How do you create a game?

[JPS]

Do you plan it out? If so what order do you plan things?

Or do you just go at it and think it up as you go?

I tend to very vaguely think of the ultimate objective of the game then create "chapters"...I build the game as I go, writing everything down...theres a lot of backtracking, but it usually turns out good in the end.

Ive tried planning a game, but found that when I start nearly every aspect is changed before the end of "chapter 1"

[Ryner]

Re: How do you create a game?

I don't know if I'm one to talk since I've started a hundred titles and finished none, but I think the first step is to spend time, a lot of time, just thinking. What are the primary elements of your idea (game play ideas, storyline, etc.) that make this game worth the effort, and how best can you accomplish and improve them.

I think writing as much as you can on paper is a good idea too. It helps your ideas to take form and lets you think about them more clearly.

Ive tried planning a game, but found that when I start nearly every aspect is changed before the end of "chapter 1"

There's nothing wrong with that. The most important part of creation is revision. If your ideas haven't changed drastically from when you first started then you're doing something very wrong.

The difficult part is that planning and daydreaming ideas is actually more fun than putting the insane amount of work into actually creating the game in your maker of choice.

[Vonwert]

Re: How do you create a game?

First take a general idea or concept. Then think about the beginning and end.

Once you have those two, you can then begin to construct the middle.

When you begin the idea brainstorming after you come up with the main idea, you can use those ideas for stuff that occur during the game.

[Valkysas]

Re: How do you create a game?

I start with extremely basic ideas and just start adding on.

I thought it would be interesting to make a "kid running away from home" story.

and then for some reason I figured "she should have a giant knight with her"

and then it just spiraled.

I kept re-writing the entire premise and story of the game until I was happy with it before I ever touched RPG Maker XP. and then I was dumb and still continued to rewrite massive chunks of the game and redesign characters. so I decided to just build the world first, use placeholder graphics for damn near everything, and then start putting the story into the game, so it wouldnt suffer from any changes I continued to make.

game creation is a mess.

[Ωbright]

Re: How do you create a game?

When I made Shadow of the Towers I just made the whole thing up as I went along. The story was fairly simple, with most of the writing being character interactions, so it was a good way to work for that game. Of course I still had to plan out a lot of things. I used templates to plan out character stat curves, weapon/armor strength/cost curves, etc.

For Tree Of Life I literally wrote down every single facet of the game beforehand. I don't think I could have made a game like that any other way.

[Pagerron]

The difficult part is that planning and daydreaming ideas is actually more fun than putting the insane amount of work into actually creating the game in your maker of choice.

Yep, that's me.
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For the game I'm working on now, I had a vague idea what the game would be about.

First, I made a map on paper and tried to translate it to the Field Editor (RPG Maker 3). Then, I walked around the map a bit and tried to get a feel for special kinds of events I'd like to place around.

I have a little notebook in which I write down notes and ideas. I take this with me to places if I know there will be some down time.

It's a never-ending process. I guess that's what's it's all about, the process.

The game changes as I get new ideas, too, which keeps it interesting.