Progress Measurement, Disaster, Hot Potato, and Downfall

[Kupotepo]

Hello, lovely people around here.

Specification: How do you measure the progress of your project?
If your game is commercial then, timing is important for your release strategy.
If your game is non-commercial then, timing or any unit of measurement is just using to learn more about your abilities.


According to medium.com, "get a successful estimate of the time that it would take to complete a task, one should make an initial estimate and then increase it by 50%."

How do you estimate a time frame to complete a task?

Furthermore, How do you approach your game prototype? What is your time frame?

How to Prototype a Game in Under 7 Days

Hailing from the the Experimental Gameplay Project at Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, the authors of this article give tips and insights into quickly churning out game prototypes, drawing from their experience in making 50 games in one semester with a team of only 4 grad students.

www.gamasutra.com

Relating Topic: https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/solo-or-team.44962/

Thank you for all your responding.

 

[Celestrium]

Time management is my worst enemy, it causes me to compromise on my ideals. If I was given infinite time though, I would likely go back and try yo improve things so many times I wouldn't release anything. (Main reason I joined the game jam!)

Besides that...I use a bullet journal planning type software to keep me on track (Elisi is a free one). The time frame for projects is usually dependent on what it is for, but you should set a time frame so you can map out your project. I really learned this first hand recently. (Let me know if you tackle your questions, I would like to know!)

 

[Kupotepo]

@Celestrium, thank you so much for answering. Next, do you make the game prototype? It means you make only a small implementation [mechanic or artwork] before making it to the whole game.

Also from what I am gathering, didn't you make the time guestimation of how much some task will finish, correct? [Just make sure.]

 

[Celestrium]

I will be honest Kupotepo, I don't always get it right. My game jam entry was made in five days really, because I was trying to be too ambitious and judged each map to be able to be done in two days, so I had to scrap it and alter it heavily. I had to change things up, and I decided that later than I should have.
I used to try and make everything all at once, but that's...exhausting mentally. You can use placeholders and move on to things later. You don't have to set all the pass-ability on all the tiles until you go to use them (Thanks Touchfuzzy!). Yanfly said something about skateboard to scooter to car, or something similar and I took it to heart. It means make your project run from beginning to end basically like a skeleton, then go back and add to it. I think that was what you meant by prototype?

 

[Finnuval]

With my own current game I simply do not have a deadline nor do I stress about it. This is what works best for me I learned over the years.
So I had it on hiatus for months but the past two days I made 20+ character art for it... It fluxuates wildly xD

But its my project and i am on my own time so I can take aslong as I need, which happens to make me work harder and faster as a result most of the time.
Stressing ssbout deadlines and schedules tends to mess me up and slow mme down considerably..
but yeah, that works for me and my weird brain. Definetly not something I recommend for everyone xD

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

I don't have a deadline because my project is entirely a hobby of mine It's not a commercial project and I don't care when I release it so having a deadline makes no sense to me. I work when I feel like it. I procrastinate a lot and that definitely slows me down but when I feel motivated I can make a lot of progress even though that's rare. While I don't have deadlines, I do have goals or things I want to check off my to-do list for each week or month. Keeping notes of things I have planned help with progress. I can see at a glance what my current situation is like and what stuff I plan to do or have completed.

 

[Kupotepo]

Keeping notes of things I have planned help with progress. I can see at a glance what my current situation is like and what stuff I plan to do or have completed.

Yes, thank you for responding. Yes, I think to reframe to better wording of how you track your progress. When I talk about the deadline, I refer to the educational guess because we do not know the absolute time when we finish but it is a self-measure unit of how fast or slow you can do a certain task.

Please can I see how you organize if you do not mind?

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

Hehheheh I'm not organized at all XD If I were to write on paper I'm afraid I'd have to throw away the whole thing :") Because of how often I change my mind, I decided to use a writing software so I can make easy edits to my plans. I keep my stuff in separate notes- story, characters, maps and events, resources and credits. And the to-do list that I almost never end up completely checking off *sigh*
I'd show how it is but I don't want to share anything related to my project yet ^^; And I honestly haven't gotten much work done lately so better to not show how lazy I've been XD You'd better ask someone productive :")

 

[Kupotepo]

Thank you @Celestrium, @Finnuval, and @Hyouryuu-Na helping me clarify the doubt.

 

[Scribblestick]

I'm working on my first project now, just working on it in my free time. Right now I don't measure progress in "time" so much as "levels finished." I know how many levels I want, and a story outline for most of them, so that gives me a decent estimate of how far along I am on that front.