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Any advice for starting a small indy game development?

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game-devhelpquestion
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  • V Offline
    V Offline
    venomation
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

    L D realJSOPR S D 10 Replies Last reply
    0
    • V venomation

      Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

      L Offline
      L Offline
      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      venomation wrote:

      Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)?

      Yeah. Don't ask programming questions in the lounge. ;) :laugh:

      L u n a t i c F r i n g e

      F 1 Reply Last reply
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      • V venomation

        Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

        D Offline
        D Offline
        Dalek Dave
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        venomation wrote:

        were working mostly online

        But now you are working offline, right?

        ------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC League Table Link CCC Link[^]

        V 1 Reply Last reply
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        • V venomation

          Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

          realJSOPR Offline
          realJSOPR Offline
          realJSOP
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Give up now. Think of all the time you'll free up, and your friends will still be your friends.

          .45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
          -----
          "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
          -----
          "The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001

          V M 2 Replies Last reply
          0
          • D Dalek Dave

            venomation wrote:

            were working mostly online

            But now you are working offline, right?

            ------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC League Table Link CCC Link[^]

            V Offline
            V Offline
            venomation
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Dalek Dave wrote:

            working offline, right?

            Sorry, what I meant was that we will be developing over the internet possibly using a shared folder or something. I heard of "drop box" being an ok program to share a folder but I feel that we may run into code swapping problems ? :-D

            P OriginalGriffO 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • realJSOPR realJSOP

              Give up now. Think of all the time you'll free up, and your friends will still be your friends.

              .45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
              -----
              "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
              -----
              "The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001

              V Offline
              V Offline
              venomation
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

              Think of all the time you'll free up

              I have too much free time :laugh:

              realJSOPR 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • V venomation

                Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

                S Offline
                S Offline
                Smithers Jones
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                venomation wrote:

                Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process

                Coffee. Loads and loads of it. And then some more. Did I mention coffee yet?

                "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." (DNA)

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • V venomation

                  John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote:

                  Think of all the time you'll free up

                  I have too much free time :laugh:

                  realJSOPR Offline
                  realJSOPR Offline
                  realJSOP
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Take up a sport. Join the U.S. Primate Paddling Team. You can practice on your own time and without any other team members being present.

                  .45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
                  -----
                  "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                  -----
                  "The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001

                  L 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • realJSOPR realJSOP

                    Take up a sport. Join the U.S. Primate Paddling Team. You can practice on your own time and without any other team members being present.

                    .45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
                    -----
                    "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                    -----
                    "The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    John, you're on a roll this morning. :laugh:

                    L u n a t i c F r i n g e

                    L 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • V venomation

                      Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

                      D Offline
                      D Offline
                      Daniel Turini
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      1. Get some kind of distributed SCM tool, like Git or Mercurial. 2. If you are estimating 8-12 months to complete, you have not estimated it right (you still have 50% error, which makes me thing you don't have appropriate specs). Be more precise. Then double it. 3. Consider that half of your friends may (or will) drop out before the project is gone. Does any of them have a specific talent that the rest of the team doesn't? Have backups for everyone, start learning what only one team member knows. 4. Who will give the final word when passionate people want things done in their own way?

                      I see dead pixels Yes, even I am blogging now!

                      H V 2 Replies Last reply
                      0
                      • V venomation

                        Dalek Dave wrote:

                        working offline, right?

                        Sorry, what I meant was that we will be developing over the internet possibly using a shared folder or something. I heard of "drop box" being an ok program to share a folder but I feel that we may run into code swapping problems ? :-D

                        P Offline
                        P Offline
                        Peter Mulholland
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Look for a free distributed source control system. A friend of mine mentioned one to me last night and said it was bloody good, but I can't remember the name. There are also free bug tracking programs available too, so you can all keep track of the issues that come up during programming.

                        Pete

                        V 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • D Daniel Turini

                          1. Get some kind of distributed SCM tool, like Git or Mercurial. 2. If you are estimating 8-12 months to complete, you have not estimated it right (you still have 50% error, which makes me thing you don't have appropriate specs). Be more precise. Then double it. 3. Consider that half of your friends may (or will) drop out before the project is gone. Does any of them have a specific talent that the rest of the team doesn't? Have backups for everyone, start learning what only one team member knows. 4. Who will give the final word when passionate people want things done in their own way?

                          I see dead pixels Yes, even I am blogging now!

                          H Offline
                          H Offline
                          Henry Minute
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Daniel Turini wrote:

                          4. Who will give the final word when passionate people want things done in their own way?

                          The female member.

                          Henry Minute Do not read medical books! You could die of a misprint. - Mark Twain Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.”

