Game design introduction course completed. A quick look on the experience gained.

Now we're finally done with the concept document for the space shooter. Hard times were had and lessons were learnt to make it easier in the future.

A game about a detective who must defeat mafia bosses in order to pass on

I was the producer for the game concept called Desert of Tombs, and it was not an easy task. We had our good times and bad times throughout the project, but I think the most important thing of all were the experience of begin thrown into the lion's den. I do think this project is too hard, we are new to game development, we do not know how to pitch and this is the first time we're doing anything like this. But it is well motivated by everything I've learnt, not only what we did wrong as a group, but what I did wrong as well.

A mockup of Desert of Tombs

It is hard to work on a game concept when everyone on your team has visions of different games, and this is the main reason why our project want astray. Firstly, we did not have clear aesthetic goals. We wanted to have something with challenge and discovery, but those are from the types of fun category. This made designing hard because everyone chimed in with their interpretations of the game. Since we also didn't have roles to divide different work areas in, everyone decided on everything which made it a work of very different ideas which did not work in harmony.

Example of a boss fight

On of the most important lessons for me though is that I need to stop trying to have control over everything. Since we had discussions on everything, I voiced my opinions over the others almost every time. I was like a cynical producer who wanted to double check every decisions made by the team. 

But this is something to be learned from. Through this project I have learnt that I should not take control over everything. Other people have ideas as well, and they can do good work if I just give them the chance. For the next project I will make sure the team's vision is clear. Then everyone will have their area where they are the ones making decisions. I will not be telling everyone what to do and I will not make the final decision on everything.

Now it is time to move onward with new-found experience!