Nutso - Getting Close to Finishing

I'm getting pretty excited. I have the last couple of puzzles to implement and then I'll be ready for beta testing and polishing.

Hopefully, everything I've done in the last few days will work properly - I have yet to test it all as it takes so long to do so. Every time I make changes that involve new objects or new variables, it messes up my save files so I have to start from scratch again. I've gotten into the habit of implementing huge chunks by thinking through the logic and then testing it out in one huge splurge. Most of next week is probably going to be taken up with testing.

Scout Commission

I was contacted by a very enthusiastic person from Portugal who wanted a drawing of Scout. I created the drawing you see here and sent him the original as well as a high quality print of the coloured version, for which he was very grateful.

If anyone else has any requests for specifically created drawings or prints, please contact me and we can discuss rates.

Why Bad Games are Bad - article at Eurogamer

(I would have linked to the original article but the site seems to be down.)

Eurogamer has a piece reporting on an article by David A. Rodriguez in which he "explains" why bad games are that way. While there is an element of truth in what he says (and certainly, publishers should appreciate the skills and experience that a development studio contains), to paint publishers in the light he does isn't going to win him very many friends. If the customer is always right, why is he trying hard to antagonise that customer and drive them away?

Without doubt, publishers are a lot of hard work and there are plenty of times when you don't want them to interfere with the game you're creating, but as it's their money paying for the project they have a right to be happy with its progress. In order not to find yourself in the situation of being told what to do and what changes to make, the developer should work with the publisher in a way that enables them to maintain as much control as possible.

For instance, if there are issues with a certain gameplay element not working, make sure that you come up with an alternative or a way of making it work before the publisher tells you what to do.

Also, if you build your schedule so tightly that there is no room for adjustment based on publisher feedback, then you've only got yourself to blame when they ask for changes that have a serious impact on the schedule. We all know that the publisher is going to want changes at some point, so if you don't have provision in the schedule for that you're always going to struggle to finish the game on time.

Ultimately, though, if you want to develop good, original games without publisher interference, the only way that you are likely to do so is by not having to rely on the publisher for funding. Taking an independent approach is not simple or easy, and may not guarantee good games, but at least you can be sure to have control over the content. And that's when you'll find out if you can really make a good game after all.

720 Games

As part of an attempt to showcase our up and coming games, Tony Warriner and I have been putting together a new site called 720 Games. Although there's only a limited amount to see at the moment, please check it out and be sure to return for regular news and updates.