Overcoming Creative Block in Game Development
If you’re a new game dev facing creative block, Epic Games’ technical designer Sam Bass has some words of advice. With three decades in game development, Bass knows a thing or two, and he’s sharing his wisdom online in a monthly series called Make Your First Game with Sam.
Building a Gym for Core Systems
His second entry deals with development. His key recommendation? build a gym (you might also want one of the best laptops for game development).
“For instance, if you’re doing a platform game, you’ll want a gym focused entirely on jumping that is both your testbed and your model experience,” he says.
“In Unreal Engine 5, you could quickly knock a gym together with the modeling tools. These gyms are also a great way to introduce new team members to the core concepts, give QA a solid testbed within which to work and—with a little spit and polish—could even become your demo or tutorial level.”
He has a word of warning, though: make sure your gyms are representative. “If your jumping gym is an entirely different experience to your actual level design, it’s not going to be very useful, so make sure that both are going in the same direction,” he recommends.
Setting Goals and Staying Focused
Sams also stresses the importance of setting goals to aim for once you have a concept. He says that these can change, but they help to give a structure to the process. He suggesting thinking about where you’d like to be in three months, six months, and then a year.
“Evolving goals are great, but make sure to watch out for random rabbit holes too,” he says. “Maybe you watch a video on procedural generation and become fascinated. But is any of that relevant to the game? Does it help you make the game right now? If not, maybe table it for later”
Systems Design
When it comes to actual systems design, he says beginners should start with some questions: how will we implement them? how do we want these things to work, and how much flexibility do we want? This should help you develop your ideas until you have the framework for your system and the design comes into focus.
Conclusion
Sam’s advice offers a valuable insight into overcoming creative block and staying focused in game development. By building a gym for core systems and setting goals, you can create a structured approach to your project and avoid getting sidetracked by random rabbit holes.
FAQs
Q: What is a gym in game development?
A: A gym is a simple, focused environment that allows you to test and evaluate a specific game mechanic or system.
Q: Why is it important to have a representative gym?
A: A representative gym ensures that the testing environment is similar to the actual game, making it more useful for evaluation and iteration.
Q: How do I set goals for my game development project?
A: Set goals for where you’d like to be in three months, six months, and then a year. This will help give structure to your process and keep you focused.
Q: What should I do if I get sidetracked by a new idea or feature?
A: Table it for later and make sure it’s relevant to your current project goals. Avoid getting distracted by random rabbit holes and stay focused on your objectives.
