Sorry for so many posts today.
What software or system do you use for prototyping your games?
Do you storyboard? Use a digital artpad? sketch on napkins? Flowcharts / mindmaps?
Im looking for novel ideas on this. Currently I write out a text game design, then I make a mind map, then I start programming. BUt I rarely capture what Im wanting to do this way. Curious maybe if what you guys do might inspire me to try new ways.
I don't make prototypes. I don't even write anything down. I just start working. I got this from John Romero.
@cybereality said: I don't make prototypes. I don't even write anything down. I just start working. I got this from John Romero.
Hmmm thats up there with Mozart didnt have any 2nd drafts. I dont know if I can do that- I need to be able to get my ideas down fast or they evaporate before I can solidify them. This is why it is so hard for to get back where I was on projects if there is any major stoppage the vision just evaporates.
Well, my recent projects have just been tech demos. But when I was making games, I would just think of the feeling of playing the game. Like in the moment, what does the game make you feel? Is it intense, relaxing, anxiety inducing, inspiring, etc. Just 1 single moment. And I rarely, if ever made the art. So the artists would just send me the assets, and I would do my best to make them move and interact to get the feeling I wanted. So I didn't need a broad vision, or anything that would guide me the whole way. On the game I'm working on now, I don't even know what the win or fail state is. But I know what the gameplay is, what makes it fun. So I will start with that and I'm sure I'll reach the right place.
I use an outline. Once there I might use a sketch, then if it's 3d possibly some box levels in Blender. I've tried software and it didn't work for me. I do adventure games, but I think I would still do about the same things with another type. Mostly I use my imagination. I can work out a lot of details in my head. Then I pick out the most important thing to get started on and work out the details as I go. Anyone that thinks they can write out this long game plan with all the details filled in is kidding themselves. With adventure games, I've found the beginning and the end are the most important. You get ideas as you start putting things into scenes and one thing leads to another. For the one game I was the most proud of, I just started throwing things down and having the characters talk to one another and one thing lead to another. Kind of wish I wouldn't have lost it because it would be fun to upgrade some day in Godot. Might still do it.
I have seen on godot that lots test out their game mechanics and gameplay by making small quick projects. They use place holder graphics. Sometimes free assets just to see if the design or idea works for them. Some will even use cubes and spheres.
I think it totally depends on the nature of the game, and what you're trying to validate. If it's a very rules- or system-based game (like Slay the Spire) then you might start with a paper prototype to experiment with the logic before writing any code. If it's very narrative-driven (like Gone Home) then storyboards are probably a good starting point. If it's all about tight action (like Street Fighter) then you might to dig into code immediately (probably with placeholder assets) so you can experience how it feels in motion. (And of course most games involve all of these to some extent, but that doesn't mean there's not a primary motivating element.)
One thing I tried recently was mocking up screenshots of potential games. I showed them to a few friends and asked what they would conclude about the game if they saw the screenshot on Steam (you can actually imply quite a bit about mechanics and pacing with just a still image). It was a good way to get some feedback and experiment with a few different approaches without having to actually build anything.
To me the core thing is that I know I'm going to have to iterate and inevitably throw some things out, so I try make it as painless as possible to throw things out in the early stages before I'm more settled on what the game actually is.
Yes, I've made mock screenshots before. I think this helps get the vision in place. But I don't like bothering with gray box assets. It's easier for me to see the game with the final art, so I work on the art first. Also, when I was making games for studios, the artists would finish all the assets first, or at least enough of them, so it became my working method. Because the style and art defines the game. And the choices you make for the gameplay should be influenced by the art (or vice versa, but done together). So it is harder to work holistically if you separate those things.
Art is a confine for my game, so I am looking around for asset packages I can use. Seems kind of backwards but there's no way I can do all the assets so I basically need to write the story and game play to fit what is available. I can do some modeling, but no way can I do enough for an entire game. It's really not harmful at all to the creative process because our minds work better with confines. I'll still end up making an outline, but it will be based on the art I collect and a story premise I come up with. So yeah, no sense bothering with grey boxes because that assumes I could do anything.
@fire7side said: Art is a confine for my game, so I am looking around for asset packages I can use. Seems kind of backwards but there's no way I can do all the assets so I basically need to write the story and game play to fit what is available. I can do some modeling, but no way can I do enough for an entire game. It's really not harmful at all to the creative process because our minds work better with confines. I'll still end up making an outline, but it will be based on the art I collect and a story premise I come up with. So yeah, no sense bothering with grey boxes because that assumes I could do anything.
I think you might underestimate yourself. But I understand what you are saying.
@jbskaggs said: I think you might underestimate yourself. But I understand what you are saying.
I've done all the art for cartoonish games, but a realistic game... They need to be so detailed. I'm just getting started so who knows how it will end up? A lot of stuff just doesn't matter like chairs, furniture, things like that, and they are so cheap in a model pack. I got this old farmhouse pack on Unity on sale for 8 dollars and I'm not sure how many models are in there, but it's definitely worth 8 dollars, and I have the rights to even charge for the game if I want. Trouble is, I have to export them as FBX, convert them to digital so Blender can read them, then change the huge textures down to something reasonable. So there is some work in it. Compared to actually doing the models, though, it's nothing.
