What's a fun, feasible first project for a newbie to create?

[franny]

I've got ideas, but they're much too complex for my current skill level. Based on what I've read, I guess I should create a simple game to get the basics down... But I'm worried that whatever I'll create would be super boring.
What's popular and fun nowadays? How simple is too simple? How would I know if an idea is worth fleshing out? And if I do flesh out an idea, how do I keep the complexity down so that I can still manage it with my still low skill level?

What would you guys suggest when creating one's first project? And, since I want to get inspired, how was your first experience creating like?

[firecat]

just make a simple story that you want to write, just copying a popular topic (like a dating sim) will make people overlook it for being too cliche. if you like try making a historic event novel, rarely people have made them but its a good place to start.

[SundownKid]

Go with any idea, just keep it short. Make something short but polished rather than long and unpolished.

[gekiganwing]

How simple is too simple? How would I know if an idea is worth fleshing out? And if I do flesh out an idea, how do I keep the complexity down so that I can still manage it with my still low skill level?

My personal recommendations:

1. Make a month such as October 2015 your personal National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). It will be thirty or thirty-one days that you spend writing a story and finishing it. In other words, don't do much planning. Begin writing on a specific day, such as October 1st. Decide that you'll write and do as little revising / editing as possible. Don't stop until you have a complete story. The NaNoWriMo site recommends 50000 words for prose fiction. However, you can lower that number if you want.

2. Write a story with just a few characters, events, and settings. This should help make sure that you keep your story's scope under control.

3. Write a story that's personally interesting. I believe you will benefit if you care about your characters and the world they live in.

4. Don't try to address subjects that are too complex or depressing right now. I admire stories that require a lot of research, or that discuss real world problems with no easy solutions. However, I believe that you will benefit if writing your story is fun and not too difficult.

But I'm worried that whatever I'll create would be super boring. What's popular and fun nowadays?

Don't worry about this right now. Today's trend will be forgotten tomorrow. If you're interested in your characters and what happens to them, then I believe that it will show in your story.

[franny]

just make a simple story that you want to write, just copying a popular topic (like a dating sim) will make people overlook it for being too cliche. if you like try making a historic event novel, rarely people have made them but its a good place to start.

A dating sim sounds like a good idea. It'll be a good exercise with dealing with variables and stuff. (Now, for a decent storyline... Hm.)

Question: Do people look in the cookbook and use a generic dating sim engine or do most people code their own?

Make a month such as October 2015 your personal National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). It will be thirty or thirty-one days that you spend writing a story and finishing it. In other words, don't do much planning. Begin writing on a specific day, such as October 1st. Decide that you'll write and do as little revising / editing as possible. Don't stop until you have a complete story.

I'm afraid I'll make a mess of a story, but this sounds fun!

Write a story with just a few characters, events, and settings. This should help make sure that you keep your story's scope under control.

Less sprites to make, too!


Thanks for the tips, guys!

[Jae]

Before making a long, complicated game (I know I'm going to sound like a hypocrite for this because I'm literally diving into my first game going hard), it's better to just make small separate scenarios to get used to the logic.

I have a "test game" script that I use to try out different scenarios, dialogue, animations, programmed mini-games, etc. just to help visualize everything before I decide to really put in the time and resources.

[philat]

FWIW, my first (and only finished *cough*) game was a short game that took me about a week to make -- not counting learning curve as much, because I'd dabbled in renpy and other similar visual novel engines before. It combined point and click puzzle gameplay with a simple story, and took around 30 minutes to play through, give or take a few minutes.

[riiko08]

Well, you shouldn't worry too much about what other people might think about your work because honestly, not everyone is gonna like it.
Just make something that you yourself would want to play because this will keep you more motivated, rather than trying to make something that will please everyone.

Just keep it short and simple, and don't add too many twists. If you think that your game would be boring, then the players will definitely get bored with it. If you enjoyed it, then players are bound to enjoy playing as well. *v*

So yeah. Do it because you love and enjoy doing it XD

Oh! And hiya fellow pinoy!

[franny]

Before making a long, complicated game (I know I'm going to sound like a hypocrite for this because I'm literally diving into my first game going hard), it's better to just make small separate scenarios to get used to the logic.

I have this big vision, though! And all these ideas... (must resist urge... hngh)
But yeah, the "test game" idea is good. I'll make one and use it as a cheat sheet.

Oh! And hiya fellow pinoy!

Oh hey there! (I need your thoughts. A part of me is thinking about writing in Filipino, but I've this nagging feeling that I'm best off scrapping what I've got so far and writing purely in English. With current trends, the original language version might have little to no audience until I finish a translation. What to do, oh what to do.)

FWIW, my first (and only finished *cough*) game was a short game that took me about a week to make -- not counting learning curve as much, because I'd dabbled in renpy and other similar visual novel engines before. It combined point and click puzzle gameplay with a simple story, and took around 30 minutes to play through, give or take a few minutes.

