Methodology-1 – High-level features log
I have been using the concept of product backlog to build my game and this was the most useful organization tool for me. The benefits were numerous: it gave me a framework for my design decisions, it was an handy tool for planning and estimating workload but the key to me was that it helped me stick with my actual priorities. As always, I am not saying this is best practice… not even good practice… so I can say it is a practice that worked from me. Can it help you?
What is a high-level features log?
Here is the link to my Features Log if someone feels it can help. I have defined it based on my professional experience.
The concept of my feature log is quite obvious. I have listed in rows every features the game should have and I have used one column for each milestone for the project. This way I can list what is needed for the prototype milestone and then what I should add to my game to release a playable demo etc…
For instance, you can see below, I need to find and set a ‘hurt sound’ and a ‘die sound’ for my player before releasing a first “T3STR” demo. I have found a basic pickup sound which is ok for this first step, but I will need to come back to it and adjust it before releasing my second demo.
I have tried to keep my features log simple (=high-level) but as a beginner I needed some granularity to really appreciate the remaining workload. Hopefully, others could go for higher level log. You will find in there, the menu, the GUI, the player, the enemies, the pickups… I have separated programming and all the assets needed for arts, sounds… because I like programming and I can spend all my time on code and lose track on what needs to be done for art… at the end of the day, you cannot release your game without proper sounds and fx.
It ends with a simple reporting, which counts what is done and what is left for each milestone. This is to help with planning and understanding your productivity.
The log and scoping
The main value out of my features log really came from one preliminary exercise I did 2 weeks after I started my game: the scoping. This is when I decided what my game will include and the steps for me to get there. Back then, I sat, fully dedicated to the task of selecting the most important features of my game, to draw the path that I would follow for the next 9 to 12 months. Why is that so important ? Well it is to me to keep focus on priorities.
Let me explain. I love programming. I love cool stuff. And this is very dangerous when you build a game alone and want it to actually hit the market. It goes like this: you have programmed 75% of your game and you are now dedicating time to art, you suck at pixel art and you are getting crazy spending hours on a sprite for it to just look like a pile of …potatoes. To get some inspiration you wander on pinterest, twitter, forums, and find a discussion on blurring shaders for background, you look to the code to understand… and the next thing you know you have programmed it in your project. It felt great, seeing the shader actually work gives you a sense of achievements…but you have just spent one hour on developing a nice-looking feature and have not done any progress on what your game actually needs. And if you only have 1 hour per day on this, and if this occurs several times… well you could lose a considerable amount of time. And as you all know, time is our most limited resource. So in that sense, having a log wil give you a clear view on what your game needs… For the rest you should not spend time on it.
Now this is a candid vision, because when you are stuck in a project or are sick with it, it could be a solution for some of you, to gain energy and motivation before working again on the project. On my side, I feel it is better to stop for a while and play other games or even better show your game to friends or family.
So, for me, with my objective to only focus on what matters, the feature log was the best tool. I just had to be very rigorous when defining features and setting priorities (because yes it lives and evolves), be bold when taking decisions, and cut as much as possible, focus on the core of my game, and then I had my road set and ‘just’ had to follow it. Does other have difficulty to stick to their priority, manage their time and schedule ?
Dead Clones game making 