Is there a "Creators Checklist"?

[111zzz]

Hello.
I'm wondering if there is a creators checklist available or the basic steps to follow, in creating a visual novel.
Of course all approaches will differ but maybe there are some general rules.

My thoughts are;

Work on an idea.
Select and learn a VN engine.
Write the story.
Develop the artwork and characters.
Develop the music and voices [if needed]
Start adding the pieces into the game engine.
All fairly straightforward.

But then...
At what point is it wise to;
Submit previews,
Submit demos,
Release a completed copy,
Sell or get support via the patron/subscription sites.
Also where might be good places to do all these things?

Lots of questions there.
I'm hoping some of the seasoned creators might be able to share their experiences on these matters.
Thanks.

[parttimestorier]

You're asking such a long list of broad questions that I think it will be really difficult for anyone to give you helpful answers. A whole lot of this will vary wildly depending on the particulars of the project. For instance, in your first list you have the programming as pretty much the last step - but personally, my process is to write the story and then do as much programming as I can with placeholder assets before doing anything else. This is because I'm a writer and not an artist, and doing the programming first helps me figure out exactly what I'm going to need before commissioning someone else to do the art. But maybe if I was also an artist, I would do the art before the programming - it all depends on what skills you have and what makes sense to you.

I think the answers to your second set of questions will all depend on the specifics of your project too. How and where and when you market it will probably change based on things like the genre of the story, as well on how your development process is going and how much you have to show people. If you're just thinking about starting your first project, then I would personally recommend just focusing on getting some work done on it first in whatever way works for you, and worrying about all the details of what else you're going to do with it later. It will be a lot easier for people to help you and give you advice if you can be specific about what you've done so far, what problems you might have encountered, and what your goals are.

[111zzz]

You're asking such a long list of broad questions that I think it will be really difficult for anyone to give you helpful answers. A whole lot of this will vary wildly depending on the particulars of the project...

Thanks for the reply.
Yes you're right. The order of that first list will depend on the creators preferences and mood of the day even.
I was hoping if there was something I've left out that someone may add it in.

The set of questions below that is where I'm at, at the moment.
I'm a quarter way through my game. It breaks up into 4 parts quite nicely.
I have the first part or level done to where I'm happy with it.
So I'm wondering, is it advisable to release that part as a demo or preview or to push on and finish it all first.
It's my first attempt and I didn't want to make any glaring rookie errors.

It's probably a preference thing again, as you mentioned. That's fine.
Just wanted to check if there was an 'industry standard' like a lot of other creative fields.

Thanks again.

[Imperf3kt]

Regarding releasing a demo or preview, what are your goals for your project? If you're aiming for commercial release, it may be too early for a demo, as later into the game you may dramatically change some aspect. If it's a game you're releasing for free, it might still be too early, but it could help build a following. Of course, you'd have to be prepared to continually update your social media with meaningful updates or people will lose interest (especially if the game is crowd funded, after a while people demand blood)
Are you prepared for additional marketing duties on top of what you're already doing?

[111zzz]

Regarding releasing a demo or preview, what are your goals for your project? If you're aiming for commercial release, it may be too early for a demo, as later into the game you may dramatically change some aspect. If it's a game you're releasing for free, it might still be too early, but it could help build a following. Of course, you'd have to be prepared to continually update your social media with meaningful updates or people will lose interest (especially if the game is crowd funded, after a while people demand blood)
Are you prepared for additional marketing duties on top of what you're already doing?

Thanks for the insights.
My long term goal was to go via the Patreon/Subscribestar model rather than direct sales.
Although I haven't looked too far into any of those options yet. [including Itch etc]

Yes, the whole marketing and promotions side of things is almost a full time job on its own.
I'm coming from a photography/graphic design background so I've had some experience there.
I was [naively?] hoping there was a way to just produce something and place it somewhere.
But that's not how the internet works, I know.

Appreciate your thoughts.

[parttimestorier]

I was [naively?] hoping there was a way to just produce something and place it somewhere.
But that's not how the internet works, I know.

That is actually pretty how much itch.io works! It's very friendly to developers and easy to use. If you decide you want to release a demo soon, I bet it would take you less than an hour to make an account on there, upload the build, put a few other things on the page, and publish it. It's just that there's also a ton of other stuff on there, and people probably aren't going to notice it if you don't also market it other places.

[puppetbomb]

I'm assuming that the issue is that you're having trouble with figuring a timeline of when to start advertising in relation to when release date of the game?

I asked a friend who released a couple of games in an attempt to start up a game company for their thoughts about this. Their advice was to put out a trailer/website asap and see how many people are interested. You'll need promotional material anyways, and if you can't catch anyone's attention before you have a game, you won't catch anyone's attention when you do.

[111zzz]

I was [naively?] hoping there was a way to just produce something and place it somewhere.
But that's not how the internet works, I know.

That is actually pretty how much itch.io works! It's very friendly to developers and easy to use. If you decide you want to release a demo soon, I bet it would take you less than an hour to make an account on there, upload the build, put a few other things on the page, and publish it. It's just that there's also a ton of other stuff on there, and people probably aren't going to notice it if you don't also market it other places.

Thanks for the tip, on itch.io.
That sounds like a good approach.
I'm finished with part 1 of 4 parts so it could be easily done, the way you've mentioned.
Cheers.

[111zzz]

I'm assuming that the issue is that you're having trouble with figuring a timeline of when to start advertising in relation to when release date of the game?

I asked a friend who released a couple of games in an attempt to start up a game company for their thoughts about this. Their advice was to put out a trailer/website asap and see how many people are interested. You'll need promotional material anyways, and if you can't catch anyone's attention before you have a game, you won't catch anyone's attention when you do.

Yes and at what point to release previews and demos. When part finished or on completion.
Your friends advice is sound. Thanks for asking around.
That's part of the riddle...
Release something prior to completion.
Or wait til it's done and release the whole thing.

Generated interest would be motivating for sure.
It may be wise to get a few people to test it first as well.

Thank you for your help.