Inception *

What made you decide to make your game?

Why make this game?

At the end of the day when your tired and uninspired, when you ask "why i am doing this" what is it that made you start creating the game?

• Personal use?

  • Maybe you just can't find games with something that appeals to you?

  • Maybe it's just something you want to have fun with?

• Source of income?

  • Use it to gain some extra income?

  • Make the development your main source of income?

• School project?

  • As a direct answer to a class need?

  • As a different way to present a project/content in class?

• Friends or family?

  • Gift / experience to give someone?

  • As a way to spend time / work together with someone?

• Company client or partner?

  • Direct request from the client for a specific game?

  • Use some funding to help the client attain an X goal in a different way?

Trying to have a clear goal should help you to remain focused / motivated /oriented when some things start to slog or some kind of roadblock is hit.

It's also important to consider that things can sometimes change outside of your control. Maybe a client asked for a platformer for their company mascot and now wants a RPG illustrating the how green the company is. Or the budget to pay for the game gets cut and it becomes impossible to deliver what is being asked.

In this cases your have to calmly consider why you started your game, what you hoped to achieve, how things are changing and if it's still worth it to continue or if you should just stop the project.

What kind of work is expected to go in this game?

Before starting the development of the game it's a good practice to answer some basic questions.

• Solo development:

  • What do you consider are your strong points? (ex. coding, design, storytelling, etc)

  • How does the game give options to showcase your strong points?

• Small team:

  • How many people are involved? (a group of local friends, an online collaboration, a work for fire, etc)

  • How is the budget of game controlled? (no control, one person control, everyone sets goals, etc)

  • How is the game content determined? (designated person(s), individual showcase, mvp player testing, team meetings, etc)

• Game Studio side project:

  • Who approves this kind of game? (doesn't need approval, minimal approval from team leader, etc)

  • What time is available for the game? (free time, set amount time daily/weekly/monthly, etc)

  • What resources are to be available to the game? (any available, workspace available, workspace requested in previous X hours, etc)

  • What objectives should the game consider? (none set, promote/respect company policy/image, etc )

• Game Studio main project:

  • Who is responsible for the GDD? (Internal client, Outside Client, Project manager, Team leader, etc)

  • What time is available for the game? (set amount time daily/weekly/monthly, fixed release date, after X milestone acheived, etc)

  • What resources are to be available to the game? (workspace available during X, workspace requested in previous X hours, etc)

  • What objectives should the game consider? (none set, promote/respect company policy/image, reach )

  • What objectives should the game surpass to be considered a success? (reach % target audiences/sales/return)

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