Reaching the Next Level

This article is for all the aspiring developers such as myself who want to pull themselves up from the bottom and make truly great games; I recently checked a book out from the library that I’d like to recommend. It’s called Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. The premise is simple, what separates world-class achievers from the rest of us isn’t simply hard work or innate talent. Rather, it’s the ability to apply the concept of deliberate practice to your craft. Colvin describes deliberate practice as a form of work which meets five criterion:

1. It’s actively designed to improve performance
2. It can be repeated a lot
3. Feedback is continuously available
4. It is highly demanding
5. It isn’t much fun

First and foremost what’s interesting about this advice is that it’s so obvious. In fact, in one form or another people have been saying it for a while. However, I think it’s worth spending a moment to translate these steps to game development.

Challenge yourself

It’s obvious isn’t it? Stop making the same games over and over! Think that collision detection is really tough, then make a game which requires you to write a collision detection system. By pushing yourself in this manner you’ll expand your comfort zone effectively opening up new vistas for game design in the future.

Don’t bite off more than you can chew

We all have some grand game in our heads, you know the MMORG which will finally knock Blizzard to #2. However, for now it’s better to shelf that idea and concentrate on simpler ideas which can be completed in a few months. For instance, a game like Karl’s Kards is perfect in its scope; it’s something one man can complete over the course of a few weekends. Complete your game and move on. Assuming you follow the first rule, each game will give you valuable experience and make you a stronger developer.

Feedback, feedback, feedback

The sooner you finish your game the sooner you can push it out to a broader audience for feedback. I’m not simply talking about feedback on the gameplay mechanics but also feedback on your style of game development and design. We all need as much feedback as we can get and there’s no way to know whether our games will be well received or even find an audience. By releasing games at a fast clip you can spread the risk and correct course early. The worst thing imaginable would be to create awesome games that no one wanted to play!

Game development is supposed to be fun

I love to make games, actually scratch that. I love to make the first 80% or so of games. After that it’s a total pain! I’m sure you’re familiar with the 80/20 rule and I can assure you it’s true and applies to game development. For Shade I had a working prototype four months ago (yikes!) and a polished game two months ago. Still, it took two more months to really put a shine on things and I’m still not 100% satisfied! What I’m trying to say is that at a certain point you can’t keep ignoring that weird non-fatal bug or that poor UI experience, and unfortunately fixing all these things is a huge time sink and not nearly as fun as exploring new gameplay mechanics. Still, part of creating a finished game requires addressing the nitty gritty details.

Conclusion

Let’s put this all together. To reach the next level as a game developer you need to apply the concept of deliberate practice to your craft. If, like me, you’re a weekend warrior then it’s certainly tempting to rush off and code fun little demos each weekend, leaving a trail of half finished projects in your wake.

But, stop right there! When you set about your next project start by laying down some accountable goals. Create a schedule which roughly outlines your plans for development. Pick an idea which is intentionally outside your comfort zone. And please, please, bust your butt until you’ve got something your proud to show off!

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• Introducing Shade