Question on how to approach development
Posted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 2:48 pm
Currently after a break due to personal reasons, I have begun working on my main project again with a renewed passion and with an eye to create a team to development and potentially release it as a commercial product by the end of the year. However, given that my project is most likely going to be extremely lengthy in terms of story (something I was aware of from the beginning). Because of this, I have hit a crossroads on how I want to approach the development.
My original process was to split the story into two commercial products, one establishing the setting with three branching routes and the final game expanding on the true end of each of these routes. As you can see given the original idea was so large I deemed it necessary to split the story. I saw this as the most feasible option given that it'd introduce the world, establish an audience, would reduce the risk of me burning out on the project and if the game did not sell well, it would be wrapped up enough as a narrative that in a creative sense I'd be fine with dropping it.
However after discussing with some fellow developers recently at length, I've also begun to question this method. They have been stressing to me that I should in fact use an episodic format, which would arguably build an audience and a commercial return more consistently, as well as allow me to release the game more frequently (albeit the parts of the story would be smaller). My main issue with this is that I doubt I would be able to retain team members for this long, considering the scope of my story, which also makes me want to stick with my original plan.
I have completed projects previously which I haven't released, but they were very small and also mainly 3D based. I do have the story planned and ready to write, but I don't want to commit to such a large project without having properly considered all options since I will at the very least finish the first story arc/the first game. I would also be my first commercial project.
TL:DR, do any of you have experience with large scope projects and/or episodic development? If so, are there any common pitfalls I should avoid and practices to take into account? And is there anything else I should take into consideration before fully commiting to a plan and trying to recruit? Any discussion on the topic is welcome.
My original process was to split the story into two commercial products, one establishing the setting with three branching routes and the final game expanding on the true end of each of these routes. As you can see given the original idea was so large I deemed it necessary to split the story. I saw this as the most feasible option given that it'd introduce the world, establish an audience, would reduce the risk of me burning out on the project and if the game did not sell well, it would be wrapped up enough as a narrative that in a creative sense I'd be fine with dropping it.
However after discussing with some fellow developers recently at length, I've also begun to question this method. They have been stressing to me that I should in fact use an episodic format, which would arguably build an audience and a commercial return more consistently, as well as allow me to release the game more frequently (albeit the parts of the story would be smaller). My main issue with this is that I doubt I would be able to retain team members for this long, considering the scope of my story, which also makes me want to stick with my original plan.
I have completed projects previously which I haven't released, but they were very small and also mainly 3D based. I do have the story planned and ready to write, but I don't want to commit to such a large project without having properly considered all options since I will at the very least finish the first story arc/the first game. I would also be my first commercial project.
TL:DR, do any of you have experience with large scope projects and/or episodic development? If so, are there any common pitfalls I should avoid and practices to take into account? And is there anything else I should take into consideration before fully commiting to a plan and trying to recruit? Any discussion on the topic is welcome.