I Created 4 Indie Games in 4 Weeks
A common exercise I see given to aspiring indie developers is the “one game a week” challenge. As the name suggests, you work on a single (and small) game over the course of an entire week and publish it at the end.
With this in mind, I’ve set out to perform this exercise for the next four weeks, planning out the following week’s workload at the end of each.
Each game will be a simple minigame such as an endless runner or a match game. The catch will be to try to make them as delightful as possible for the players despite their simplicity.
This will help me learn more about game design at its core and what constitutes a “fun” game.
Weekly Updates
This update details how I developed the first of my four indie games: Dough Boy Delivery! It includes difficulties encountered, lessons learned, and overall accomplishments.
Game development is full of bumps in the road. I encountered a big one when my computer broke down and had to be replaced! This sub-update fills those who were following the project in on my dilemma.
This update details the twists and turns (but mostly twists) of the development of Galaxy’s Edge Diner!
A smoother, easier, and more satisfying week than the previous two. The lessons I learned earlier helped me created a game all about a ghost who just wants some Halloween candy. Get full details on Ghost Fishing by reading the full update!
This week’s game Goodie Bandit was an absolute trainwreck! It was great! The lessons learned from its development proved to be the most valuable yet.
How I Managed My Time
I primarily used Trello to organize and review my tasks for each day. It contains a checklist feature that does a great job of keeping me motivated while also showing what tasks still need to be completed.
The first thing I did for each week was devise the game concept. After that, I listed out everything the game would need in order to function.
That’s where Trello came in. I created a column for each week and created seven cards for each (seven days). I divided all the tasks that needed to be completed between them in a checklist format.
Initially I would swap which group of tasks to work on each day (coding, visual design, etc.). But I found that development went much smoother when I grouped similar days together.
For example, if I spent two days writing the code, I would place them back-to-back on my schedule. This helped keep me focused.
It was important for me to not get too hung up on details or flaws in each game’s design. I have a tendency to want to immediately fix each problem as it arises. Even if it’s just a small one. But for the sake of time (and to avoid burn out) I placed the more minor problems on the backburner, treating them as finishing touches rather than high priority bugs.
Blog Posts
What Kirby Taught Me About Minigames
5 Thing I Hate Doing in Real Life but Love Doing in Videogames
How to Make Bad Video Games Like a Professional
What I Created
Here are the final builds of each indie game I created!
Dough Boy Delivery
An endless runner starring Dough Boy. He’s got to deliver pizzas and he’s got to do it fast! All while jumping over any obstacles that get in his way.
Galaxy’s Edge Diner
In the future where light speed travel is now possible, people expect their meals to be delivered to them just as fast! Poor Astrowaiter has to carry meals to the correct tables for tips. All while avoiding the “motivational lasers”.
Ghost Fishing
On Halloween night, everybody wants candy! Even ghosts. Use your fishing pole to hook treats as they float through the night sky to fill up your candy bag.
Goodie Bandit
Bon just wants some baked goods. But he doesn’t want to make them himself. Guide him through a series of traps on the tastiest heist you’ve ever been on!
What I Got Out of it
While the original purpose of this project was to show off my programming skills, it turned out to be far more educational than I originally intended! While working on this project I learned:
- How to plan out a game development cycle under a tight deadline
- How to judge between bugs that need to be fixed immediately and bugs that can be fixed later.
- That creating a bad game can lead to new ideas and strengthen my overall game design skills
- How to stay focused even when game development becomes a slog
Final Thoughts
It seemed like all the forces in the universe were trying to stop me from working on this project. I had intended to have it started and finished in August of this year, but everything from sickness to equipment failures delayed it for several weeks. Even so, I persevered!
At the beginning of the project, I fell into the trap of trying to go too big too soon, which led to some burn out. Fortunately, this taught me to keep things simple at first and add on additional features later (if possible).
If I were to do this project over again, I would start by replicating already functional game types, and spend the last few days of development working on unique spins to the gameplay.
While this mindset can lead to a terrible game (like the final week) it can teach a lot about what does and doesn’t work.
While my chronicles of this project are over, the challenge shall continue! With the lessons that I’ve learned from this process, I will continue to hone my skills. With each mediocre or unoriginal game I create, I will get closer to creating fun and memorable experiences for gamers!
Want to talk? Shoot me a message!
If you like what you’ve seen here or just want to chat, send me a message! You can contact me through the following:
Gmail: DavidAStaat@gmail.com
