So many tools, so many resources — what’s missing? Everybody and their brother has a cool idea for a game, but they don’t pursue it. Why? Money? Skills? Confidence?

Hey James, nice insights. I agree on all points — folks are intimidated once they see the mountain of work it would take to get a game made, they feel they can’t meet today’s game expectations, and indeed there are more talkers than shippers.

I ask because I want to help more people move forward with their ideas. On the surface, it sounds like teaching them to create their vision would help, and bringing folks with different skills together to work on a game would help, too.

Hi everyone,
I think that often people don’t know where to start. And then when they start proposing ideas often they are squashed by people who have worked in the industry. When I say that I mean that they often run into discouragement before they even get started.

A great example of this was with a game making initiative that was started in Canada for first time game makers. The initiative was targeted to women who wanted to create video games.

Luckily this initiative is going strong and is called the Difference Engine Initiative. It is an amazing program and is very successful so far. Here is a link: http://handeyesociety.com/difference-engine-initiative/

Last year I just happened to stumble across this initiative when it was first announced. I was super excited about it but when I started reading all the comments posted about it I started noticing that many of them were very discouraging and cynical. Most of these negative comments were from industry insiders basically commenting that there was no way newbies could learn software etc. and possibly conceive of and create a game in a six week period. Unfortunately I cannot find the blog posts anymore regarding this to show you. I am guessing that they were probably removed because they were really derogatory. I just think that these people who posted these negative comments were probably overworked, under-appreciated, and burned out.

I agree that creating a large console game is very difficult. But these days there are so many other game venues to explore. I think instead of being discouraging we should encourage people to start smaller.

I think starting in small steps to build confidence is very important. The first thing I would have them do is create a basic game design document to flush out their ideas. And then creating a paper prototype. Some people think paper prototyping digital games is a waste of time but I think it is a great way to work out a lot of organizational details and it can certainly test basic game mechanics. And then they can take their game to one of the easier game engines, like GameSalad or Game Maker, to start implementing their ideas.

Anyway, this is is what I would suggest and recommend.

For me, it’s a couple of things.

1. There is a vast gulf between ideas and execution.
2. I have doubts about my programming skills.
3. I have some decent ideas but they’re small ideas; I have doubts about building full games/systems around them.
4. It is a daunting task and I often have trouble getting started on big tasks.
5. I worry about following through (call it a corollary to what Sam Clifford said).

This is a fascinating thread for me because I enjoy writing web games as a hobby. There are some very good points being made already, but I would also add that the number one reason that stops people from making games is themselves.

(my game, by the way: http://celtruler.com/games/thegrid/ )

It’s true that it’s hard to write a game when you are getting a steady stream of negative comments, but a lot of times you can turn some of that criticism into good use and learn from it, if it’s not something derogatory and worthless. I’ve also noticed sometimes that someone will have an idea for a game, but they’ve over-complicated the idea before they’ve even attempted to sit down and start writing the game. Or, maybe they have a great idea, but they are lazy and refuse to learn the tools that they would need to help them create the game, so nothing ever happens. I would say: start small, take a few baby steps – if you fall down, get up and keep putting in the effort if it’s something you really want to do. No excuses.

I’ve worked on games that haven’t made it to a finished product and I think the problem often comes from starting with unrealistic expectations and not being ready to put the time into it. Also, it can often require a broad range of skills that can take a lot of time to learn if you don’t have them already. For example, I am confident in my programming skills, can use most graphic design programs fairly well, but have low confidence in my artistic skills. It can be demoralizing to try and make a game that can’t live up to what you see in your imagination. But yes, I think if anyone is determined enough, they can make it happen.

Depends on the type of game too. Games that play out in the real world can be inexpensive and can still make money. For example the cost of Blood Trail to us was just over £2k which was all on the video sequences. Set up didn’t cost anything because we used our platform and the experience just required leg work. We call them Crowdtrails, but basically for Blood Trail we randomly approached people in the street and handed them invites. We only wanted 100 to sign up at Spontaniac.com using the invite code as the final destination (a club) only held 500 max. Each sign up could create their own team with max of four mates. They then had to complete six challenges (this is where video came in) which sent them all over Manchester (UK). We ended up with just over 350 people playing and two clubs paid us to send them into their club (bonus). Each task completed gave them a reward of a map segment that led to the final Rising event. We turned it into a mental vamp party which again was sponsored by a club (cost covered) and we had a donation box. Cleared just over £700. Not huge amounts I know but for a trial event with no real focus on how we could make money, I was happy. You guys can all benefit too, because you can now all run your own versions of Blood Trail for free and we have supplied the video – all you have to do is localise the tasks – so you save the video production.

Want to know more go to http://www.spontaniac.com or read the slide deck I put together: http://www.slideshare.net/Spontaniac/tips-for-creating-a-blood-trail

Lack of development space. I’m in a fortunate situation where I know a lot of people who are enthusiastic about development and can make a prototype in a 48 hour game jam. However, the biggest problem with any bigger project is that there is no space for teams to get together and develop. Everyone developing on their own from their homes does not really work because the separation shoots down motivation very quickly. To really work as a team, a suitable space is needed, and most people’s homes are not the answer.

For me it’s also a state of mind thing. It’s much easier to get into the development mindset when I go to a place that is truly tied to development. Such as game jams.
Working 30+ hours in a weekend is not a problem when working with other people in a space that actually affords team development. At home with no schedules it’s easy to get distracted and go into the “I’ll do it tomorrow” state. If you’ve instead agreed with your team a time and place where development is to happen, the mindset is entirely different.

The hardest possible scenario for me would be developing alone for myself. With absolutely no outside pressure it’s really easy to let a project fade.