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The Right Time To Release Game Info To The Public

davidthefat

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    • 437
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    15
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    • Seen Mar 3, 2012
    What would you say is the right time? As soon as you get the general idea of the game? Once you actually start on the game? Once the game has significant progress with videos and screenshots? When the game is around 50% done? 75%? 95%?

    I believe it should be "released" when it is at 95% progress or even done. I believe that if you release any info before the 50% mark, you are just making false promises and when your wheel starts turning again because of all the ideas pouring in from the fans, you will never get it done. You should have already done the things you announce, but one can argue, if you set goals, you are more likely to reach them. What if I say just keep it to your self on your "to do" list and not tell the whole world?


    This is a very serious discussion, flame age will not be tolerated
     
    A project shouldn't be showcased until the developer is proud of their work.
    If you have a game where you have everything except the menu or something coded, but are happy, well then feel free and post it.

    Personally, I don't showcase anything that isn't "hard coded"- as in actually in code in the game. I show the Calis Projects Staff any work I'm doing to get opinions on what I'm doing right or wrong, but never showcase a project to anyone else until I'm happy with it and wouldn't be embarrassed to show anyone I know that it is my project.
     
    Pretty much, yes. Don't announce you're even making a game until you've got something to show for it (preferably a half-decent demo, which given the nature of Essentials is quite easy to knock up), and then keep at it. If you can make a couple of decent screenshots, you've certainly got enough material with which to make a dozen more plus maybe a video. A demo is just one small step beyond that, honestly - remember that demos don't have to show every single final feature and graphic you're going to end up using - having it give us the gist of the game works just as well.

    One thing I can't stand are the majority of the games in the Showcase at the moment with dozens of pages of support but only have a couple of screenshots and a list of features. I understand you want to drum up support and excitement for your sliced bread-beating creation, but if you're not releasing something significant (i.e. another demo which is twice as good/long as the previous one, or indeed the final product) within a couple of months, don't bother. For these games, the argument that "announced goals means I'll be motivated to finish it" absolutely doesn't work.
     
    For my final project for my AP class, I did "3D Image Generation From An IR Rangefinder", on paper its very simple, but I did not manage to fix the major runtime error. On the day of the presentation, I went up with nothing to present, feels like I made false promises... The truth was I was done with getting the data from IR rangefinder, and done with the 3d Image generation, but the communication is where it broke apart. I have used stdio and fstream before and it was no problem, but when I use it for something very important (70% of my grade) it chooses not to work. That is why I do not like telling people my plans unless I am done, you never know what to expect.

    edit: here is what disturbs me, I see a lot of games with this introduction "Hi, Im _______ You may remember me from my previous projects _______" That really disturbs me... If you weren't able to finish your previous projects, what makes you think you will even finish this one? its probably going to get canned like the other ones... Don't post unless you got something good to share.


    not hating on anyone, I myself have past false promises, like the Pokemon RTS I was gonna do for the project, but I found the IR rangefinder project to be more productive
     
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    I like that poeman.. lmao OBJECTION!!! lol But seriously I think you shouldn't release anything untill u have something more than 50% and dont post a thread unless your sure u can handle feedback cause PC users kill alot of games by not showing support or just bashing an idea without a valid reason or ways to improve it... So I guess I agree with poeman... Not until you have something playable... I do however think its okay to post teasers and advertisments for games that are atleast 30% done
     
    davidthefat said:
    edit: here is what disturbs me, I see a lot of games with this introduction "Hi, Im _______ You may remember me from my previous projects _______" That really disturbs me... If you weren't able to finish your previous projects, what makes you think you will even finish this one? its probably going to get canned like the other ones... Don't post unless you got something good to share.
    Click to expand...
    lol. It's okay kid, I wouldn't have expected any better.
    Children are so spiteful these days.

    I know, I've done this. The only reason I ever stop making something though is when real life intrudes.
    Because surprise, real life is more important than Pokémon games.
    Reef died solely because I started one of the hardest years of study in my life.

    If you think otherwise, you're ignorant. You can't possibly know the story behind absolutely everyone's failures and broken promises.
    You broke promises because you were lazy or stuffed up? That doesn't mean everyone else does.

    I'll admit lots of people make far too many threads. Lots of people should probably put thought behind what they make.
    But who are you to decide who has and hasn't done this?
    Thinking a game has no progress because they haven't posted screenshots is ridiculously dumb, especially if it's not in showcase.

    I for one work with sheets upon sheets of planning on paper before I even consider opening RMXP. You know, actual planning?
    So yes, I make a thread and have no screenshots to show, but I've still put more effort into my work than half the developers who post a thread with a few mediocre screenshots and absolutely no planning to show for it, which inevitably dies a week later.

    So yeah, ignorance, bad perception and a horribly false sense of superiority seem to plague some users as much as being lazy and letting a project die does.

    Just my thoughts on the topic. :)
     
    Last edited:
    Ravecat said:
    lol. It's okay kid, I wouldn't have expected any better.
    Children are so spiteful these days.

    I know, I've done this. The only reason I ever stop making something though is when real life intrudes.
    Because surprise, real life is more important than Pokémon games.
    Reef died solely because I started one of the hardest years of study in my life.

    If you think otherwise, you're ignorant. You can't possibly know the story behind absolutely everyone's failures and broken promises.
    You broke promises because you were lazy or stuffed up? That doesn't mean everyone else does.

    I'll admit lots of people make far too many threads. Lots of people should probably put thought behind what they make.
    But who are you to decide who has and hasn't done this?
    Thinking a game has no progress because they haven't posted screenshots is ridiculously dumb, especially if it's not in showcase.

    I for one work with sheets upon sheets of planning on paper before I even consider opening RMXP. You know, actual planning?
    So yes, I make a thread and have no screenshots to show, but I've still put more effort into my work than half the developers who post a thread with a few mediocre screenshots and absolutely no planning to show for it, which inevitably dies a week later.

    So yeah, ignorance, bad perception and a horribly false sense of superiority seem to plague some users as much as being lazy and letting a project die does.

    Just my thoughts on the topic. :)
    Click to expand...
    Im saying plan in your private journals and stuff... Thats what I do and it helps a lot, sometimes keeps people from stealing ideas and stuff. I won't comment any further

    BTW this thread or post was in no way directed toward you as an individual, keep that in mind
     
    Well when I posted my project in the Drawing Board, I'd been working on it for nearly five months. By that point, it was the most advanced game there in terms of graphics, so I was pretty happy with posting it. Because I'd been working on it for that massive (in terms of fan games) amount of time, I could easily update once a week. This got me a mapper, spriter and scripter. Now in The Showcase, I update twice a month, and it seems to keep the thread in the first page for the time inbetween updates. Now, one year after I started the project, I'm releasing the demo in a couple of weeks. Maybe if everyone planned ahead like this, they could update often and have a demo.
     
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