What's the WORST advice you can give as a game developer?

[Tuomo L]

More bad advice:

• Make a game based off a meme of any kind. Fads are totally going to last forever and aren't outdated in a year or two.
  
• Also remember to add as much of inside jokes as possible that no one but your closest friends understand because people like hearing humor and jokes that they don't understand.
  
• Put in as many features and extra doodads in the game as possible! Who cares if none of the features are fully fleshed out and your crafting system only has like 3 items you can make, prioritze quantity over quality and have your game come with at least 200+ plugins or else it clearly can't be good and you just have to have those extra features in game.
  
• Release a commercial game with all rtp! People just love seeing the same overused assets!
  
• Always assume your player has had years of knowledge with RPG maker and knows all mechanics and don't explain anything, ever. Tutorials are overrated and just slows your game down!
  

 

[Pierman Walter]

Promise to make all sorts of cool things, but never actually make them.

 

[Failivrin]

Release your game as soon as it's finished. I mean, you made this thing! You don't need to playtest it yourself!

Once you go commercial, tell everyone how your game is exactly like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger or whatever. Fans don't seek originality; they'll settle for half-decent imitations.

Best (worst) advice of all? You've already got this thing figured, so why waste any more time in this forum?

 

[Marquise*]

(Worst part is that second line is just half false! )

 

[MobileSuitSonic]

The worst advice a game developer can give? Not giving any advice at all.

Like if someone asks a question about plot and stuff and they get ignored. Doesn't really help them.

 

[Kogemashita]

write your story as you go along! what's the point in wasting time planning when you could be making a game!

 

[Jiffy]

Offend everyone. It will generate interest in your game, no scam.

 

[Syngeno]

Design all your characters as card board box people who eat carrots made out of clay(clarrots). Or... is this a really genius idea e.e

 

[Larry Jones]

Try to please everyone instead of making what you like.

 

[Syngeno]

Try to please everyone instead of making what you like.

Is that banjo as a chibi spirite?? Wow omg that makes me happy! Im gonna go crazy now. I love you at this moment, but only at this moment e.e.

 

[KayZaman]

Tell your secrets.

 

[Marquise*]

Try to be the most rude and offensive and call that humor!

 

[Rose Tinted Dreams]

Create Flappy Bird. I don't care what your ideas are, you must create Yet Another Flappy Bird Clone in order to be a TRUE GAME DEVELOPER

Anyone else is lying.

</badadvice>

 

[Jakegamer217]

No Story! No Life!
No Characters! No Nothing! No Graphics! No Tiles!

 

[Marquise*]

@Jakegamer217 Somebody REALLY had that for advice?!! Even Pong had graphics! (I wonder if it was an elaborated way to tell you to not use your talents to either do games or fiction. It is quite traumatic!)

 

[Daniel47]

write your story as you go along! what's the point in wasting time planning when you could be making a game!

I tend to create a couple maps first to give a visual and reference point. Then I build the actual story before building anymore maps. However, I agree that building a game without planning is a recipe for failure.

 

[djDarkX]

Don't have grand ambitions unless you have previous experience. Thinking you are a big shot and can produce a game that will be the biggest and best ever created will basically burn you out and the finished product will be nothing like what you wanted it to be or what others expect. I've never claimed this, but I know certain people do, even now, and they burn out. There is a very notable example on these forums that I will not mention, but anyone who was around a couple years ago knows what I'm talking about. The developer didn't have the type of ego I just spoke about, but the project's scope was far too big and the project was never finished. It's sad because it showed a lot of promise, but never saw the light of day and perhaps never will.

Guess only time will tell, but by that time, everything we hoped for will be a moot point.

 

[Marquise*]

I might type that one is true in general sadly!

 

[Milennin]

To be the ideas guy and expecting others to do the work for you.
To think that, especially when you're new, you know best when it comes to game design.
To have nothing on your gamemaking resume and expecting to be able to assemble a multi-person team that'll work for free on your project.
To believe, when working on your own, that you're going to be able to create an RPG that rivals commercial classics in both scale and quality.

 

[Daniel47]

To be the ideas guy and expecting others to do the work for you.

I've been on the receiving end of that many times.