(I first posted this in the lounge but I think it belongs here more so I re-posting it.)I am starting the design document for a game I wrote the story to. Before I start really getting into it I have a questionaire for gamers and gamer developers, input is appreciated but you dont really have to fill out the whole form. working in the indie. environment - My biggest problem with recruitment is.... - The biggest indie. game development problem most people face is.... - People constantly leave and join teams because.... - I have found that the best way to test a person for reliability is.... - DO NOT.....! - ALWAYS.....! decision hierarchy: - Because of the limitations on designing and implementing indie. games it is often times important that in the pre-design phase you structure your game devices according to the game style. Please organize the following list according to your heirarchy preference; graphics story gameplay connectivity - If you were to design your ultimate game with no limitations restructure your heirarchy list - You have a choice where you spend your time; story, graphics and gameplay. what percentage of time do you spend on each? Independant design: - My biggest piece of advice to beginners is: - In my opinion, the biggest mistake beginners are unaware that they are making is most likely to be: implementation: - I choose a programming language based on its; a.) prevelance in modern programming b.) versatility c.) community support d.) ease of use e.) support of important functions - If I had to choose, I would prefer to have the _________ done first. a.) graphics b.) story c.) website - A(n) __________ is best suited to independant developing. a.) RPG b.) FPS c.) Strategy game d.) Action game Gameplay: which battle system appeals to you more?: - Quick paced shooters - stealth based shooters - a comination of quick paced and stealth based shooters(and percentage diffusion, i.e. 20%stealth, 80%shooter) - Active time battle (i.e. final fantasy) - semi-active time (ala parasite eve) - tactical (final fantasy tactics) - other (please give example) Game design: - Characters should be _________________. a.) as stylized as possible in the artists eye b.) as life like as possible c.) a combination of life like and stylized - Locations in a futuristic world should be: a.) High-Tech and well lit b.) Low-Tech and dark c.) High-Tech but dreary d.) Low-Tech but well lit - In a male character I most prefer __________________. a.) wimpyness b.) average strength c.) above average strength d.) extreme amount of strength - In a female character I most prefer __________________. a.) wimpyness b.) average strength c.) above average strength d.) extreme amount of strength - In a male character I appreciate his ________________ more. a.) clothes b.) weapons c.) looks d.) style - In a female character I appreciate her ___________________ more. a.) clothes b.) weapons c.) looks d.) style - I like my female characters __________________! a.) with big breasts b.) with big brains c.) with big guns d.) with a nice ass e.) Normal and relateable - I like my male characters __________________! a.) with big muscles b.) with big brains c.) with big guns d.) with ultra-charms e.) normal and relateable Those are my questions. Thanks for the help, no better place to ask! Feel free to add any thoughts.

- My biggest problem with recruitment is....not filling positions soon enough
- The biggest indie. game development problem most people face is....dedication and motivation
- People constantly leave and join teams because....they lose interest and/or faith in the project
- I have found that the best way to test a person for reliability is....ask them why they want to join the project in the first place. I also ask (mostly artists) to complete samples for the game's graphics and try to have as much early communication with them as possible to evaluate them
- DO NOT.....! MAKE ANOTHER MMORPG!!! Start small, build experience, and once you finish one project graduate to something a little harder.
- ALWAYS.....! Stay positive and open-minded. The direction your project takes may shift and you need to be flexible if that happens.

decision hierarchy:
- Because of the limitations on designing and implementing indie. games it is often times important that in the pre-design phase you structure your game devices according to the game style. Please organize the following list according to your heirarchy preference;
(3) graphics
(1) story
(2) gameplay
(4) connectivity

- If you were to design your ultimate game with no limitations restructure your heirarchy list
*same*

- You have a choice where you spend your time; story, graphics and gameplay. what percentage of time do you spend on each?
story - 20%
gameplay - 40%
graphis - 40%

Independant design:
- My biggest piece of advice to beginners is: know you are a beginner. Game programming is not an easy thing, even if you've been taking programming classes all throughout college (refering to myself here)

- In my opinion, the biggest mistake beginners are unaware that they are making is most likely to be: setting their sights too high. Be realistic with your goals.

implementation:
- I choose a programming language based on its;
a.) prevelance in modern programming - X
b.) versatility - X
c.) community support - X
d.) ease of use
e.) support of important functions

- If I had to choose, I would prefer to have the ____b____ done first.
a.) graphics
b.) story - X
c.) website

- A(n) ___ANS____ is best suited to independant developing.
a.) RPG
b.) FPS
c.) Strategy game
d.) Action game
ANS: I have no idea. I'd think you'd have to make all 4 of those yourself before you could make an educated pick

Gameplay:
which battle system appeals to you more?:
- Quick paced shooters
- stealth based shooters
- a comination of quick paced and stealth based shooters(and percentage diffusion, i.e. 20%stealth, 80%shooter)
- Active time battle (i.e. final fantasy) - X
- semi-active time (ala parasite eve) - X
- tactical (final fantasy tactics) - X
- other (please give example)

