Elysian Shadows

Well, I just realized that the game I wanted to do for like 8 years, the game that got me to game development is already in the making by a profesional company, a remake of the Sega Genesis title Herzog Zwei... I know it's unreal to think I could alone make a game of that quality, but can't help feeling dissapointed with myself because in all these years I've just made the 10% of the game and then start over in another engine, with other tools, etc. What do you guys do when you find your projects can't become materialized? I've made games before, but cannot find the exact point that blends challenge with reality. What should I do to continue learning?

For me the inspiration is found with friends and while doing things I have never done before. Maybe there is some kind of development or platform that would help open you up and rekindle the dev fire.

The best lesson I've learned: you can focus that energy or you can vent it. You can take that concept and push it to the next level. Aim to make something even better. You can use the best of what the game had and use that as a platform for building even greater games. You can put yourself in situations where you can work together with a team so you can learn to put together a team to tackle those out-of-scope personal scope project you want to create. You can step back and isolate what about the game made it a really great experience for you and perfect that aspect of it - becoming a veritable expert on that topic.

Whatever the case, you can always kick it up a notch. You have the potential, follow your inner desires. And if you feel conflicted, figure out exactly where that's coming from, identify the conflict, and solve it. Perhaps you can even harness this to push yourself further. Maybe you can see it as "they're doing it, I can too" or "I'm going to capture the original experience even better than they did". The power to do all of this rests within you.

When I felt I couldn't make a game I did it anyway. Gyroball was a fun little multiplayer experience, took 14 months, and I now wear it like a badge of honor. I'm fucking proud of it. Afterwards I started pushing myself to learn how to lead and put a team together. I learned those skills because I want to be able to put together teams to do things like this. I did extra projects with people in my comp sci classes to learn how to work together with other developers. I got a job working with a friend of mine from my comp sci classes doing web development for a startup and learned a hell of a lot. I've been outshined by others, but I let that drive me to kick it up a notch (a situational inferiority complex can be harnessed, choose: Napoleon Bonaparte or Napoleon Dynamite?). Recently I went to an event called the Startup Hackathon and Global Game Jam so I could make something happen. I planned out a platformer game with a friend of mine who's into story-boarding and concept creation - who I had to twist the arm of to get him to consider it - but then he backed out (to his credit he made a major realization that he's more into writing than designing games). So I went in with another idea, pitched it, got little response because I wasn't prepared for a 1 minute pitch of my rather abstract idea (momentarily disheartening), and joined another group that I thought was really interesting (making a Metrovania style platformer) where the group decided to call me the senior programmer and I led the technical side of things. Now we're still continuing work on the game. The moral of the story is figure out what you really want, then just go for it. And if you find yourself doubting, step back, assess what it is you really want, change directions if need be, and go for it again. The keyword is PLOW!

Wow, you have a lot of faith in the guys doing the redo that you wanted to do!

That game won't be the game that you have in mind, it won't be anywhere near it. How many people out there are dying for a Syndicate remake? - and what are they getting?, an FPS! FFS!

I would say that it's not a great idea to remake a game, make a game that is inspired by your favorite games, don't try and recreate something that no longer exists. When you play a game as a kid, then play as an adult, it might as well be 2 different games, because your perception is different. I think it's better to try and make the game as you imagined it 8 years ago - don't play the original game, just go with your gut instinct and let it grow organically.

Choosing the right platform is key though, if it's a game that doesn't require a lot of performance, then maybe using a higher level language, game centric basic for instance would be more productive. Big projects are daunting, so you have to reduce your workload to suit - and for a solo developer that means the whole development environment. The key to success is being able to remain productive no matter what, and don't expect to ever stop learning, no programmer can ever stop learning.

Seriously, do not give up. I am one of the people dying for a Syndicate remake still. Also, I remember several years ago working so hard on a website. It was a search engine for competitive Smash Bros. videos. I heard another site would be adding such a feature, and that other site was already massive compared to mine. I felt like crap that my entire idea would be stomped by one sub-feature of a booming site. It turns out the feature was horribly underdone, but I had given up already. I should not have.

If you have a vision of how you want a project to be, pursue it.

First than all thanks for the all the warm responses. I guess you are right that they aren't pursuing the same concept that I am. I talked to a friend last night and he.came up with an awesome game design, so if I have an.update I will let you guys know. :D