Hey guys! So far I’m loving the features and community of the roblox dev forum. I see so many people on here who all want to help each other and it’s pretty cool. When it comes to game design I have no clue where to start. I have a few questions.
How do good developers maintain a good schedule and organize their projects?
How do you stay motivated and satisfied with your work? I’ve made SEVERAL iterations of my main menu and just can never feel satisfied and it takes me about 3 hours every time I re do it. At this point it’s getting exhausting.
Do you need to build games in the order they’re played? Because I feel like I need produce the game in the fashion the player would progress through it.
Any help regarding these questions would be appreciated! Thanks!
Personally, and I know this is true for many of us I just program whatever is on my mind at a time and try to incorporate it onto whatever im currently working on, this way im able to focus on a project in addition to fulfilling my brains demands.
Its always good to regularly test your game / project, for example when I was making a CSG knife I spent a good hour in total trying to dissect different parts, this personally gave me the motivation to keep going.
I tend to build games in the following order
Systems > Gameplay > Front end
Although you could argue this is just the same order of what parts of programming I enjoy the most
The key to scheduling (for any activity) is having realistic expectations. I often overestimate my ability and end up stressing myself out to meet unrealistic deadlines. Plan according to your abilities, not according to your fantasy. Apps like Asana can help keep you accountable to your schedule.
Recognize the importance of working for short periods of time! Your efficiency goes down the longer you work. Additionally, taking breaks frequently allows you to get perspective on your work.
If you’re working with other devs, it goes without saying that collaboration is key. Everyone must be involved in the conceptual and organization stage. Otherwise, you’re going to have some surly conversations when some devs can’t meet the deadlines that you made for them.
Start small and work your way up. When your projects are small, you can find more satisfaction when you finish them (and they’ll be easier to finish!). You can then use the experience from these smaller projects to work on larger projects. I’m going to echo my earlier point about taking breaks. When you’re stuck on something for at least 45mins, it’s time to clear your head. Get up, walk around, play some games, etc. If you still want to continue, work on another part of the project. When you come back to the difficult part, you’ll see it with fresh eyes.
You can build games anyway you want! Personally, I like to split development into development type. I build all my assets first. Then, I build any structures and terrain. Then, I script any assets that need scripting. Then, I add gameplay scripts. The last step is adding music and UI.
Keep on developing! It gets easier the more you do it!
I feel this order is slightly flaws, however thats just my preference.
The reason I feel its important to script systems first is it will tell you if the project is actually feasible within Roblox / if your less experience within your ability. I would hate to spend weeks building a map then finding out the idea I had is impossible to pull off.
I agree! That’s why it’s important to determine feasibility during the planning stage. Once you have a project that is comfortable and well thought out, you should begin. At that point, any feasibility problems will be the result of an overestimation of your abilities.