Planning issues
Achievable aims
Although I have many ideas and prospects for my game, I feel that perhaps some of the goals that I have set in place may be unachievable due to time constraints and software hindrances. I definitely have the motivation to make my game because I have worked very hard on the planning and creating ideas for it and therefore I want for my idea to succeed and for it to be developed. Of course, I strongly wish that I would be able to integrate all of the ideas that I have for my game but it probably will not be possible and certain aspects will have to be cut from my final plan.
Due to time constraints, I probably will not be able to create 20 totally unique levels without exceeding the deadline. This is due to the fact that creating different character sprites, sprite sets and backgrounds will take a very long time and even if I were to create the aesthetics needed, they probably wouldn’t be as detailed as I would like them to be and I would much prefer my focuses to be on quality rather than quantity. Another problem with having over 20 unique levels is the fact that it will take a very long time to code and to test every level. As well as this, it will already take a very long time to get used to using the Flash engine due to my lack of familiarity with the engine. As well as this, I think that I will choose to make my game with stylised yet simplistic 8 bit graphics because I feel that making my game with bitmapped, hand drawn graphics will take too long and I may lose motivation while creating and tediously drawing backgrounds and wasting time. One last thing that will have to be cut is the inclusion of a two player mode due to it being too complicated to code and it may just waste valuable time during the process of making the game. Making these cuts will help me to work more productively while in the creation process and will help me to focus on the smaller, simpler details of my game thus keeping me focused on the fact that when it comes to making a game, It is quality, not quantity the counts.
Resources required
Availability of software: The software that I was considering to use to make my software was The Flash engine rather than PowerPoint and PowerPoint is much more simplistic and using it will mean that I have even more limitations and constraints when making my game which will unfortunately be a hindrance on my development. PowerPoint’s sole purpose is not for creating games so it doesn’t have the necessary tools and functions that could be used to make games and therefore may not be very useful when it comes to coding so I might as well just use software that has the correct skills and tools that I need to meet the brief and the design that I have put in place. Flash, though not inherently created to be a game-making software, has a lot of assets particularly in the coding and graphical departments that would be useful during the development of the game that I am making. However, I do not have Flash software at home and so I will not be able to contribute to my game outside of school which will be a very big problem in terms of the time limitations that I have to meet when meeting the game’s deadline. Although, I do have the Game-Maker software at home as well as at school so I will be able to contribute to my game regardless of whether or not I am in class. Game-Maker is much more primitive than flash and PowerPoint and is only very good for making games with much simpler graphics despite being quite a complicated software to use. However, it is very good for making games with 8bit graphics and having sprites with full sprite sets. Overall, I believe that the best software to use when making my game is either gamemaker or flash.