming ability, you can't even put in those 'bare bones' game sytems (equipment, shopping, magic, dialogue, items, combat, stealth~thievery, and etc) of code for a functional game, let alone making more robust~fun~better expansionings of those game systems.

Obviously design ability is jsut as important if you're making a 3d world of movement, but not all games have to be this type of game... such as we've got text adventures, we can make too, hehe. Music ~ Sound ~ Sound Effects (and other medias) are (arguably) even less important. Game Designing, you can eventually get it, and each game you make, you get better at. But, if you're stuck with coding in stuff, you're really stuck with game making... laughs.

HegemonKhan wrote: As without programming ability, you can't even put in those 'bare bones' game sytems (equipment, shopping, magic, dialogue, items, combat, stealth~thievery, and etc) of code for a functional game, let alone making more robust~fun~better expansionings of those game systems.

Haha, wow, is all that what you consider 'bare bones' for an IF game? I run into enough trouble with just regular old, getting the game to respond to the player the way you want and making sure puzzles can't be broken, I wouldn't even know where to start with turning it into a full RPG.

I'm foolishly being far too ambitious, trying to make my first game into a RPG... lol
(which is why I'll not have a game for a long long long time... though I am learning... slowly... lol)
(I'm still just working on the 'character creation' system... laughs... let alone all those other systems)
(I haven't even begun to think~work on a dialogue system... though I have scanned over Jay's advanced conversation library, Pixie's advanced conversation libraries, and etc resources)

a sample of my pathetic progress with the 'character creation' system:

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4988

I still got to figure out a (good) way to implement a 'pedia' system into it:

able to look up info before making a decision, for example, before choosing your gender~sex, you can look them up and see, for example, a 'male' gets an extra +1 str+end at every lvlup, and a 'female' gets an extra +1 dex+agi at every lvlup. Or, you look up about each 'race' and 'class' before deciding.

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I haven't really played too many 'text adventure' type of games, and I love RPGs, so for me, making anything less than a RPG, would jsut be too boring for me. Though making a RPG, and struggling to figure out how to do the code for it... fun fun fun... I'm progressing at a snail's past, laughs...

its been like 2-3 years now... my code learning progress in game making+design seems to have slowed down a lot now, sighs.