There's a folly that many a budding amateur designer falls prey to when starting out, and that is the folly of ambition. They have these grand, sweeping visions of complex games that simultaneously entertain and emotionally affect those who play them. Games which have a main storyline that is over 50 hours long and sidequests that push the hours count into the hundreds. The problems with this is that with such ambition comes a price, and generally that price is motivation. Few independent game developers end up finishing games of such amazing complexity due to the massive amount of time required. However, there are ways to both avoid this overambitious thinking as well as turning it to your advantage.
This topic of ambition ties into one of the points of the design discussion in an earlier Independent Minds. The points is that of designing games from the top going down instead of from the ground-up. While one can be overly ambitious without falling within this fallacy of top-down design, it's a classic symptom of the disease of too much ambition. If you find yourself designing your game like it is a big-budget, triple-A title, stop yourself and take a step back. Find the parts that you can cut out. Look for underlying concepts that can be used instead. Oftentimes a single concept taken from an overly ambitious game design can prove to be a great game in of itself. So don't just discard your ideas. Refine them!
There are exceptions to every rule, and the top-down approach does indeed have its exceptions. The most notable is Tarn Adams' incredibly complex fantasy simulation Dwarf Fortress. An incredibly ambitious project, it succeeds purely based on Adams' incredible organizational skills. In short, he takes those small concepts that could really be in a single game and focuses on them each in turn rather than attempting to attack the entire project at once. This modular focus is the key to succeeding on an ambitious project, but really only works with very small teams and requires a specific kind of person to work. It's not suggested, but it is definitely possible.
Another huge problem with ambition is that is leads you to believe that you need a large team to complete your particular project. The rule of thumb is this: if your project would require over four people, chances are it's too ambitious. The best team size for indie games is one, but sometimes in the case of larger or more involved projects you will need more people. Alternatively, if you can't do graphics, coding, music, writing, or any more development tasks, you may have to find someone who can. Just don't overdo it and get 3 musicians, 5 programmers, 4 artists, 3 writers, and 2 designers. That's way too large!
On a reverse note, don't let the rule of thumb scare you off from attempting projects you would not be able to do alone. A classic collaboration in the indie world is that of artist and programmer. One person does graphics and animation, and another person does the actual code behind the game. Another classic collaboration is a developer and musician. A two-man team dynamic is great for creating games you wouldn't be able to tackle alone. Just don't let it go to your head.
Another folly of ambition is that of attempting to take a niche game's market. A niche market for a particular kind of game is where that game appeals to a specific set of people and nothing outside of that group. Games like Culdcept Saga or Space Rangers 2 fall squarely into their niche markets and do very well. However, some indie designers make the mistake of saying to themselves "well, I can do better than them!" and attempt to directly take on the game in that niche. It's a very bad idea and a waste of time on the part of the designers to make a game so much like the other game in the market they are appealing to. When all things are equal, consumers will look at the game that has been out longer and has more players, not the game that has just come out.
On the flip side, if you genuinely think that you have something new to bring to a stale market, do it! A good example of a stark contrast between games in the same market would be that between Warcraft and Command and Conquer. They both have base-building, resource collection, and unit management. However, both games are different enough in setting and gameplay to be interesting to a specific kind of person within that market. Don't be afraid to make innovations on games that came before. Just don't make a carbon clone of a game that makes precious few innovations at all.
The final folly, and the only one without exception, is that of funding. As an indie game designer, you don't get funding. Your funding is paid for out of your own pocket. This gives indie developers a unique stake in the success of their game. A publisher can weather a bad release with relatively little fuss. An indie developer that has a bad release will ruin their career. Furthermore, don;t attempt to secure outside funding. It's not worth the time, effort, or subsequent responsibilities that external funding entails. By paying for it yourself, you can make your game, not the game your backers want you to make.
All of these are classic symptoms of over-ambition. The great thing, though, is that when one is noticed doing these things, they can easily be knocked out of it. Make sure to let somebody who shows these symptoms that maybe they should re-evaluate the project with a more objective and critical eye. The worst thing that a developer can do is get stuck in a feedback loop regarding ambition. No great games are made that way!
For more coverage on indie games and the scene, keep an eye out for Indie Showcase at the same bat time, same bat channel. Also check out Freeware Friday and our indie category for some excellent freeware games and indie news, respectively.
There are exceptions to every rule, and the top-down approach does indeed have its exceptions. The most notable is Tarn Adams' incredibly complex fantasy simulation Dwarf Fortress. An incredibly ambitious project, it succeeds purely based on Adams' incredible organizational skills. In short, he takes those small concepts that could really be in a single game and focuses on them each in turn rather than attempting to attack the entire project at once. This modular focus is the key to succeeding on an ambitious project, but really only works with very small teams and requires a specific kind of person to work. It's not suggested, but it is definitely possible.
Another huge problem with ambition is that is leads you to believe that you need a large team to complete your particular project. The rule of thumb is this: if your project would require over four people, chances are it's too ambitious. The best team size for indie games is one, but sometimes in the case of larger or more involved projects you will need more people. Alternatively, if you can't do graphics, coding, music, writing, or any more development tasks, you may have to find someone who can. Just don't overdo it and get 3 musicians, 5 programmers, 4 artists, 3 writers, and 2 designers. That's way too large!On a reverse note, don't let the rule of thumb scare you off from attempting projects you would not be able to do alone. A classic collaboration in the indie world is that of artist and programmer. One person does graphics and animation, and another person does the actual code behind the game. Another classic collaboration is a developer and musician. A two-man team dynamic is great for creating games you wouldn't be able to tackle alone. Just don't let it go to your head.
Another folly of ambition is that of attempting to take a niche game's market. A niche market for a particular kind of game is where that game appeals to a specific set of people and nothing outside of that group. Games like Culdcept Saga or Space Rangers 2 fall squarely into their niche markets and do very well. However, some indie designers make the mistake of saying to themselves "well, I can do better than them!" and attempt to directly take on the game in that niche. It's a very bad idea and a waste of time on the part of the designers to make a game so much like the other game in the market they are appealing to. When all things are equal, consumers will look at the game that has been out longer and has more players, not the game that has just come out.
On the flip side, if you genuinely think that you have something new to bring to a stale market, do it! A good example of a stark contrast between games in the same market would be that between Warcraft and Command and Conquer. They both have base-building, resource collection, and unit management. However, both games are different enough in setting and gameplay to be interesting to a specific kind of person within that market. Don't be afraid to make innovations on games that came before. Just don't make a carbon clone of a game that makes precious few innovations at all.
The final folly, and the only one without exception, is that of funding. As an indie game designer, you don't get funding. Your funding is paid for out of your own pocket. This gives indie developers a unique stake in the success of their game. A publisher can weather a bad release with relatively little fuss. An indie developer that has a bad release will ruin their career. Furthermore, don;t attempt to secure outside funding. It's not worth the time, effort, or subsequent responsibilities that external funding entails. By paying for it yourself, you can make your game, not the game your backers want you to make.
All of these are classic symptoms of over-ambition. The great thing, though, is that when one is noticed doing these things, they can easily be knocked out of it. Make sure to let somebody who shows these symptoms that maybe they should re-evaluate the project with a more objective and critical eye. The worst thing that a developer can do is get stuck in a feedback loop regarding ambition. No great games are made that way!
For more coverage on indie games and the scene, keep an eye out for Indie Showcase at the same bat time, same bat channel. Also check out Freeware Friday and our indie category for some excellent freeware games and indie news, respectively.
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