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WRITING.... ON PAPER
Posts
TheDigitalMonk
1148
TheDigitalMonk
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CloseWell, I'm currently taking a break after 3 solid hours of brainstorming my game on a pad of yellow paper. My plan is to essentially make the game 100% on paper before even touching RPGMaker. I've done this once before and it worked wonders. I made the best game I had yet made and it literally only took me one weekend to create (and it ended up being a couple hours long, too!). It just goes to show that solid planning makes for efficient use of time. I can't even begin to tell you how many trash-bin projects I've made from just sitting in RM trying to come up with ideas. It's the oddest thing. Also, if I draw out my maps on paper before going to rpgmaker, they become more aesthetically pleasing and have more structure to them.
Has anyone here ever planned their games on paper? (And by plan, I mean write out the plot, write an outline for every scene, draw some maps before actually making them, etc...)
Has anyone here ever planned their games on paper? (And by plan, I mean write out the plot, write an outline for every scene, draw some maps before actually making them, etc...)
Manifesto
33
I never plan my games on paper. I tend to be creative when the maker is open rather than writing it on paper. Why? Because if I do write it on paper, I will break the barriers of my RM skill and the program itself, therefore making my ideas useless and disappointing me.
I've found sketching out a map for a dungeon helps motivate me to create the actual dungeon in the map editor.
I love writing on paper, 'cept, I never end up referring back to it. Sometimes it's good (because merely getting the ideas in tangible form helps cultivate them) and bad (I came up with a REALLY GOOD idea I forgot but wrote down...somewhere).
I plan, but all digital rather than on paper. I lose paper too easily.
Some programs I'll use if anyone is interested:
Xmind - for brainstorming. Handy for game/puzzle flow and piecing together a plot sometimes.
Dia - for UML diagramming if needed.
Open Office - any document related stuff I need.
Celtx - is mainly a scriptwriting app but does a lot of other useful things.
MyPaint - Maps, concepts, whatever. Any drawing app with a tablet would work. I dig Mypaint because it has an infinite canvas, and you can set the background to grids, storyboard panels, and you can just hit F2 to save scraps. It's still too lightweight for me to replace Photoshop with it, but it's awesome for quick ideas/sketches.
These are by no means the best options. I use Linux/Windows both, so most of these I use for compatibility reasons. There are probably better Windows apps in some cases.
Some programs I'll use if anyone is interested:
Xmind - for brainstorming. Handy for game/puzzle flow and piecing together a plot sometimes.
Dia - for UML diagramming if needed.
Open Office - any document related stuff I need.
Celtx - is mainly a scriptwriting app but does a lot of other useful things.
MyPaint - Maps, concepts, whatever. Any drawing app with a tablet would work. I dig Mypaint because it has an infinite canvas, and you can set the background to grids, storyboard panels, and you can just hit F2 to save scraps. It's still too lightweight for me to replace Photoshop with it, but it's awesome for quick ideas/sketches.
These are by no means the best options. I use Linux/Windows both, so most of these I use for compatibility reasons. There are probably better Windows apps in some cases.
Shinan
4314
For the games I've finished I did draw most of it out on paper beforehand. After I wrote down everything I needed I started a checklist so I knew more or less exactly where in development I was as I was developing. It was efficient and it felt actually felt really good.
Too bad I haven't been able to recreate that because... I don't know... I guess I just haven't had that clear a vision in a while.
Too bad I haven't been able to recreate that because... I don't know... I guess I just haven't had that clear a vision in a while.
I plan on paper too, and I also find it works much much better.
And the best thing in the world is seeing your project come to life comparing to your paper sketches... for my current project, I have all maps drawn on paper, it's just great seeing them become reality :D
I'm yet to have an idea that I couldn't execute on RM. Indeed, bad excuse.
And the best thing in the world is seeing your project come to life comparing to your paper sketches... for my current project, I have all maps drawn on paper, it's just great seeing them become reality :D
post=138045
Because if I do write it on paper, I will break the barriers of my RM skill and the program itself, therefore making my ideas useless and disappointing me.
I'm yet to have an idea that I couldn't execute on RM. Indeed, bad excuse.
post=138049
This is the exact way I do things, except I use Excel.
Well that's not really exact at all then, is it?
This seems like an important distinction. Planning on paper and planning in excel are pretty different.
I'm yet to have an idea that I couldn't execute on RM.
I have. Tonnes.
The only real difference is ease of use - predefined columns, sorting tools, formulas, etc. The process itself is pretty much the same.
A class I was in this year required me to start maintaining a "design notebook", into which I was required to write any ideas I had for homework, projects, etc etc. The professor was himself a game developer and said on many occasions how it was one of his best resources in his career. Although begrudgingly at first, I fell in love with writing down every idea I got (whether it be for a game, character, story, sidequest, boss battle, or what have you), even if I had no use for it at the time. On more than one occasion, I would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, possessed by an idea that I needed to write down.
Since then, I have to admit that it's become quite a useful tool. I write down the smallest things (like a mechanical concept) and sometimes, months later, while working on a completely unrelated project, I stumble across that note and get inspired by it.
Since then, I have to admit that it's become quite a useful tool. I write down the smallest things (like a mechanical concept) and sometimes, months later, while working on a completely unrelated project, I stumble across that note and get inspired by it.
Dezz
1252
I wrote a whole walkthrough worth of ideas for my old game, Saramaru, but it stopped working and I was.... ASHAMED. XD
Manifesto
33
post=138084
I'm yet to have an idea that I couldn't execute on RM. Indeed, bad excuse.
Oh gosh, with limited modern resources in RM2K/3 and the lack of robot resources, I am sure my ideas are destined to fail.
(That is why I am trying to make my project with modified pokemon chipsets and SRW sprites =_=")
2k3 actually has LOTS of modern resources if you know where to look.
More than I can say for VX, sadly.
More than I can say for VX, sadly.
Manifesto
33
post=138194
2k3 actually has LOTS of modern resources if you know where to look.
More than I can say for VX, sadly.
I looked for resources for 2/3 weeks, I didn't get any results. It's alright though, I guess pokemon has the look I have been looking for...I regret editing these chipsets for a month
post=138169
A class I was in this year required me to start maintaining a "design notebook", into which I was required to write any ideas I had for homework, projects, etc etc. The professor was himself a game developer and said on many occasions how it was one of his best resources in his career. Although begrudgingly at first, I fell in love with writing down every idea I got (whether it be for a game, character, story, sidequest, boss battle, or what have you), even if I had no use for it at the time. On more than one occasion, I would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night, possessed by an idea that I needed to write down.
Since then, I have to admit that it's become quite a useful tool. I write down the smallest things (like a mechanical concept) and sometimes, months later, while working on a completely unrelated project, I stumble across that note and get inspired by it.
I'm definitely going to start doing this. I have a little tablet that would be perfect for this. It would definitely help organize my thoughts and efforts, and ultimately get my game done cleaner and faster.
Made a blog post related to this topic:
http://rpgmaker.net/games/2068/blog/2613/
http://rpgmaker.net/games/2068/blog/2613/
WolfCoder
3554
Planning is important, but writing game design bibles is for managing teams of 20-50-100+ developers. Planning can easily become a waste of time because a good game designer is going to change almost all of it anyway. Sometimes throwing chunks of it in the trash if it just isn't fun.
