[Discussion] Just Getting Started - A few questions

Hey Guys!

I just joined the forum after discovering it while looking up tips for developing my own fangame through Pokémon Essentials. Up until now I've had a VERY long-term idea in my head on what and when I plan on developing; however, I've realized now that I might have been a bit ambitious. If possible, I could use some feedback on my process.

My ideal goal was to make at least three games: A prototype game, a fantasy game, and a dream game.

- The prototype game is more of a personal test. I'd like to build a game from the ground up in PE, mostly reusing old trainer sprites and possibly only using Pokémon available in PE (I know there are ways to add more, but I'd like to avoid that if possible. I'm mostly just training myself on the basics). I'm making a region that isn't based on anything, with the plot points bare bones to facilitate an easy testing environment. It's possible I could come back to this later and turn it into an actual game; however I really want to just try and create something first rather than try to leap into one of my more ambitious projects if possible. I don't know if I'd even be able to publish it in its "finished" state. I just want to work on it until I finish something worth releasing or I feel like I have enough experience to build a better game. I'm currently making the prototype game as I go through Thundaga's tutorial videos, moving to the next video as I feel it's needed.

- The fantasy game is where I really want to try and create something unique. I'm particularly interested in a Pokémon region which takes place in a megacity. it could have multiple levels and sections, with an overarching narrative about ascending from the slums to the top of city. I would probably constrain myself to existing Pokémon, but probably make new characters and trainer classes. I don't know how original this idea is, but I'd at least give it a try myself.

- The dream game is my idea for building as close to a brand new Pokémon game: a region based on the southeastern United States, new Pokémon, and a completely original story (or as far as I can make an original story on my own). I don't see this game getting made anytime soon, as I have no experience in making my own assets, especially when it comes to sprites. I've already thought up basic ideas for the game: The starters (final stages) would be a grass/flying Pteranodon, a fire/electric horse, and a water/ground snake. The main themes of the games would be a struggle of urban vs rural, while also having an side-emphasis on transportation. My idea was to have two evil teams battle over turf throughout the story, with one trying to expand the city, while the other tries protect natural habitats by destroying human settlements. Another idea was to somehow tie terrain moves vs. room moves (while maybe creating a few myself to balance things out).

The reason I felt like I needed to post this is because its starting to get a bit overwhelming. While I've been working on my prototype steadily over the past couple of months, I really only work on it a few days out of the month at a time. With my spouse and I recently having our first child, this whole project may even have to take a back seat for months at time.

If you're still reading this, thanks. My question is basically this: Do I need to reevaluate my goals? This was never going to be something I churned out in a year or two; I was planning on playing the long game. However, am I biting off waaaaay too much and maybe just need to focus on getting prototype done before I think of the other games? Or perhaps I'm dragging things out and should turn the prototype into one of the other games to speed things up? I'm just not that sure what to do.

I also feel like I need to bounce ideas off of people to get my head in the game.

Does any of this make sense? Am I even posting this is the right subforum with the right tag? I apologize, I didn't quite mean for this to be nearly as rambly as it turned out to be.

I'll give you a straight answer: from my point of view, it actually IS an overwhelming amount of work.
I started my own fangame in March 2019 and up to this day I'm at 2/5 of the entire game development. This is mostly because my goal is to create something huge that requires a lot of time and effort. I have a written plot, a lot of characters, dialogues, events, secondary missions, secrets and a lot more.
It's a plot about life and death and the double face of many aspects of life, all transcribed into a Pokémon game.
Still, all I do i basically add things from the basics (I'm not able to create scripts or whatsoever) and do something creative with what I have.

Still, if you really, REALLY want to put your heart into this, then be sure of it. Creating a game is a wonderful thing: it gives you the opportunity to give form, voice, life to your own personal story. It will let you communicate with people in a way that is only yours; you are expressing a side of yourself through a game.
It's not something that you'll want to do half hearted.
But it's also hard and frustrating, and sometimes things that should work will not, and you will try to understand why for weeks before finding a solution. (This is not certain, but it may happen.)