Game design:
- Characters should be ________c________.
a.) as stylized as possible in the artists eye
b.) as life like as possible
c.) a combination of life like and stylized - X

- Locations in a futuristic world should be:
a.) High-Tech and well lit
b.) Low-Tech and dark
c.) High-Tech but dreary
d.) Low-Tech but well lit
ANS: It depends. You can't say one will work well for all games and the others will suck

- In a male character I most prefer _________c________.
a.) wimpyness
b.) average strength
c.) above average strength - X
d.) extreme amount of strength

- In a female character I most prefer _________b________.
a.) wimpyness
b.) average strength
c.) above average strength
d.) extreme amount of strength

- In a male character I appreciate his ________d_______ more.
a.) clothes
b.) weapons
c.) looks
d.) style - X

- In a female character I appreciate her _________d_________ more.
a.) clothes
b.) weapons
c.) looks
d.) style - X

- I like my female characters ________e_________!
a.) with big breasts
b.) with big brains
c.) with big guns
d.) with a nice ass
e.) Normal and relateable - X

- I like my male characters _________e________!
a.) with big muscles
b.) with big brains
c.) with big guns
d.) with ultra-charms
e.) normal and relateable - X



This was a long survey. @_@

- My biggest problem with recruitment is Finding Coders
- The biggest indie. game development problem most people face is Keeping a team motivated
- People constantly leave and join teams because the project loses direction
- I have found that the best way to test a person for reliability is see the work they put into the game
- DO NOT make an mmorpg
- ALWAYS start small.
decision hierarchy:
- Because of the limitations on designing and implementing indie. games it is often times important that in the pre-design phase you structure your game devices according to the game style. Please organize the following list according to your heirarchy preference;
(3)graphics
(2)story
(1)gameplay
(4)connectivity

- If you were to design your ultimate game with no limitations restructure your heirarchy list
Same - My design preference is RPG's, and my goal is to unite Gameplay and Storyline.

- You have a choice where you spend your time; story, graphics and gameplay. what percentage of time do you spend on each?
I cant give actual numbers. As a designer I spend a lot of my time focused on getting the gameplay and story down. However, as a project manager I spend a ton of time monitoring and tracking art assests. As advice create a stable story/gameplay design document ahead of time, then work on the graphics.

- My biggest piece of advice to beginners is: start small. My first game exposure to game development wasnt the uber mmorpg I was working on but age of empires modding followed by rpgmaker2000.

- In my opinion, the biggest mistake beginners are unaware that they are making is most likely to be: How much time is required to make a game. When thinking about it, it dosent seem all too difficult, but getting everything done has taken far longer than what I had expected.

implementation:
- I choose a programming language based on its;
None of those options - I learned to script for the engine we are using, but my lead programmer on our team makes the call on what scripting language/programming langauge is best for us to use.

- If I had to choose, I would prefer to have the Gameplay done first.
While it is not an option, start out by outling what type of game you want to make. Focus on the gameplay details, and from that the story. Do some research into what technologies would best suite your team. Then build a website with this info, and use it to recruit graphic artists, coders, etc.

- A(n) FPS is best suited to independant developing.
I said that because with torque an FPS would be the easiest to make out of those 4 options. However, what is truly best suited for you is to develop a game you are most enthuastic in. If you want the full answer, a puzzle game is best suited for an indie.

Gameplay:
which battle system appeals to you more?:
As a rabid GTA and Kotor fan, a 3d battle system in real time is my preference.

Game design:
- Characters should be b.
a.) as stylized as possible in the artists eye
b.) as life like as possible
c.) a combination of life like and stylized

I choose B because I found problems with stylized as it is hard to create one cohert stylized look with vastly different artists. However, it is easy to maintain one look when going with life like.

- Locations in a futuristic world should be:
High-Tech/Low-Tech and well lit

I hate dark games - They strain my eyes, which make them irritating to play. I think a great futuristic world should have a clash of cultures of low and high tech.

- In a male character I most prefer C.
a.) wimpyness
b.) average strength
c.) above average strength
d.) extreme amount of strength

I am not sure what type of question is this - If you mean like morally, I think the best formula is use the popular A hero's journy formula.

- In a female character I most prefer C.
a.) wimpyness
b.) average strength
c.) above average strength
d.) extreme amount of strength

- In a male character I appreciate his D more.
a.) clothes
b.) weapons
c.) looks
d.) style

- In a female character I appreciate her D more.
a.) clothes
b.) weapons
c.) looks
d.) style

- I like my female characters d&e!
d.) with a nice ass - dosent hurt. ;) In all honesty though, the best characters are the ones you can relate too. However, if you are thinking of an mmorpg, which you shouldnt be, but it helps sell units to have good looking characters. Mainly the reason is the largest mmorpg demographic is 18-36, who spend 100's of hours playing at these games staring at their avatar.
e.) Normal and relateable

- I like my male characters d&e again!
a.) with big muscles
b.) with big brains
c.) with big guns
d.) with ultra-charms
e.) normal and relateable
I want to relate to my character, but I also want to have him have something special which splits the line between reality and fantasy.