KILLER WOLF'S PROFILE

I've always loved this song, even the part at the end that always makes me feel like my ears are about to be devoured by a horde of angry robotic bees.

Kim Gordon is not amused...

While I would never advocate its use for any other type of literature, getting at least a basic outline done should be the first step.

When I sit and write for days/weeks/months and square away every aspect of the game I want to make, not only do I lose interest in the project, but I start to forget the limitations of the maker.

It is easy to get caught up in your own world, writing the game the way you think it should go. When you get to the creation stage, you might have a few things that are very difficult to translate into your maker. Do you change them, or obsess over getting them to work exactly the way you wrote them?

I don't tend to think of my games in a linear progression, so I use note cards. I write characters, plot ideas, themes, combat ideas, set pieces, etc out on cards. I even write the gist of what conversations should say. I find it easier to have a basic idea of the information I want to convey, and then just write the actual conversation out in the maker. It helps keep me thinking in terms of dialog boxes, and how many times the player will tolerate pushing (z) and waiting for another paragraph.

Having it all on note cards allows me to move things around if I notice a pacing problem or something that doesn't make sense.

I've filled two notebooks with information for one of my games. I started working on this game's first iteration back in 2006. I've never been able to translate everything I want to get implemented into the game. I've stopped and started it twenty times, changing the artstyle, the gameplay style, the world, just about everything I could trying to find the best way to reconcile what I put on the page with what came up on the screen.

As a contrast to that: The project that I wrote a brief synopsis of, with almost no dialog, and just vague hints about mechanics, has already made it to the demo stage, gone up on the website and received a positive review. I know (roughly) how long the game will take to complete, and how long it will take to play once completed. I know point a and point z, but I connect the dots in the Maker.

Greed: Medium

Gluttony: Medium

Wrath: Very High

Sloth: High

Envy: Medium

Lust: Medium

Pride: High

Edit - I guess that makes me an angry, lazy, know-it-all bastard. No wonder I fit in so well.

Have a character early on explain "They can talk about how fine _country_name_here_'s blades are, but steel is steel. The only thing that makes one weapon superior to another is the warrior behind it."

If "steel is steel" all shops can sell the same basic items, but the player will train with them and improve in skill. Maybe you have areas where weapons can be altered, which increases their base stats. I'm thinking lightening it by cutting material away, sharpening it, making it heavier to drive through bone easier, balancing the handle.

The player gets a weapon at an early shop, trains with it to get better, customizes it as they wish... but maybe they find out it isn't perfect against all enemy types. They invest in another starter weapon, at any shop along the way since "steel is steel." They train with it, improve it, etc.

Instead of making different towns have "better" weapons, maybe they have regional specialties. One place makes excellent spears because they had to, to deal with the monsters in the region. Maybe instead of bare bottom starter weapons, some places that specialize in a type of enhancement sell weapons with that feature already.