Ive decided to start acting alittle more professional while working on my 1st game, X-Typed. This game will be a side-scrolling space shooter, sort of on par with R-Type (See what ive done there!). So ive decided to:
- Build a Project Plan – Instead of using MS Project, which i hate, im using a open source piece of kit called ToDoList, from AbstracSpoon. As you can see below – there is alot! This process i use at work everyday, is really helping me to cut it into pieces. At the moment (like work) these are guessimates. Im still learning XNA, so scope creep will definatelly start appearing.
- Write a Design document – This is the first thing im doing before anymore coding. Im writing down all my ideas, fleshing out the background, story, and laying the ground work for what actually im going to code. In addition i can use this in trying to attract potential artists/modellers to my cause!
Im busy with this as we speak, and i intend to spend a good few weeks making this, so i will publish it here when its done.
- My plan is to get 1 level demo up and running by Jan/Feb time. If the game/code is in a good enough state, i will think about releasing forDream.Build.Play 2011, which has recently been announced.
Related articles
- A Project Scope Checklist (brighthub.com)
- R-Type Coming to the iPhone “Soon” [IPhone] (kotaku.com)
- Samples of Basic Project Plans (brighthub.com)
My XNA Anecdotes 