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  • I said I'd make a musical RPG video game, and spent the last six years as a solo Dev for it. It's now coming to steam at the end of this year.

    Next I want to write a musical set in New Zealand about the Maori Land Wars. I have two Maori brothers who were embarrassed of their skin colour (rural NZ is pretty racist). I want to show how formidable and powerful a people the Maori were/are, in a style akin to Les Mis.

  • I have several small ideas that seem like they'd go together in a work of fiction, but there are also so many gaps that seeing it ruins any forward thinking I might have about it.

    • The best way really is to just start. You might chop and change, write and rewrite, many times but you will find a way to make it come together. Writing notes and a list of plot points helps, or even writing out the separate sections and then finding a way to make them meet. Don't get bogged down in the minutiae of sentences and paragraphs. Getting the bare bones down is your starting point. I used a spreadsheet and would add in new points and landmarks as and when they came to me. I still ended up spending ages editing, and adding, and amending until it felt right. Taxing but cathartic to get it all out.

      • I would add that writing it out, or preferably actually talking it out with someone, will take your ideas from the nebulous internal language of the mind, where they can be these indistinct perfect concepts that capture whatever it is you're about at the moment... anyway, it will take them from that beautiful but unreal state, into real memes that have to be described with language and imagery and all its limitations.

        The first time you speak your whole synopsis out loud, even if it sounds a bit hollow, that's when you're idea is born into the real world.

  • There are games I want to make. I caught long COVID and barely had energy for my job. I decided now that I got laid off for having an invisible disability, I can learn how to make games while I can't get a new one, but I'm having issues thinking long enough to learn... I've almost started my game and that's where I'm stuck.

    • I’m also in the learning how to make games path. So far I’ve learned you want to:

      1. Write idea down on paper. There’s something magic that happens with physical paper. Can move to digital later. What’s the game loop? How do you win/lose? This becomes the start of your game document
      2. Prototype in game engine of choice. Speed above all else. Don’t make it pretty make it functional. Make it feel good to play.
      3. Vet the idea. Playtest the game with friends, family, randos. Watch them play, only explain what they need to know to test what you’re interested in. Sit back, watch and take notes. Do they find it fun? What do they think is cool about it? What’s frustrating them? Focus on the fun parts. Maybe the idea is a dud. Don’t be afraid to scrap it and move on to another. Some bad ideas can be salvaged. If people find some part of the game really cool take that an run with it. This process will likely take many iterations to find a good idea.
      4. Once you have your idea nailed down that’s when real development starts. Plan plan plan. Write everything down on paper first. Analyze your prototype and plan out all the systems the game will need and how it’ll be architect. Then scrap the prototype and build a vertical slice polished game demo.
      5. This is getting really long but from there you can get funding or just throw that up on steam to start generating wishlists while you build the full game.

      A lot easier said than done! But thanks for coming to my Ted talk

        1. Done. Rewritten a few times. Fleshed out a bit.
        2. Learning the game engine real fast, as I haven't used Godot before. But yes, that's the plan. I have a minimal game loop I want to hit as the first target. And it's not too much farther than the tutorial result I'm looking at + the main hook gameplay element of the game.
        3. Bounced the idea at least off people and they sound willing to jump into this.

        And of course that's where the trail ends until it's vetted enough to move forward.

        Nice to see it kind of laid out. Still don't know how to get past the hurtle of my brain no longer working, but maybe I can still do it... Just slowly.

  • Welding. I'm currently putting my woodworking on hold because of other project, so i really can't start another until i finish the current one and finish whatever i'm trying to finish with my woodworking

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