Cloudy Heaven Games’ Top 10 Tips for Making your First Game

1. For your first game, choose a tool you’re familiar with. Don’t add extra variables to your project by trying to learn a brand new platform. If you haven’t done any development before, try a tool like Game Maker Studio, Construct 2, or Game Salad.

2. Set a reasonable scope for your game. Don’t set out to do huge game projects on your first try, especially if you have limited time and resources. A lone developer working a full-time job and juggling family responsibilities will probably not be able to create the next World of Warcraft within the space of a year. It’s ok to be ambitious, but realize that the longer and more difficult the game development process, the higher risk you run of burning out and not finishing.

3. Do play-testing as soon as possible. You can demo your game to friends, or attend game dev events that let you display your game to attendees (look for conferences and events in your area). It’s good to watch people play the game, so you can see how easily they learn the game, and how they react to it. You can also post demos and solicit feedback online. IndieDB.com is a great place to post demos and news about your game.

4. Write a game design document (GDD)! A game design document will help you to flesh out your idea and forces you to think through your design decisions. If you’re working on a team, the document will help make sure everyone knows the end goal. The document doesn’t have to be hundreds of pages. You can make it as long or short as you need it to be!

5. Prioritize and track your tasks. If you have a GDD, you can use it to map your game features to actual tasks. Decide how important each feature is, so that you know what tasks are most critical. Then, if you find you’re running out resources or a facing a tight deadline, you can cut the least critical tasks and features. Keep track of your tasks in a spreadsheet or other tracking tool. You can find more information and a sample tracking sheet at http://bit.ly/1Nj8BJQ.

6. Keep track of lessons learned as you develop your game. Each time you fix a bug or solve a problem, make note of what you did. Then if the issue pops up again, you’ll know how to fix it, but hopefully you won’t even make the same mistake again!

7. Promote your game before the release. Share development progress and news, online and in progress. Before the release, you can use the publicity to garner feedback and improve your game based on suggestions. Once the game is available, you’ll have a built-in audience ready to play!

8. Be flexible. Plans and ideas will change, and most software development projects don’t go as originally planned. Some features might not work as well as planned, or you might run short on time and need to scrap a few items.

9. Release a free version of the game, if it’s for mobile. Android users in particular are less likely to pay for games upfront, unless the game is from a well-known publisher. iPhone users supposedly are more willing to pay, however. Consider using Amazon’s Underground service, which allows users to play games for free, and pays developers for each minute played.

10. Avoid burnout. Game dev is a tough process; don’t let it wear you down! Take breaks whenever you need to, and step away from problems for a little while. Ask for help when you need it. Most software tools and languages have at least some documentation and community support. And don’t be too self-critical! It’s stressful and demotivating. Burnout is a top reason why many developers never finish their first game.

Contact and More Information

We hope these tips have been helpful! If you want more information, we have a more in-depth presentation available at http://bit.ly/ReleaseAGame.

You can also visit our website at cloudyheavengames.com, and follow us on Twitter @CloudyHeavenGms.

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us at contact@cloudyheavengames.com

Play Our Games!!

To find out more about our games, get updates, and play demos, visit our Indie DB page at http://www.indiedb.com/company/cloudy-heaven-games.