General Gaming News and Discussion

Khane

Khane

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I think I misread your post. It sounded like you were saying that the video posted above looked like 6-7 years worth of work.
 
Ravishing

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Khane said:
I think I misread your post. It sounded like you were saying that the video posted above looked like 6-7 years worth of work.
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I'm really not defending the guy at all. There could be shadiness, he probably spent a bulk of the money on himself/food/lodging.
After the Kickstarter % he was getting like 20K/yr I guess

Basically I think he took some extended breaks which is why it is 6-7 years of development, not unheard of for someone to need breaks to combat burnout. I assume he has a real job. I personally work on my stuff about 10-15hrs/week. This guy sounds like he cranks away and burns himself out then takes a break or goes through some personal drama.

In terms of the game, he does have quite a few "large" systems that could take a decent amount of time.
It might not look like much, but what I saw was:

Inventory+Items: Big system for any game+infinite time can be spent depending on # of items created
Abilities: Huge system + infinite time can be spent depending on # of abilities
Mob/AI system: Huge system+ # of mobs
Crafting system: More time consuming than the Inventory system
Any progression/stats/multiple playable characters
Multiple worlds/levels

World Assets & UI Assets look purchased from a marketplace, maybe didn't spend much time there tbh.




I just went through his Kickstarter and it mostly aligns with my thinking, though I got a little more background now... looks like he outsourced the Art. If he's a bad businessman, he could have easily been ripped off here, artists can be expensive. I also wouldn't be surprised if he had a lot of excuses/downtime "waiting" for art assets.

Risks and challenges
You could write a pretty big book about the risks and challenges that come with making a video game. Let's go over a few, shall we?

Challenge #1: Programming
I dedicated years of my life to teaching myself programming so I could tackle this challenge. Programming is the most important part of a video game. You can have a video game without art, but you can't have one without programming! It's difficult, it's tedious, and it's expensive as hell to find a good programmer. Luckily I apparently have a knack at it and can pretty much handle everything that comes my way. And if for some reason I don't know how to do some of the legwork myself, it's alright because I know how to manage other programmers and then integrate what they make into Soul Saga's source code! I have enough confidence to say I could program the remainder of Soul Saga within 3 months if I have all the finished art assets. Which brings us to...

Challenge #2: Art
What a general term when it comes to videos games... Art can really mean anything like concept art, 3D characters, animations, environments, particle effects, sound effects, or music. So when I tell you games need Art, let's just say that it's easier said than done. Not only do things such as concept or character models have to be the same style, every single piece of art that I have just listed needs to be the same style as everything else. This means you gotta be picky. When you're as stylized as Soul Saga, maintaining a consistent style is one of the most important things. This means that my options for artists are narrow, and that gets a little pricey. However, I have so far been successfully able to gather a portfolio of like-minded artisans that produce high quality work within a reasonable budget.
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TL;DR: It looks like he bit off a LOT more than he can chew, and it's unlikely that he consistently worked on this for 6-7 years straight.
 
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a_skeleton_05

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It took the guy that made Kenshi something like 12 years to do, half of which was solo, the other half with a very small team. He made it work by working a job while working on the game until he had enough momentum with early sales to allow him to quit his job and hire a few people.

The kickstarter guy was either a fool or a conman.
 
Khane

Khane

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When you ask for funding from normal avenues you have an obligation to have done due diligence, not be a first timer "learning as you go", have a reasonable time and money estimate, and expect that it is your actual job from now on.

Using "Well he probably was learning as he went like I am" and "Well he probably had a day job" shouldn't fly, for any investor. The problem is, kickstarter is not an investment, it's a gift. And people do what you're doing now by justifying it as a side-hobby dream rather than what it is. The guy took $195k. At that point it better be his full time job and he better know what he's doing before he sets off down that path.

I can appreciate that you, as a hobbyist, think it would take you a monumental amount of time to do what he showed in that video. But for me? As a software developer for the last 15 years? That video, especially with all the tools available nowadays, looks like about 6 months worth of work. That video is a joke...
 
Ravishing

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Khane said:
When you ask for funding from normal avenues you have an obligation to have done due diligence, not be a first timer "learning as you go", have a reasonable time and money estimate, and expect that it is your actual job from now on.

Using "Well he probably was learning as he went like I am" and "Well he probably had a day job" shouldn't fly, for any investor. The problem is, kickstarter is not an investment, it's a gift. And people do what you're doing now by justifying it as a side-hobby dream rather than what it is. The guy took $195k. At that point it better be his full time job and he better know what he's doing before he sets off down that path.

I can appreciate that you, as a hobbyist, think it would take you a monumental amount of time to do what he showed in that video. But for me? As a software developer for the last 15 years? That video, especially with all the tools available nowadays, looks like about 6 months worth of work. That video is a joke...
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Oh I see, well I don't know how he got 195k to begin with lol, I'm mainly just trying to justify the time spent vs what was shown.

Some large systems that can eat away at your time depending how much you plan you chew off + I assume he took breaks.

But yea, I agree if you get almost 200k.. or any money really, you should have reasonable timeframe to deliver.
 
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a_skeleton_05

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www.polygon.com

Mass Effect lead writer joins ex-BioWare vets at new Wizards of the Coast studio

Drew Karpyshyn is now part of Archetype Entertainment
www.polygon.com www.polygon.com

Lead ME1/2 writer is working on:

Archetype’s debut project is described as a multiplatform role-playing game “set in an all-new science fiction universe that will send players on a story-driven epic where choices they make will have real consequences on how their story unfolds.” The property will be set outside of Wizards’ Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering franchises.
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Tarrant

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Oh, fuck right off with this.

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Ronda Rousey inks exclusive Video game streaming deal
 
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Kirun

Kirun

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Noodleface said:
I would fuck Ronda right in here big juicy ass so I'm ok with it
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She seems like the kind of chick who doesn't shower often in her "normal" life. Ratchet chicks are the fucking grossest. I'm betting she has a smelly asshole (smellier than a normal asshole).
 
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Lanx

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Kirun said:
She seems like the kind of chick who doesn't shower often in her "normal" life. Ratchet chicks are the fucking grossest. I'm betting she has a smelly asshole (smellier than a normal asshole).
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she has yellow feet
2E758CCD00000578-0-image-a-20_1448247933112.jpg
 
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a_skeleton_05

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Lanx said:
dom thinks saying she has yellow feet is racist
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Nah dude, that's just likely a combination of a blood circulation syndrome and whatever chalk or whatever they use for better traction. The colour should be on the entire foot and not just contact points if it's a skin thing.
 
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