Starting with a prototype isn't a bad thing if you want to test your ground and be sure about what you can or cannot do.
If you think that you don't have the skills: trust me, you don't need to be a genious. I'm a complete amateur and I made up something really cute and enjoyable.

All you need to know is if you have time, energy and committment to see this work through. Take all the time you need and don't stress yourself out, but if you ever decide to begin this journey, be sure that it will be long and impervious.

For whatever question or help you need, feel free to use this section. I'm here on this forum from a very short time, but there are a lot of competent people here that somehow will manage to help you out.

Thanks Captain Falinks!

I really appreciate the advice. I think after a day to kind of cool down and relax, I'm in a better head space to look over the forums. I think I'm going to do what you suggested and work on the prototype for now and possibly use its assets in other projects as a springboard.

I do have a few etiquette questions regarding posting in this forum, but since you're a new member too, I'm not sure if you would know the answer:

- Did I use the right tag? I thought at first it would be "Question", but the rules said those should be questions with objective answers,
- What exactly is the game idea tag used for? It says that "If you have an idea for a game, rather than posting it in the Games Showcase (to which it may be moved later if you decide you want to make the idea reality), you should post it here with this prefix." Does that mean you should only post it here instead of Games Showcase if you haven't started working on it, or you only post in Games Showcase after you've mostly finished the project?

Thanks again for the help! I hope I'll get a chance to play your game as well one day!

CyberDrewan said:

Thanks Captain Falinks!

I really appreciate the advice. I think after a day to kind of cool down and relax, I'm in a better head space to look over the forums. I think I'm going to do what you suggested and work on the prototype for now and possibly use its assets in other projects as a springboard.

I do have a few etiquette questions regarding posting in this forum, but since you're a new member too, I'm not sure if you would know the answer:

- Did I use the right tag? I thought at first it would be "Question", but the rules said those should be questions with objective answers,
- What exactly is the game idea tag used for? It says that "If you have an idea for a game, rather than posting it in the Games Showcase (to which it may be moved later if you decide you want to make the idea reality), you should post it here with this prefix." Does that mean you should only post it here instead of Games Showcase if you haven't started working on it, or you only post in Games Showcase after you've mostly finished the project?

Thanks again for the help! I hope I'll get a chance to play your game as well one day!

Click to expand...

"Discussion" tag is indeed the perfect one for this kind of post ^^

I think how you approach it depends on what your underlying motivation is. If you just enjoy working on the project, maybe the time you spend on it is a reward in and of itself - and if that's the case, it's not 100% necessary to finish it, as long as you are enjoying the process you can be as ambitious as you want. However if you really want to share a finished game with the community, the prototype route may be the way to go, especially if you still need to learn the ins and outs of RPGMaker and Essentials. A prototype should give you a good grasp on how various things can be implemented in your more ambitious project, as well as inform you what some of the limitations of the engine are.

To be honest though, it may be good to start networking with other folks on here if you plan to go big. Games are already quite complex and time consuming endeavors, but you really multiply the effort needed if you plan to do it all yourself. For example if you want to add pokemon or characters that don't already exist, you may need artistic ability to concept and flesh out their designs, in addition to creating sprites for them which is a related but distinct skill. If you want to add features that no one else has made already, that will probably require some knowledge of programming you may or may not have. Even writing a good plot is a skill you have to iterate on, it's unlikely you'll be able to make a compelling story on your first attempt unless you already have a background in writing (although maybe you could - Pokemon games don't usually lean too heavily on intricate stories). Basically, to do it solo you not only have to add time it would take to create all these additional things, but also account for time it would take to develop proficiency in the skills you need to create them to begin with. It can be a huge time saver if you can involve other people who already have some skill in one or more areas! The downside is, usually someone spending their own free time on your project will probably want some degree of creative control themselves too, unless they are being paid. :)

In my own experience, I have helped out with a couple of projects but none of them have been finished. I have my own stuff that I also tinker with, but don't have a solid plan for a game of my own. I just enjoy being part of something as a creative outlet from time to time, and while it would be nice to completely finish a game that's "my game", it is a huge time commitment that I'm not sure I'm ready for. I just have fun with it for now, which I think is what is most important!