😱 This Gamedev Mistake Will Cost You YEARS
You'll NEVER finish your game if you can't overcome it!
Happy Mystery Monday! In today's newsletter:
You'll learn about a fatal mistake every amateur gamedev makes
And you'll learn how to overcome it and prevent it in the future
This week we finished the first draft and concept artwork for our community game.
So, how did we make so much progress so quickly?
We began with a solid vision in mind: a clearly defined premise, setting, number of characters and locations, and a story no more than 10,000 words in length.
Yet, despite that vision, the first draft ended up being 25,000 words.
That's 250% more content than we had initially planned!
And while it is impressive to have written 25,000 words so quickly, it perfectly illustrates one of the most fatal mistakes of game development: scope creep!
Why Does Scope Creep Occur?
Creative people, especially game developers, tend to be highly ambitious.
Naturally, we take inspiration from our favorite games we played growing up.
But those games were almost always the products of large teams — with even larger budgets.
And so, when we're just starting our careers in game development, we have a natural tendency to shoot ourselves in the foot.
Mystery game developers are especially prone to making this mistake.
Games like Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, and Umineko all consist of multiple "cases" or "episodes", which makes it tempting to design a game of equal or greater length.
However, the harsh truth is that creating even a single mystery takes an incredible amount of time and resources — especially for a beginner.
Just ask any mystery novelist if it makes sense to write a four-part series for your first book instead of a small standalone mystery.
Or ask a filmmaker if you should create a TV series before you’ve made a short film.
I think you know what they would answer.
The Problem With Scope Creep
If you’re not on a tight deadline and you haven’t made any promises, then scope creep technically shouldn’t matter.
But that’s also why so many hobbyists overlook it.
When your priorities change from “making your dream game” to “delivering a quality product to your customers” then scope creep quickly becomes your biggest problem.
The worst thing you can do is promise your fans you’ll finish a game that has an unreasonably large scope.
And when you set up your fans with huge expectations, you set up yourself for psychological torture.
You feel horrible for not finishing the project, but you’d also feel horrible if you were to suddenly give up and let them all down.
There is seemingly no winning move.
In our case, going from 10,000 words to 25,000 words isn't too much of a difference.
But what if you'd planned on a 100,000-word story instead?
Extending the story up to 250,000 words could take months or even years.
That's because you also need to factor in time for draft revisions and story changes — not to mention all the graphics, sounds, and programming.
Especially if your game involves choices and branching paths, you’ll be lost in a sea of words trying to fix plot hole after plot hole in your game’s sinking ship.
Thankfully, we thoroughly reviewed our outline to squash any plot holes early on.
Remember: it's much easier to change 1,000 words of the outline than 100,000 words of the story!
How Should You Handle Scope Creep?
Your gut reaction is probably succumbing to the sunk cost fallacy by committing to the increased scope, but at the risk of continuing to increase the scope even more.
After all, most people will do anything to avoid making themselves look bad.
But based on my own experience, the best solution is just being honest.
Acknowledge to your audience that you've bit off far more than you can chew.
Then scale it down:
Reduce the amount of words in your story.
Cut features and levels from your gameplay.
Decrease the number of animations and songs.
Remove anything unnecessary for the minimal gameplay experience.
You might be afraid to disappoint your audience — but you'll disappoint them even more by leading them on.
It's better to be straightforward about the issues you are facing.
People are more sympathetic when you’re honest about why things aren't working.
They realize you're just a small studio with limited time and resources.
Your fans — especially if they are fans of mystery games — will be searching for a logical explanation.
If you keep them confused and in the dark, not only will they lose your trust, but they will come up with their own theories and speculation as to what is going on.
The trust of your fans is one of your most valuable assets — do not neglect it!
And going forward, do your best to prevent scope creep from happening again:
Set clearly defined limits and deadlines based on your capabilities
Track your progress toward your goals and reduce scope rather than expand it
Save some of those unfinished features for your next game
Remember: under-promise, over-deliver. Not the reverse!
Thank you for reading!
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