Hey all, this is my first post and Im happy to be here! Well over a year ago I started in on my first major game development project with a good friend I met on the failed free MMORPG Graal. Graals sudden crash into gaming infamy set us on a course that eventually led to the founding of this project Eternal Destiny Online. It started well, with a big influx of staff from some of graals old servers, and more and more pressure began to exert itself on me as the game designer. I loved to work on the game, and enjoyed creating what I considered to be creative and inovative game concepts. I still consider them exellent and the staff of EDO will probobly agree with me. But after this inicial success the darker side of game development dawned onto me. I tried creating descriptions and stats for the many basic household items that we would need like kitchen knives and plows. It was then I found all the creative energy working through my veins begin to fade in the bordem of such basic tedious work and i would become easily destracted so all work would stop. I tried to keep going, but I just couldnt, I didnt have the willpower. I was refered to this wonderful site by the friend and producton partner that I originally started work with and now I come asking you for help, What can I do?

Sounds like a classic case of "Loves the fun stuff, hates the real busy work" syndrome. Honestly, I''d say just try and suck it up and get through the tedious stuff. No matter what job you do, you''re going to get stuck doing some pretty boring repetitious crap work most of the time.

-This is where the world drops off
-ryan@lecherousjester.com

I suggest that you try to balance out the dull stuff with the fun stuff. Maybe design one fun part, say a monster, and then 6 bits of dull stuff (plows and whatnot). With a little discipline, you''re golden.

look on the bright side - there are FAR worse things than plows and pots.

quote:
But after this inicial success the darker side of game development dawned onto me. I tried creating descriptions and stats for the many basic household items that we would need like kitchen knives and plows. It was then I found all the creative energy working through my veins begin to fade in the bordem of such basic tedious work and i would become easily destracted so all work would stop. I tried to keep going, but I just couldnt, I didnt have the willpower.
I was refered to this wonderful site by the friend and producton partner that I originally started work with and now I come asking you for help, What can I do?

Maybe make such "boreing, common, and basic objects" have hidden uses...maybe a barbarian can use the plow as a uber weapon or some such...put "easter eggs" into them...find some angle that makes them exciteing for you...

Another thought, and this may seem obvious...if, you the designer, find such items tedius, and loathsome to work on...gamers may find such iteams pretty dull as well...For good or bad, the additutes and excitement you have while developing a game can be reflected in the finnished product...If you can''t find some way to build excitement over developing such basic items...maybe they shouldn''t even be in the game?

Thanks guys, i never really looked at it like that, i sorta though of "creative dismemberment". It still has to be done though, jobs and stuff are a major part of this project, its jsut the things are so simple anyone with a little bit of commmon sense can do them. Thats what really got me, the time it took for something so small and insignificant to be done.

quote: Original post by MSW
Maybe make such "boreing, common, and basic objects" have hidden uses...maybe a barbarian can use the plow as a uber weapon or some such...put "easter eggs" into them...find some angle that makes them exciteing for you...

Why does this bring up memories of the exploding furniture in Goldeneye for the N64? You know, the furniture that the Janus Syndicate was using to smuggle C4 into North America... erm, well--that is the best explaination I have seen thus far on why chairs, tables, etc., explode when shot.

(And Dake Desian Confusion ensued)

that''s silly... everyone knows that C4 doesn''t explode if you shoot it (even with a flamethrower). it is very stable stuff...

The best games in the world, I am convinced, are filled with easter eggs. Even if it''s inter-company-humor that no player in the world would understand, put little stuff like that in.

-This is where the world drops off
-ryan@lecherousjester.com

When you dream, how many objects are there just for realism?

Don''t design a database, design a game.