Bigger Than It Looks

     I've learned time and time again that every project is bigger than it looks. When I schedule out a game's development and look for an estimate of the time I need I always throw in a little extra, about 20%.You start a small project thinking it'll be easy, but it's always bigger than it looks. Those details come pouring out of your brain and only then can you see how much work you're in for.

    I just wrote up a GDD for my next game and ended up with a longer list of assets (sprites, particle effects, necessary text instructions, sounds, etc.) than I expected. Luckily, I expected to be surprised and gave myself 5 weeks instead of the 4 I thought I'd need. My game is still on schedule and I'm making buttons for the main menu today (to have something to start with).

    I like to keep the scope small for future games. a bit of polish goes a long way and it feels good working on a game you know you can finish.

Submitting Apps Made Easy with Google Play

  Being new to mobile development I had to learn a lot about submitting apps to Google Play and the Apple App Store. Getting things ready for submission caused a lot of headaches and overall I've found myself preferring Android. Unity helps a lot with the Apple side of things and just about everything else gets easier with practice.

Status Report #5

   Two games down and five more to go on the quest for making my dream game. The concept and simple GDD of the next game is finished and I made a few mock-ups to see how to put it together. I'd say this week was a pretty good checkpoint. See a list of accomplishments below.

The Next Project: Game #3

   With two games behind me and newfound experience with Unity and Android to iOS porting I feel like I have a grasp on making games from start-to-finish. Now I want to try making a game quickly. My first game was plagued by delays and  took a year to make. My last one took all summer plus most of September (about 4 months). I want to try to make this in 5 weeks.
 
   I want my next game to test how much I learned about 2D game creation and be a simple game that anyone can pick up and play, while a select few can master it and amaze people with their skill. I also want it to be about colorful candy. A nice contrast to the neon space theme of TriGrid. Expect more about this new game next week.