Prototype buffet
A selection of ways to help me fail faster.
I have been rescoping, rethinking how much work each part of the game would lead to, again. Making a mini demo for internal testing and putting off learning how to make my artwork more presentable.
But all that switching between parallel jobs. Without committing to some sort of plan gets too much for my brain. The iterative nature of development sometimes seems an enemy to working efficiently, but without it there is more wasted effort…
Making minimal prototypes tends to work well for me, it forces making a something quick and to the point. Because my main temptation when coding is to dig too far into absorbing work, then emerge having forgotten the point and how it related to all the other parts.
So, for non game-developer readers, a common milestone for making an indie video game is to release some sort of free or test demo, something short and playable to share online. It can be a good way to get player feedback. For a completely unknown game I think my main test would be whether players even see the offering or have any interest at all.
I would love to do that, but I am nowhere near that point, so my initial plan is to find a quick route to get near that place. And the more I think about it the more long and risky the journey gets. Whatever kind of game it is a huge task and I am in awe of the indie developers who are able to do it.
So instead of committing to a set path, I’ve made a list of prototyping-type options. Each could be used to test some aspect of the game and result in something that can be internally play tested.
An internal play test generally means testing the product within your team, but in my case that is just me! So making a short video clip during the playtesting can be particularly helpful, then I can review, compare any time later.
All the prototyping options I can think of right now:
Minimum scope block-out : playable shortest run through
Command line / text only prototype for gameplay statistics testing
Core loop mini demo, turn-based game play mechanics (internal playtest)
Test level for movement mechanics
Improve core loop & golden path (internal playtest)
Level with basic progression, mechanics for unlocking skills / story.
Final boss level, golden path and balancing final stats
First pass at a game demo, first level with all basic mechanics.
Mini demo with reasonable visuals (turn based core loop without level).
Did I miss out some quicker routes to fail? Let me know via comments or however, if you like :) Some of them are a bit game-genre specific or need rephrasing…
Then my strategy is to prototype the main stuff that I am most uncertain of, using whatever way seems most applicable, to work out whether my ideas withstand becoming a real game. A heavy dose of imagination will still be needed when internal testing, but hopefully it will be possible to prove something worthwhile each time even if it is ‘never do that again’.
On the other hand maybe the visual style is too important to not be testing early. It is not always easy to know what the biggest risk really is. So it is going to be a drop in, eat anytime, in any order buffet. Whatever I feel could be the shortest path to de-risk an endless sea of possibilities.
Of course, the whole project could be hopelessly unrealistic.
I do wonder if I am over attracted to things with a high chance of failure! I suppose it goes with the curiosity of learning something rare or wanting the hard truths. Or maybe it is just extra willingness to try despite the odds.
I once rendered a nice sunny blue sky, but suddenly, as I turned the sun grew into a frightening expanding dark blob. The void seemed to be darker than any display could be, maybe it was the weird edge artifacts around it. The image burned into my memory a long time ago. Time lost to making a failed prototype is nothing when it looks like you have summoned the end of the world!
Now to rebury that memory. My note for future me, is to record that I spotted a blackbird foraging the garden path, damp spring morning, the first time in several years. Many of the once common garden birds have declined over the years. But I saw a handsome fellow like this one...
I had feared the worst, but No! They are usually territorial and would be nesting this time of year (early spring), so good chance there are still blackbirds hiding somewhere nearby.