Just wanted to start a discussion about the struggles people have while trying to create their own game, because I have a single problem that has stopped me from completing so many projects.
My Problem:
While creating a game I get a team of people together to discuss the mechanics of said game, we discuss possible lore, gameplay mechanics, rather it should be single or multiplayer, quest-lines, combat, skills and professions etc, however there’s always ONE PROBLEM that discourages me to the point I give up.
That’s Graphics.
While developing something I want it to look nice, I mean, it doesn’t have to look AAA by any means, but something better than some horrible 8bit pixel art done by myself, or a sphere/capsule is lovely. I realize the have the asset-store for a reason, with free assets, but let’s be honest for a moment. Most of the free assets don’t come with any animations, making them placeholders is just a headache. When developing a 2D game (Which I’m currently doing) you can’t really get anything from the Asset Store, not for sprites anyway.
So, that’s usually why I quit, if I don’t have Textures/Models/Etc to use on a project, it discourages me, because I know that I do not have the artistic skill to make it look better and It’s an eye-sore to look at.
If your struggle is graphics, why not team up with an artist?
I defiantly get the pull to create something large and immersive. It doesn’t just happen in this industry. Numerous aspiring filmmakers want to create the next blockbuster summer movie on a shoe string budget with their DSLR. However, they too run into the same problems. It just doesn’t look the same and not nearly as good. And they don’t realize how incredibly time consuming a project like that is.
But here’s the thing; before Christopher Nolan got to be in the directors seat for Batman Begins, he did a movie called Following. It was him and three other actors on any free weekend they had. It had an interesting hook and a nice twist at the end. It wasn’t the best film. But he proved he could pull it off. This lead him into meeting the people that would further shape his epic career.
That all being said. If graphics are your problem. Simplify them. Take a look as examples like Thomas Was Alone. VVVVV or even Super Hexagon. All have successful game mechanics and simple art. You would be surprised what some nice lighting effects and a solid color palette will do to make something look incredibly compelling.
@Christian.Tucker Art is something that honestly comes naturally to some. I’ve spent the last year or so mostly focusing on the art end of things due to me not having the money or resources to hire an artist. Samething with sound, modeling, programming, etc. I have to teach myself everything.
What i’m saying is don’t give up! You can do it but it will take awhile to get that artistic touch. Keep learning and trying to new things.
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What discourages me is not having support from my family, friends, etc. I’m constantly hearing how I should get off the PC and do something better with my life, how i’m ruining my health, being lazy, etc. It sucks hearing this especially from family. You would figure that all your support would be from them. I get depressed and constantly question myself if I should even bother continuing to work on my games / projects. The only reason why I’m still going is because I’m determined to prove to myself that I can make a game. Its’ always been a childhood dream of mine to be a game developer publisher.
Honestly I have bought all the art code assets I need to create games and even had I not bought those assets Unity free out of the box provides enough good assets to still make a game.
My problem is a lack of concentration for sufficient periods of time to make a game and I suspect that’s the problem of most in here. I’m not talking about starting a game and then stopping when you see it’s not fun, that makes sense; I’m talking not even getting that far.
Graphics make me stressed as well and I had trouble experiences with artists so I don’t like teaming up with them. I am trying to learn blender but it’s too hard. Programming is more fun for me
You know… I always do a brainstorm, Doc everythink… but my main problem: when I Start to program.
I keep my thoughts simple, but them i start thinking that in future i’m going to need some implementations otherwise it wont work… things that is not need in the beginning code disturb me, coz I think too much when programming. That’s my only problem. I think a lot in advance, although I shouldn’t so early.
When i lost a backup of my game after updating an asset that was broken, so many errors everywhere, and the last backup didnt included so many days of works, had to do everything again. but i did it faster and better, so…
My problem is not liking the levels that i design. I’ve made several so far and had to erase them cuz i thought that they weren’t good enough. I think one way of overcoming this is doing alot of pre-planning and gathering photo references. I’m starting on a new level today, hope it goes well.
Graphics, hands down. Also, realizing that your prototype isn’t as entertaining as it was in your mind.
And this. I developed a small puzzle game with most gameplay elements included, but I never finished it because I couldn’t come up with interesting and challenging levels.
What discourages me? Customers expect free. I’ve made popular products and done fine with discoverability, and yet, no matter how I slice it, I slam everytime into the ‘free’ wall.
Know what’s crazy? The price of my apps makes almost NO difference. Changing the price from $1.99, down to $0.99, and up to $2.99 had almost no impact on the number of sales, so I bumped up all of my products and make more income. And that’s true whether it was an up front purchase or an IAP. Whacky.
Graphics are up there for me but even more than that is sound.
Without the ability to create your own music you’re stuck with trying to find someone else’s creation that might fit your game’s ambience, but rarely am I satisfied with what I find because my game always plays to a certain soundtrack in my head.
For me… it is mostly time. Aside from game development, I am also an author and that takes away from precious development time. Also a lot of my work is very high quality so it takes time to make everything I need in my game… I am even going as far as modeling internal organs and tidbits for my models… I’m also using advanced lighting so that takes SO much time.
Graphics mainly. I’m a one-man team and am pretty good at programming. When it comes to graphics and sound, however, I stink. The sound part isn’t as bad due to a musically inclined family member; when it comes to graphics, however, no one I know really can and/or will help (and I have no money to hire an artist). I really only enjoy the programming part of the game making process, though, so I’ve moved on to making assets; that way I can get my jollies programming while still being a part of making games.
I also hit the “art” wall of disappointment. I’ve made great strides modeling vehicles and characters in Blender, but I’m still no artist. I do have an easier time communicating with artists now, so there is that.