tips for an aspiring indie developer

[Reyold]

Exactly what it says on the tin.

I've recently decided I wanted to be an indie developer (not as a full-time job), but of course, knowing only a smattering about good design, or even making them, I'm learning everything I can about it. Still, I may need some cracks to be filled in, so fire away!

 

[Andrewtheeviscerator]

Don't make a 2-d platformer, seriously. I don't care what gimmick you have its will never be original and you won't be unique. Your best bet is to make the kind of game you would enjoy, try to do everything how you would want it, that's usually the best way to make something good. And it would give you a good portfolio and a better chance of getting hired by a bigger development house.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

I noticed the free version of Gamemaker Studio that was released on steam has some tutorials. Perhaps you can start there.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

Make a game you would want to play, not a game you would want to sell. Take a game that you really love and add a twist to it, for example you could take the classic game Snake and add guns. I think that there is no better way to learn how to make good games than to just play games, both good and bad ones.

 

[Baralak]

I'd recommend you watch the series Extra Credits on Penny Arcade. They have some great advice for any developer, beginner, indie, or big company.


Also, like someone else said. Don't do a 2d platformer. You won't get noticed since the market is FLOODED with indie 2d platformers. Do something we don't see often, like an RPG, or a fighting game, or some type of hybrid. If you can branch out into a 3d game, that'd be wonderful, too.

 

[Baralak]

You know, thinking about it, a 2d fighter (In the style of King of Fighters, for the slightly simpler 4 button input) where you could level up fighters and choose their movesets would be pretty amazing for a game... Or maybe ape Bloody Roar, where there's a dedicated "Transform" button, and every character gets an alternate form to switch at all, with different abilities and movesets...


Both are amazing ideas for games, and none that I'll hold an ounce of ownership to, if you like the ideas, Reyold

 

[Kopikatsu]

My suggestion would be to use sprite graphics and text only- no voice acting. Easy to program, and you can basically do whatever you want with the story. Want to make fifty bajillion branching pathways? Go ahead! There are so few resources needed that you can totally go that route if you want, which is something that can only be done with that setup.

 

[WoW Killer]

Keep it feasible, something you can actually accomplish, and stick to what you know. Make the kind of game you would like to play. You're an expert in what you like, and that is your trump card. If you were to try to make a game aimed at another demographic then you'd have a harder time, because you simply don't know as much about that demographic as you do your own.

As for ideas, there's nothing wrong with taking an existing format and trying to improve on it (that's how most games are made); don't think you need to be completely revolutionary just because it's indie. Take one of your favourite games, and highlight all the things you dislike about it.

 

[Evil Smurf]

have an engaging story, Look to Bastion as an example

 

[NiPah]

Make a soccer game, only instead of people make the players cars with rockets and machine guns. The graphics would look like GTA 2 (basic pixel art, over the top display), throw in some zombies wondering around the battlefield for neat splatter effects.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

Don't make a 2-d platformer, seriously. I don't care what gimmick you have its will never be original and you won't be unique. Your best bet is to make the kind of game you would enjoy, try to do everything how you would want it, that's usually the best way to make something good. And it would give you a good portfolio and a better chance of getting hired by a bigger development house.

Do you know why indie devs create 2D platformers? Because everyone knows how they work.

Every knows Mario and Sonic. Every understands the concept of "run to the left and jump on enemies and avoid spikes". It is easier to introduce, as you call them, "gimmicks," and teach them to the player in a way that they can comprehend immediately the ramifications. Take Braid. You don't have to be taught how to jump on enemies heads' to kill them. So when you're taught that you have to collect puzzle pieces, that you can reverse time to unkill yourself, that's what sticks. You can easier craft a unique gameplay mechanic around a 2D platformer than you could around a first-person shooter, or a third-person action game, or an RTS, or what have you.

That's what I've been told, anyway. 2D platformers are the most instantly recognizable genre in gaming. It is much easier to shake up player expectations by altering 2D platformers' core concepts than crafting something from the game up. Plus... I don't care what anyone says, the indie platformers that have done it right - Braid, LIMBO, Super Meat Boy, FEZ, have done it REALLY right. Like... better than most devs could dream their games could be. And while there's a ton of crap, certainly, that new, great platformers are still coming out, like Closure, They Bleed Pixels, Dustforce, that are breaking the molds and finding ways to change things up... it shows how much life there is left in the genre.

 

[Batou667]

Make a game you would want to play, not a game you would want to sell.

Exactly this.

Don't make yet another "me too!" platformer/tower defence/angry birds rip-off.

