Starting to develop a game can ether be simple or a complex process, that of course depends on the type and style of game you are making. regardless of that generally the process starts with brainstorming and mind mapping ideas which then leads into different type of documentation and prototyping.
For the title that I am currently in the process of developing, Its idea started a long time ago and it was strongly influenced after i read a trilogy of books called The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. That idea turned into a short story of my own as well as a “codex” of sorts with different types of items such as drinks etc. I guess this was world building really.
Unfortunately, I lost that document from failing to have a decent backing regime. Something that i have since corrected using a onsite back up and one online using a cloud platform.
So many years later, I have started the long painstaking process of redeveloping that idea from what i can remember at least.
One morning I woke thinking about this idea for a story and thought why not make it into a game? that was what I originally wanted to do after writing it as a story,. The shift in switching this up could be directly influenced by my “day job” however more about that another time.
The morning i woke up thinking about it i decided to open my phone and start jotting down ideas and what i could remember from my original idea, once that i had some ideas down i decided that I really needed to create a Game Design Document (GDD)
While i was writing the GDD i was considering my options for Game engine, My original idea was to prototype the game using RPG Engine just so i could have something working and have something achieved even if it was just something basic and that would act as a driving force for me to develop it further.
Beyond that i was then going to move development of it into Unity as i had heard good things about that engine until recent events, so after that I decided that i would make the Prologue entirely in RPG engine developing what i could and using plugs for the engine i have found online. I will of course credit these plugins as well as any other asset I use in the eventual game.
So with RPG engine MV selected i started playing around with it and getting a feel for the program and I have to admit that it is a pretty powerful little game engine, specially with a select few plugins.
Once i started getting a grip on the usage i took a step backwards, I went back to pencil and paper to do some prototyping on some level design.
One of the key locations of the prologue is the “Midtown” Tavern, its a multistory building that will connect into the sewer system of the town. I say “Midtown” as i haven’t settled on a name for the main city/capital where the player starts their journey. I have yet to design the 2F of the tavern.
I have created my 1st ideas in the game engine to see how well it flows and if there is any sort of limitations to the design, after doing so Im going to make the 2nd Ideas i had to see if they work out a little better.
That’s it, that is how I have started on this particular journey and as I delve deeper into its development I intend on sharing more of the progress on this blog as well as engaging with you the reader.
Until next time, Thank you for reading
-Wolf
LINKS:
Black Magician Trilogy – Trudi Canavan
RPG Maker MV – Steam