tjheldna Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Hey all, Having reached a stage in my game where all core features are coded, levels being steadily being constructed and all aspects are being polished/optimised. I'm looking into the distant future of my game and the question I ask is.... what do I do next? I have never reached a stage in developing a game which is looking like it will be finished and want to start preparing for when it it is. The questions I have are...... What do I do with the game i.e is it a good idea to sell your first title or should I just get my name out there and make it a free download? File hosting where?(it's around 750mb currently and I'm estimating about a Gig when finished). How do I promote it? How do I protect my work? is it necessary? Should I release a build for the community to test? Any other things I need to be aware of? Too many questions!!! Cheers 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassius Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I would release a partial build for community to test. or ask a friend who plays games to give you an honest opinion. "would you buy this game" being the question. Quote amd quad core 4 ghz / geforce 660 ti 2gb / win 10 Blender,gimp,silo2,ac3d,,audacity,Hexagon / using c++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I favor the open beta approach to build a following. Steam's Greenlight system gives you a way to track progress. You also want to get your game into the hands of game reviewers and bloggers. When the game has some traction with the public, that's when you might consider hiring an agency to promote it. What you need first is early users and feedback so you can adjust easily to what people want. Not unlike making a game engine. 1 Quote My job is to make tools you love, with the features you want, and performance you can't live without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamecreator Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Definitely Google for it but I think gamedev.net also has a few articles (though I couldn't find them on a quick search). Also, post mortems tend to be very enlightening as far as successes and mistakes made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjheldna Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 I think I am in need of peoples opinions, I had a guy from work have a quick shot at it and from that came about a weeks worth of work of changes. I've been looking at it for soo long it's hard to tell if a feature is good/fun or intuitive (as I just found). I guess when I think about it I never really planned on making a profit from this, I just want to create a game that people want to play. So I think that's decided on. Its playable now so... if I focus on finishing the in game tutorials, main characters and aim to have 2-3 levels more or less finished I could give myself around a month for an open beta, bugs an all. **** that's scary but exciting at the same time. I really have to bite the bullet soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassius Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Do a demo for the community to check out. Quote amd quad core 4 ghz / geforce 660 ti 2gb / win 10 Blender,gimp,silo2,ac3d,,audacity,Hexagon / using c++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carve Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I have some hosting ideas for distribution; 1) Torrents 2) FTP type connection (similar to how Leadwerks SDK installs, with a key system) 3) Buy a cheap but reliable seeder box - coincides with #1. 4) I have some webhosting through the company I work for, can provide at-least 1 mirror, possibly 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Kill Kenny Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Also check out Desura Quote STS - Scarlet Thread Studios AKA: Engineer Ken Fact: Game Development is hard... very bloody hard.. If you are not prepared to accept that.. Please give up now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixel Perfect Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Whilst I don't really have any suggestions that haven't been offered by others already; may I just say congratulations! What a great situation to find yourself in and good luck with whatever decisions you finally take. I look forward to seeing it. Quote Intel Core i5 2.66 GHz, Asus P7P55D, 8Gb DDR3 RAM, GTX460 1Gb DDR5, Windows 7 (x64), LE Editor, GMax, 3DWS, UU3D Pro, Texture Maker Pro, Shader Map Pro. Development language: C/C++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjheldna Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Thanks guys and thanks pixel, I've been working on games for at least 8 years and never finished a single one. Mainly due to the project being too ambitious for a sole developer and not realising it until a large amount of time has passed. This game has come together very quickly with Leadwerks and I'm very happy with the ease of use of the engine. I checked the limits with my host and it seems it probably would be enough for a beta version. It will be a little while yet till I need hosting, but thanks for the offers as I may just use them in time. I'm hoping for around mid Feb to have this game done. There are still a few things I can't work out currently but the good thing is they aren't critical. I'll probably do some Q & A in the forums a little later. Thanks Again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassius Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Yeah sometimes a game can be too big for a single person to handle. In my game there are two problems. The terrain is too big, theplayer trudges around a long time with not a lot happening.The other problem is the lakes/rivers are not deep enough. Quote amd quad core 4 ghz / geforce 660 ti 2gb / win 10 Blender,gimp,silo2,ac3d,,audacity,Hexagon / using c++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjheldna Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share Posted November 11, 2012 This is also in status updates but anyway here is the same link to my game in development. Hope you enjoy! Sorry no sound in the video, however there is sounds implimented =( ..... Thanks Josh and STS Desura and Greenlight look worth while. I just need the time to put it together now! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Red Ocktober Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 the background for the menu items... that plain yellow... it's a placeholder... right... (i just realized that this is a view from alpha stage testing) --Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixel Perfect Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Looks very polished ... nice work! Quote Intel Core i5 2.66 GHz, Asus P7P55D, 8Gb DDR3 RAM, GTX460 1Gb DDR5, Windows 7 (x64), LE Editor, GMax, 3DWS, UU3D Pro, Texture Maker Pro, Shader Map Pro. Development language: C/C++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjheldna Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share Posted November 11, 2012 Cheers guys, nothing is safe when it's in an alpha stage =). I guess I didn't really put enough importance on the look of the buttons, I'll put it on the sooner list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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