

Starting a Game - sled
http://www.eddiescholtz.com/entry/starting-a-game

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Impossible
Great advice. There are two prototype videos of my game Shadow Physics on
youtube (<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb5DjyoDObA>), which is the popular
one that demonstrated the concept to the wider public and gained enough
interest to secure funding and allow me to work on it full time. The other is
the original 3 day prototype I hacked together during TIGJam
(<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcjxo9svhxw>). Not as impressive to anyone
but myself, but it proved that the tech and concept were viable and got the
entire project going.

These were both made after about a year of me talking about how awesome the
game would be, but of course no one quite got it until they could see it in
action. The power of a strong prototype is immense.

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benihana
The shadow physics idea is awesome and brilliant. What a great, creative idea.
The only word that comes close to describing it, is "tight."

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derefr
Does this advice apply to games that aren't so much fun, as addictive (i.e.
Farmville)? I'm guessing most people would watch a gameplay video of a social
game in boredom, not seeing the draw to it, and would need to play it
themselves to "get it."

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sled
As always, don't consider this advice to be a golden rule or silver bullet.

Separating fun and addictive can be really tough. I think many people show
signs of addiction when playing their favorite games (which are probably the
games they say are most fun). Just because you don't think Farmville is fun,
doesn't mean it's not fun for someone else. Even if we assume that the tens of
millions of Xbox owners all dislike Farmville, that's only a small subset of
the hundreds of millions on Facebook.

Also, browser games can sometimes be less complex than a 3d AAA PS3/Xbox game
that's built "from scratch". If users need to play it to "get it", you might
be better off skipping the video and moving straight to creating a prototype
that showcases the addictive features.

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johnnyjustice
Is it me or do prototypes seem more attractive then the actual glossed up $60
game?

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Goladus
I haven't played any of these games, but it makes sense in a couple ways.

For one thing, a prototype can suggest something compelling without
necessarily delivering everything. I found this particularly true in the Limbo
example. I found myself intrigued, thinking about the idea of a whole game
that worked like that. It was strongly suggestive. But the reality is that
it's just a short clip, the rest of the world doesn't have to actually exist.
The ultimate release is likely to to make a variety of tradeoffs to realize
the suggestions, which imagination doesn't have to worry about.

For another, a prototype only has to appeal to a limited group of people. The
important part is selling or proving the concept. Customers represent a much
wider array of tastes and while many will be drawn to a good concept, artistic
elements are important too. If you're the sort that's more attracted to a
clever concept than the overall experience, a prototype is more likely appeal
to you in particular.

