Game Dev Podcast - The RisingHigh Extended Tea Break - Game Development Advice for Game Developers - 001: Game Prototyping - Effective Prototyping Tips & why as Game Dev's you should be documenting your process.

001: Game Prototyping - Effective Prototyping Tips & why as Game Dev's you should be documenting your process.

01/28/18 • 29 min

Game Dev Podcast - The RisingHigh Extended Tea Break - Game Development Advice for Game Developers

How do you start prototyping your fresh new game idea. Having that awesome vision in your head is all well and good, but you need to start making it a reality, it needs to come alive! We discuss all the ways that we set about prototyping our games and, although probably somewhat unconventional, why we want to get this stage moving as fast as possible. Almost exclusively starting with our trusty pencils and sketchbooks, we try and roughly draw something iconic from our minds eye, be it a general look of a level or perhaps even a character, just something to visualise before heading straight into our development tool, Buildbox. Highlights, Quick Wins & Takeaways: Create a mood board as a reference point for the whole project Use pen and paper to quickly draw a level or character Get into your development software / tool as fast as possible Use existing graphics to get you started, don't be fancy Focus on the feel of the mechanics Embrace the "Happy Accidents" that may arise Try to get one complete level / screen before giving up! Export a build onto your device as soon as you have a straw man demo Start screen casting or take screenshots from the very beginning Share early dev insights on social to get some interest / feedback

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Previous Episode

000: Game Ideas - Podcast Introduction, Finding Inspiration and coming up with new game ideas.

So you want to make a game, but what sort of game should you make and how do you come up with new game ideas? In this our pilot episode of the podcast, we answer this, by far the most common question we get asked. After a brief introduction of who we are here at RisingHigh, we dive straight in and start breaking down how we go about getting our new game ideas, where we draw inspiration from and our roundabout process on how our concepts come to life. It's a very organic process, but through various sources we can merge genres, fuse ideas and create something we can put our own unique spin on. Highlights, Quick Wins & Takeaways: Using the Appstore to see what is hot in the current market, Top 100 Free Games Data mine reviews for customer insights Browse Game Jam Sites for unusual Game Ideas Look at art installations and architecture Be present in your environment, get out and about and be open to the world around you The Featured Games that Apple showcases each week Online gaming sites Game Fusion - Merging Genres to create a new take on existing proven mechanics Research the Biggest Publishers on the Appstore and look at their bestsellers Links & Resources mentioned in this Episode: Itch.io GameJolt.com Beat Street

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Next Episode

002: Game Graphics - What style to Choose, Where to buy game art packs & the 4 pillars of style for Indie Mobile Game Developers.

Your game needs graphics, well yeah, go figure! But what style do you choose for your game and what happens if you're no digital Picasso? In this episode, we chat about ensuring the art direction of your game matches the mood and feel correctly. Where to go online if you're looking to purchase game art, backgrounds and game packs. What are the 4 most tried and tested art styles that consistently get featured by Apple in "New Game We Love" and why if you choose one of these, you're more likely to get noticed. Thinking outside the norm when it comes to outsourcing and where to go if you're looking for a freelancer. Regardless if it's a one-off commission or perhaps you're looking to take on a full-time game artist, finding someone to create ongoing bespoke art can be tricky. Highlights, Quick Wins & Takeaways: Why you must be in love with whatever style you choose Look at the Appstore for Trends and Featured Games Voxel, Flat, Polygon and Pixel are the 4 pillars of style Look for art packs that are big enough for your project See if you can easily modify packs yourself to extend the value Learn basic digital art skills to save you money Visit Behance.net and dribbble.com to source artists Match art style with the theme and mood of your game Be consistent throughout your game in the overall style Graphics need to be high quality, period. Links to Resources mentioned in this Episode: Online Management tools: Asana Trello Where to buy game art, characters and game design packs: Graphic River GameDevMarket.net GameArtPartners OpenGameArt.org Kenney.nl Games on the Appstore: Old Mans Journey Splitter Critters Lara Croft Go Canabalt Monument Valley

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