So I’m working on a merge game, this is a variant where you buy blocks that are “sliding” on a “personal” conveyor belt, and then placing them on your plot where they generate money.
The original idea was to use blocks, but now later, I’ve realized blocks is kinda boring and probably no one will click on a merge game with just blocks when they can click on other games with nukes or black holes which are much more interesting.
The problem is that I’m completely on my own, and I don’t really wanna spend money on hiring a modeller. I do have some experience in modelling and I even started with making some voxel-styled fishes in studio. However, it takes me an hour just to make one fish, and I’m planning making around 50 of them. PLUS I also probably have to rig AND animate them which will bring my total time making the fishes up to 75 hours.
So that’s why I ask you what i should do, should continue using the blocks, is it worth the time modelling, and if so what? Or should i spend money on a modeler?
never spend 75 hours modeling 50 assets for an unproven game loop. that is the ultimate solo dev trap and how u burn out.
cubes are boring, sure. but paying a modeler for a prototype is a waste of money. ur best move right now:
use free CC0 assets (like kenney.nl) or just slap high-quality 2D decals on simple meshes. skip rigging entirely. u don’t need complex animations for a merge game. just use TweenService to make the models slightly bob or scale up/down when they move.
prove the merge mechanic is actually fun and retains players first. if the game blows up and makes robux, then u hire a modeler to replace the placeholder art. build the game, not the fish.
Think twice before creating yet another “fishes/merge/conveyor belt/plots generating money” game. Either:
It needs to be clearly unique, than what we had before on Roblox.
Or at least must seem like it is clearly yours on the whole Roblox platform (even if the idea is not really original, but you still need to be somewhat smart about it to clearly differentiate your game).
And I am being serious… Otherwise, months or even years of development can easily be wasted.
Focus on an MVP - a highly simplified version of your game that still has that core fun intact (without game-breaking bugs of course).
Simply, a video game is made out of 4 parts:
Game Design (the core fun comes from it)
And then the implementation of the game design:
Graphic Design (appealing visuals)
Motion Design (appealing movements)
Programming (functionality)
You focusing mostly on the fishes does not necessarily mean that the other parts were given enough time to focus on. Think holistically about your whole game and produce an appealing MVP.
