Where Do I Start?

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T4R4F13D
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Where Do I Start?

#1 Post by T4R4F13D »

So, I've had an idea for a game for a year or so now, and I don't know where to begin. I know how to code, and I'm doing all of my own assets. It's a dating sim with 6 love interests, and prefereably a very in depth story. However, I have NO clue where to even start. Can any veteran creators lend a hand? Or even new ones?

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ComputerArt.Club
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Re: Where Do I Start?

#2 Post by ComputerArt.Club »

Start at the beginning. Start where ever. Just start, starting is the hard part.

For my current project I started at the start, did the code and art for the start and then started testing and developing key features in my game and checking the visual appearance. Now I have tested most the mechanics that I need for the start I will go through and replace my tests with first draft code, and the full body images with my final layered and animated images. I will code single use mechanics as I go.

There is no wrong way to start, just keep making progress. :)

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morinoir
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Re: Where Do I Start?

#3 Post by morinoir »

If your game doesn't have any gameplay or it's a basic visual novel, I would suggest start from script because it's the foundation of story based game like visual novel. You can find how many assets you will need from it, such as character sprite, their expressions, how many background you will need, and decide the important events where CG is necessary.

Honestly, I think for first project your scope is a bit too big. 6 love interests with very in depth story will need a lot of effort and a long time to finish for solo developer. If you have the will, go for it. But I suggest cut the number of love interest into 2 or 3 for starter so you'll know what it takes to finish a visual novel.

Good luck with your project!

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Re: Where Do I Start?

#4 Post by parttimestorier »

morinoir wrote: Sat Jan 19, 2019 10:22 pm Honestly, I think for first project your scope is a bit too big. 6 love interests with very in depth story will need a lot of effort and a long time to finish for solo developer. If you have the will, go for it. But I suggest cut the number of love interest into 2 or 3 for starter so you'll know what it takes to finish a visual novel.
I think this is pretty good advice. Unless you already have experience trying to write long branching stories, it can get overwhelming really quickly. Doubly so if, when you say that it's a dating sim, you mean that there are things like stat-raising that might also lead to more and more variations you need to write and keep track of. You could absolutely try, but it might be better for you to start out practicing some of the skills you'll need for a longer VNs by writing one on a much smaller scale.

You could scale down this idea, or you could put it on the back burner for a while and do some other shorter idea first! I got started with a couple game jams, and that seems to work for a lot of other people as well. The time limit should keep you from getting too grandiose with your ideas, and the fact that a lot of other people are also participating and working towards finishing a game around the same time can keep you motivated. A few of the yearly popular ones with VN devs are Nanoreno, yaoi jam, and yuri jam, if you want to look into it more.

All that being said, if you decide you want to just go for this idea right away, I also agree that starting with writing the script makes sense. If you don't know how to write the opening scene yet, start with a scene later on that you have a lot more ideas for, and then keep going from there with whatever works.
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Re: Where Do I Start?

#5 Post by PeterKmiecik »

I've worked on some projects made from scratch and also pitched and developed my own idea in bigger studio.
The approach I'd maybe recommend is: create a 'game pitch' or 'one pager'
Google that for more info ;)

Basically these quite specific documments require You, to flesh out ideas and needs quite early on, also its really good way to keep You on scope of the project.
This is a place I'd start from.
Bonus: You can show these to other developers and get some more constructive opinions on Your game. The Info they'd get is enough to get good first impression and see, if the idea have some hooks.

That's for more general "make game" approach. VN's rely heavily on story, so if You don't really plan to make crazy gameplay thing and want to just kinetic VN for e.g., focus on script first then.

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Re: Where Do I Start?

#6 Post by Mutive »

I started with something very simple. Like, literally just, "Let me design a five minute game and see how long it takes" simple.

I enjoyed the experience, so went for something longer...then something longer still.

I probably wouldn't *start* with a 6 LI game (as that's...a lot. And if you find you hate the process, you're stuck with nothing.) I might create a not-very-involved story for one of the LIs. If at the end, you're like, "This is great! I want more!" then you can flesh it out and add the other routes.

Alternately, if you're like, "This was the WORST thing ever and took 200xs long than I thought it would!", at least you have something you can post, show off, enjoy (whatever you're hoping to get out of it).
Enjoy Eidolon, my free to play game at: https://mutive.itch.io/eidolon, Minion! at: https://mutive.itch.io/minion or Epilogue at: https://mutive.itch.io/epilogue

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