I've zero experience. Would you please teach me the basics of creating a one-man game? How's the workflow? What should I do first? :O

[Aviala]

I've zero experience. Would you please teach me the basics of creating a one-man game? How's the workflow? What should I do first? :O

Here's a suggestion (the way I'd do it, not the "ultimate best" way)

First, set a deadline for yourself. When do you want to finish the game? Something like a week to a month is good for your first game.

After that I'd start with learning the very basics of Ren'Py if you haven't already. How to define characters, make them say things, how to add pictures and sound, and how to make choices. This will help you to understand the way you'll need to write your script, and personally I like to lay the groundwork for the coding while I write the story, for example in this format:

C "We need to move, now!"
H "There's no time to waste!"
"The huge wave was closing in to us, and..."

This will make coding easier for you later on.

After learning the basics of Renpy, start outlining your story. Make a simple mind map or something to show the flow of the story and branches if you have any. Come up with characters - limit yourself to something like 3. Also make a limit for locations - the fewer the better.

After that... Just get writing. It's your first game, so accept that it won't be perfect. Set up a goal of how many words you'd like your VN to be (I'd suggest something like 10 000 or less) and start working towards that goal. You can set a daily goal if you'd like, for example 1000 words per day.

I like to make my work flow more interesting for myself by doing the art while I write. Well, not WHILE I write, but when I get bored with writing I draw some sprites or something, and then continue writing when I feel like it. The better way would be to write everything and only after that start working on the art. If you can't draw, find free to use assets from the creative commons section - though in this case you should probably set your story in modern day since there are more free backgrounds and sprites for modern settings. For your first game free to use music is your best bet.

After you have your story and assets, code them in.
Export your game and share it on the forums.

BAM. There's your first game. It's probably not amazing but you have released a game. How amazing is that.

[Ran08]

What's popular and fun nowadays?

It depends on who you're asking, actually. Dating sims have always been popular though some find stat-raising DSs fun while others do not. It really depends on who your target audience is.

How simple is too simple?

I don't mind if a game is so simple that almost everything is just fluff, but it has to have an actual story that binds everything together. A game with no such thing (just a plain stat-raiser, for example) is way too simple, in my opinion. So simple that it could even be, I dare say, boring.

How would I know if an idea is worth fleshing out?

If you ask me, I think ideas are worth fleshing out if you WANT to flesh them out. There are a gazillion ideas in the world, waiting to be fleshed out. Who are you to deny their existence as a well fleshed-out idea?

And if I do flesh out an idea, how do I keep the complexity down so that I can still manage it with my still low skill level?

Keep the characters to a minimum (if you're making an otome, 2-3 obtainables is a nice, easy number), and try not to branch out the paths too much. A fairly linear story with some branching out (for a few different endings) would do the trick for a first game.

What would you guys suggest when creating one's first project?

As an otome writer, I say... KISS. Keep it Short and... no, not simple. Sweet. Hahaha. =) Don't be scared into investing your feelings into making the game, and I swear it'll come out in the form of a completed project.

And, since I want to get inspired, how was your first experience creating like?

My first game was a short otome created in about a week. It was really fun. I did the outlines on the first day, scoured the internet for free art and music on the second day, and wrote and coded the whole script within the next 4 days. Back then, I had absolutely no idea how to code, so I was learning all throughout the process of making my first game. I was a high school student on my summer vacation, so sleeping late was something I enjoyed. =) It was really, really fun.

Oh hey there! (I need your thoughts. A part of me is thinking about writing in Filipino, but I've this nagging feeling that I'm best off scrapping what I've got so far and writing purely in English. With current trends, the original language version might have little to no audience until I finish a translation. What to do, oh what to do.)

And oh my gosh, you're a Filipino too! Yay, that's nice.

I know your reply was meant for riiko08, but... I just want to say, "Go for it!" My first game is actually set in the Philippines, and believe it or not, a lot of the players were Filipinos too! (At least, that's what I think, since the ones who left comments on my game development blog were mostly Filipino) Some were actually asking me to make a translation for the game, and one even offered to do the translation. It was really overwhelming, and I'm super grateful for our fellow Pinoys/Pinays for the support. I say, if you really want to create a game in Filipino, then go do so! Based on my experience, I think it's safe to say that we come from a very supportive nation, hahaha. Besides, you can always translate it into English afterwards, right?

Good luck on your visual novel-making journey!

[philat]

I've zero experience. Would you please teach me the basics of creating a one-man game? How's the workflow? What should I do first? :O

Aviala already gave an excellent answer but I just wanted to say a) I agree but b) you'll have to experiment a little to find what works for you.

I had a basic outline of the story (because a 30 minute game is the equivalent of a very short 5-10 page story - it revolves around one central idea without much else) which I fleshed out while coding the rest of the game. I used free sketchup 3d models (lots of CC material if you search the google warehouse) for the backgrounds. The main body of the story is reltiavely easy to write in one go, but since my game had point and click elements where the player would comment on relatively minor details that weren't central to the story, that kind of writing happened as I was actually coding hotspots. Stuff like that wi just depend on how you work best.

Good luck!