QZPRODUCTIONS'S PROFILE

author=Miremira
Quick question! Is Maggie's prom shirt long sleeved with cuffs or sleeveless with bracelets?

author=Red_Nova

author=QZProductions
I'm honestly puzzled when people talk about developing their games' plots simultaneously with the game itself... with my own game, I mapped out the entirety of the plot and general structure of the game before I even made my first graphic, because I KNEW that otherwise I would lose focus and the result would have been disastrous. I mean, I get making small changes and adding fine details along the way (I made a character less mean than they were in the outline, for example), but if your game is story based, how do you even develop it without a complete story to guide you?

Maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist >_>

While I agree that going in with no plot guide, not even an outline, is a bad idea, I don't think the issue is as clear cut as it sounds.

I can lay out a plot and have it sound good in my head. However, and this may sound crazy to some, when actually making the game, writing the dialogue, etc., the characters tend to take a different direction than the one I had planned. Trying to force it back on track comes off as more awkward and forced, so most of the time it's best to just let the characters do what feels right. Sometimes that requires restructuring the plot of the game itself. I know how I want it to start and end, but the middle can be tricky, as the characters can develop in ways that not even I expect.

What sounds good on a plot summary doesn't translate well into gameplay, either, so adjustments could be necessary there, too. These adjustments can snowball into a large enough issue that a major restructuring can be in order, especially if you're, for example, adjusting a character trait in a character-driven game.

But if you're just talking about someone sitting down to make a game with NO idea of the plot and NO idea of the gameplay, I'm with you that that's not good.

author=emmych
@QZ: i don't have consistent nicknames for my peeps but I do insult them a lot, especially if they're the ones that got a lot of my negative character traits poured into them. One fella I lovingly call a scrub near constantly because he, like myself, is a biggo scrub

anyway i'm just thinking about how GROSS AND SICK I FEEL because i have had the flu for a week and i had to work while ill today and augh i am ready for bed