There's another question I've been meaning to get answwered and this might be the right place for it. I get the impression that at least one or two of you are in the business of developing games, you see. ;o) 

Here's my thing: The game I'm working on (I think it sounds pretentious when I say it, sorry) comes from the idea that I'm just gonna make the game I want to play and if somebody else likes it too, that's a bonus. The problem here is that it's supposed to become a point & click adventure, but writing the thing myself pretty much negates all the drives that keep me going when playing.

"Ooh, I wanna see what's next!", "I wonder how we get out of this situation.", "Plot twist!" - You know, anything that makes you wanna play a game. Aside from replay value, which I'm guessing mine is not gonna have.

I'm assuming that most games get made because people wanna play a game they can't find, but what happens after it gets made?

My question (which kinda sounds like an insult, really) would be: Do you like playing your own game?

Should you not get the same excitement of what comes next while writing the story? Once you written the story, share the story from there. The medium is just the adventure game than a book. From there, ask yourself, what kind of story can you convey through an adventure game? What puzzles you want to see? What mechanics? Adventure games doesn't have to be around the story itself, although many are driven by the story.

So, for me, they are separate entities. So, write a story that brings you that excitement, then think about how you can evolve that story through the medium of your choice. It's like a movie. You can Interpret a story in many ways bringing all forms of atmosphere, focus, and direction, for better or worse.

So, when writing an adventure game. Do the story first, and enjoy the story writing. Once that is finished, focus more on how do you convey that story that thrills you even more? Is it a cool little scene that you, in your head, think "That's awesome." Then the gameplay of any scene you want to convey the mood. Is it a spooky puzzle or thrilling action scene?

To me, if you aren't enjoying your game, then maybe you are doing something wrong in the gameplay front.

25 minutes ago, neveza said:

To me, if you aren't enjoying your game, then maybe you are doing something wrong in the gameplay front.

Oh, I don't wanna give the impression that I'm not enjoying what I'm doing. I've got my actual dayjob for that...

No, I'm having all the fun doing this right now, mapping out the story in a flowchart thing, making it look real professional. Since I work more or less linearly through the story, I run into situations that I didn't quite see coming and I go: "Oh! Room for a puzzle situation here!" whereas when I started this thing I hadn't the slightest incling of how the hell I was gonna integrate puzzles.

Long, overly enthousiastic story short: I'm pretty much already playing the game. So much so, that when I come to the almost inevitable point where I have to concede that it was fun while it lasted, the only thing I will really be sorry about is not seeing the characters in my head coming to life.

I think I may just have answered my own question. Thanks, doctor!

1 hour ago, Bakkerbaard said:

Do you like playing your own game?

When developing games I don't do it to play my own game but to play against the player. This is probably because I grew up on games like Dungeons And Dragons, the games I loved was the ones where the GM takes the role of the villain.

When making your point and click adventure, think how great it will be if you can surprise the players with plot twists and puzzles.

It is very famously a rare thing when a designer actually enjoys playing a game that they have made, even when story is a minor element or even practically non-existent within the game.  There are many reasons for this, and it is a subject that has been discussed a lot in the past, but is really one of those things that nobody can really put their finger on and fully explain why they don't like playing their own games.

I've always thought that I would actually play my own Pirate Dawn, and it's alternate zones like Space Hockey, because I love those kinds of games and it is against other human players.  But, if I had got to make it, I might have found that even then I wound up having little desire to play it.  Because I made it, without being able to explain why.

This is a very old and well-known thing that applies to all types of games.  It's not the story.

Damnit. Now I'll have to factor in what other people are gonna think about it.

This ship is doomed to hit an iceberg. ;o)

Interesting question! I just recently played an old platformer game I made a few years ago. It was actually my first game, took me a year to make alone, and enjoyed the whole process. Didn't release it though, just for friends, it was not a quality that I thought would sell or anything. 

Upon replaying it for the first time in years, I was very surprised however of the quality, length, difficulty and the fun factor of the game. I had a very good time with it and I regret a bit of not pushing it out to more people to play. It could just be the memories but it was a great deal of fun returning to that world for a few hours.

And as I said even if it has not become a popular game, I've had a whole year or fun making it and also gained tremendous experience. It's also great fun to read back your diary if you ever made one

Ooh, I've read my old diary. I used to be an idiot and a whiny asshole.

I think I'm over the whiny bit nowadays.

3 hours ago, Bakkerbaard said:

Ooh, I've read my old diary. I used to be an idiot and a whiny asshole.

I think I'm over the whiny bit nowadays.

"Play of light, a photograph, the way I used to be.  Some half-forgotten stranger, doesn't mean that much too me." - Neil Peart

As much as I'd love to go "Yeah, exactly!", I sadly can recall the exact feeling and reasons I had for writing the whiny crap I did and I can still justify my mysef for writing it... then. I'm just happy I am now at an age that I can stop myself from doing something stupid even though I might still want to.

Pretty much the only difference between me-now and me-then is the ability to take a moment and estimate a risk/reward ratio.

I guess the takeaway from this is: Play your own games, don't read your diary?