Don't try to pander to the broadest demographic possible by making a painfully "wacky" game with monkey ninja robots stealing cheese from zombie ducks, or whatever permutation of the current meme-words. That kind of stuff sounds hilarous over a few beers in the Student Union but is much, much less amusing in practice. Some games just try too hard to be "zany" (see: Super Meat Boy).

Unless you have some world-class voice acting at your disposal, don't have any voice acting.

Do make a game that you're passionate about.

Do make something that you'd genuinely enjoy playing yourself.

Do set your sights high but make your goals achievable.

Do make a blog, update it regularly, ask your fans for advice and input, and maybe even consider a kickstarter (they're very trendy these days, apparently).

Good luck!

 

[Martin Yao]

Well, not to say but do try to keep an eye on your schedule and timetable when working on your project. Many a developer fell into a deadline rush trap because they spent too long on a section of the timetable.

Next, try to have a concept in your mind and brainstorm it till you have a firm idea for a game. Try talking your friends about it to get inspirations and ideations, treat it as a form of free consultation for your project.

Thirdly, get a working prototype out of your project first, it is usually the only way to get people(especially the big ones) to actually fund your project , and it will also make a great demo to show off to public when ready.

Remember to be firm, if you can't add that delicious idea into your game, don't. it will do you good on the long run.

Make sure to have fun during the process! Keeping things fresh helps to bring you through the project without you burning away your passion and preventing things from turning dull and uninteresting.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I concur on "make what you want to play, not what others want to see".
The most important part on the way there will be persistence, things never turn out the way we imagine and plan them to so it will take a great deal of work and adjustment to get things in order, especially on your first attempt.

Also don't be afraid to ask for outside assistance and using top of the line tools available, people have been doing this for a long time so there is no need to reinvent the wheel just to use it in your own way.
But at the same time do not over reach, we all have our limits and it is more important that a smaller bunch of elements works rather then having a large roster of broken.

 

[Tallim]

Plan, plan and plan some more. You save yourself an awful lot of time and effort by meticulously planning what you need to do before you go anywhere near the coding/art part of the game. It also allows you to see ahead of time what things might cause you problems.

What I've found is that the secret to keeping on track is the humble "To do" list. You can do it by hand or find a good one online. I have one that allows for subdividing tasks and I use it aggressively for development as it lets me have main sections of the game as a root task and then subdivide down through various parts until I get right down to even individual methods inside the code. I probably get a bit overboard there but then coding becomes really quick.

As others have said you need to make a game that you want to play and not one you think you can sell. Primarily because it gets very hard to keep going, especially if you are developing solo and the passion you have for the project is what will keep you going.

Also don't get hung up on making it look/sound good to start with. Simplistic graphics during the first part of development. Get the game working and ensure it is fun first otherwise you end up wasting all your time.

 

[MetalMagpie]

I've recently decided I wanted to be an indie developer (not as a full-time job), but of course, knowing only a smattering about good design, or even making them, I'm learning everything I can about it. Still, I may need some cracks to be filled in, so fire away!

First question: Can you already program?

If you can, then have a look at what game-making libraries/tools are available for the language you're most comfortable in. I'm making a game at the moment in Python, using XNA [http://www.pygame.org/news.html] has a lot of useful stuff and you can release for both PC and the Xbox360.

If you can't already program, then you can either start learning (I'd recommend Python) or you can use one of the various game-makers floating around (such as RPG Maker [http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/]) to get you started.

Second question: Can you do artwork and/or compose music?

If you don't have both of those skills, you will probably want to seek out someone who has. You can often leave this until you've got a basic version of the game done (with place-holder graphics you make yourself). It's often easier to recruit people if you've got something to show them.

Third question: Do you want to do as much as possible yourself, or have a team?

Unless you can program, do art and compose music, you're probably going to need someone else involved in your project at some point. But you don't necessarily need any more than a couple of people to make a really good game. (Aquaria [http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/] was made by just two people.)

If you do want to have a larger team, keep in mind that having more people involved (especially more programmers) can actually slow down a small project rather than speeding it up! Getting programmers to work together is like herding cats (take it from someone who works as a developer!) and it only gets harder if you recruit them via the internet (and thus they're all in different countries). Never underestimate the time and effort involved in acting as a project manager.

Try to recruit people you know in real life before resorting to the internet. It's a lot easier to work together on a project if you can all meet up over a coffee.

Finally: After deciding on your game concept, it's a good idea to ask yourself "Is there already a game in existence that does this idea better than I ever could?" There's nothing actually wrong with making something that's very similar to an existing game, but it can be harder to stay motivated if you don't feel like you're contributing something new.