The 8 common mistakes you should avoid when developing an indie game
If you are about to start the great project of developing an indie game, this article is for you! Read carefully as you are about to discover the 8 common mistakes you should not do when creating your indie game.
Creating a game just to sell
Creating an indie game is not just about selling. Your target audience needs to enjoy playing the game if you wanna taste the sweet savour of success. Make sure you know your audience and incorporate your audience’s feedback into your project!
Wanting to be number 1
Don’t try to copy one of the top games that already exist. Build your own and see what happens. There are players for every game. The more unique your game is going to be, the higher potential there is. Express your creativity and don’t compare your game to others.
Thinking too large
Of course I am not saying you should not think global and address various countries. But don’t start too big. It’s better to first produce a beta version that works properly with no bug than having many elements in the game but not working.
My advice is to release a first beta version and then improve it.
Not testing
When you develop an indie game, you are not making it only for yourself. You goal is also that others like the game. When you have a beta version of your game ready, launch it and ask for beta players to play and test.
This step will even help you enhance the existing features and player experience based on real feedback. We even discovered bugs thanks to beta players.
To give you an example, the side menu has been modified based on the feedback of friends or players who discovered Wazana.io on social media.
So keep on testing….
Neglecting feedback
Learning from experience is key to your growth. It’s great to have people test your game but you should also listen to them and reconsider some design elements or UI. I am not saying you have to add everything to your game without thinking properly to see if it’s necessary and good for your game but you have to listen to them and maybe reconsider some design elements. Accept feedback gracefully because I found that you will move faster through your work than those who do not.
Going too fast
Don’t forget to keep a good life balance when working on your project. No need to work yourself to death. Take breaks and control your stress level. Don’t underestimate the power of breaks for your brain and your body.
Inventing the wheel
Alone or with a small team you don’t want to lose time when developing your game so try to use as much plugin or code available online to make your job easier and make your game ready a lot faster.
Giving up
Last but not least, keep yourself motivated; finish what you have started and be proud of what you have created. Game development is complex for sure but the learning experience is paying off. And one of my mottos is: you will never succeed if you don’t try.
Misleading how much time you need (This is a bonus one, the 9th that we decided to add after we asked you on Twitter)
« Misleading how much time you need to get something done [is a challenge] probably! While still learning to make a thing happen, you don’t usually think that so many issues could arise. So time management is hard as a beginning.. » @VolseonsTheGame
It is a very hard task to forecast the time you will need in order to have a working game. Their is no rules becuse it is really depends on the project, your team capacity and the technology you use. But you can be sure you will encounter a lot of unexpected issues which will always push your deadline further.
Thanks for reading. Let me know what are your thoughts on this. Happy to discuss more with you!
Valentin, founder of wazana.io
Article initially posted on Wazana.io blog