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • V venomation

                            Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            Maximilien
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            you need : - online/collaborative whiteboard. - online/collaborative net-meetings. - software development tools and SDK (xbox stuff) - software design and requirements. - a good "game" plan. (pun intended) - online source control system (for example collab.net) - a lot of time (more than you imagine) - a good graphical artist (3d modeler, ... ) - good understanding of game level development ...

                            Watched code never compiles.

                            V 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • L Lost User

                              John, you're on a roll this morning. :laugh:

                              L u n a t i c F r i n g e

                              L Offline
                              L Offline
                              Lost User
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              LunaticFringe wrote:

                              you're on a roll

                              And I bet its a Rye one.

                              L 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • V venomation

                                Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

                                M Offline
                                M Offline
                                megaadam
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                You definitely need a source-control system, as mentioned above. And probably a bug tracker too. Don't even think about a "drop-box". And here´s another idea: Complete a really simple game first, with all team members together. This to make everybody familiar with the team tools & process. Good luck

                                ..................... Life is too shor

                                V 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • V venomation

                                  Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

                                  L Offline
                                  L Offline
                                  Lost User
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  Use XNA, so that you will not have to deal with every little detail of DirectX

                                  A while ago he asked me what he should have printed on my business cards. I said 'Wizard'. I read books which nobody else understand. Then I do something which nobody understands. After that the computer does something which nobody understands. When asked, I say things about the results which nobody understand. But everybody expects miracles from me on a regular basis. Looks to me like the classical definition of a wizard.

                                  V 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • P Peter Mulholland

                                    Look for a free distributed source control system. A friend of mine mentioned one to me last night and said it was bloody good, but I can't remember the name. There are also free bug tracking programs available too, so you can all keep track of the issues that come up during programming.

                                    Pete

                                    V Offline
                                    V Offline
                                    venomation
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    Thanks I will look into that ! :-D

                                    P 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • V venomation

                                      Me and some friends are starting to create a Xbox 360 game, would take about 8 - 12 months to complete! :-D Does anyone have any advice/ideas that can help the development process (were working mostly online)? Thanks ! :laugh:

                                      E Offline
                                      E Offline
                                      Ennis Ray Lynch Jr
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Game development is often hindered by two things, 1) differing visions and 2) differing loads of work. When you have a team working together for free and the visions differ the amount of work by the team members whose ideas have been quashed will approach zero. Also, there are just bad apples who will not contribute but will expect full credit. Spell out the exact obligation of each member IN WRITING before beginning; also finalize as much as possible the vision.

                                      Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost

                                      V 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • D Daniel Turini

                                        1. Get some kind of distributed SCM tool, like Git or Mercurial. 2. If you are estimating 8-12 months to complete, you have not estimated it right (you still have 50% error, which makes me thing you don't have appropriate specs). Be more precise. Then double it. 3. Consider that half of your friends may (or will) drop out before the project is gone. Does any of them have a specific talent that the rest of the team doesn't? Have backups for everyone, start learning what only one team member knows. 4. Who will give the final word when passionate people want things done in their own way?

                                        I see dead pixels Yes, even I am blogging now!

                                        V Offline
                                        V Offline
                                        venomation
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Daniel Turini wrote:

                                        1. Get some kind of distributed SCM tool, like Git or Mercurial.

                                        Will do !

                                        Daniel Turini wrote:

                                        2. If you are estimating 8-12 months to complete, you have not estimated it right (you still have 50% error, which makes me thing you don't have appropriate specs). Be more precise. Then double it.

                                        The estimate is more like a dead line which should force us to try really hard!

                                        Daniel Turini wrote:

                                        3. Consider that half of your friends may (or will) drop out before the project is gone. Does any of them have a specific talent that the rest of the team doesn't? Have backups for everyone, start learning what only one team member knows.

                                        Already considered that (including for my self)however my friends are quite skilled and we want some experience working in a team.

                                        Daniel Turini wrote:

                                        4. Who will give the final word when passionate people want things done in their own way?

                                        Every one will have a say in the game some way or another, we will all have to sacrifice vision sometime so why not now? :laugh: Thanks :P

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • M Maximilien

                                          you need : - online/collaborative whiteboard. - online/collaborative net-meetings. - software development tools and SDK (xbox stuff) - software design and requirements. - a good "game" plan. (pun intended) - online source control system (for example collab.net) - a lot of time (more than you imagine) - a good graphical artist (3d modeler, ... ) - good understanding of game level development ...

                                          Watched code never compiles.

                                          V Offline
                                          V Offline
                                          venomation
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Very good thanks ! :laugh:

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