How Far to Proceed Making a Game?

SeaFoodAndButter

New member
I am on the 4th version of my game. I have spent a ton of hours learning NESMaker and have started to make a lot of progress. Before I downloaded NESMaker 4.0.6 I had designed almost the first 3 levels of my game (on vers. 4.0.0). But, the the adventure module came out and I had to start over. Luckily I still had most of my graphics, but I had to go into the overworld and start all over. Plus, I had to re-do all the inputs and so on.

Anyways, right now the Adventure Module forces you to use music you don't want or need in order to work. So, obviously this (and some other bugs like how the HUD is not working right and the text is messy, etc.) there will be an update to this module. I do not want to waste time continuing forward with my game if I will have to start all over again when there is an update. Right now, I'm just saving graphic tiles and getting down the basic layouts for each screen.

Is it advisable to not get too deep into the game until these updates and more of a final version comes through? I seriously do not want to have to start over every time there is an update.
 

dale_coop

Moderator
Staff member
The basic module will be updated...I think.
Else you will need to update your project to the Adventure Module (I can help you... Can makie a tutorial, if you need. I will just wait to see the new version of NESMaker before doing that ;))
 
Personally I'm waiting a while until most of the modules are out, just experimenting with junk projects to learn the tool.
You could make a blank project that has no module/scripts and concentrate on doing all the level layout and sprite graphics in it, adding a module and scripts later.


When I get round to starting my game I'll be making the levels in Tiled, which will let me draw screens faster and I can then optimise which tile goes in a sheet (then redraw map in NESmaker).
 

SeaFoodAndButter

New member
Yeah. I pretty much planned the game (wrote a story and made a map) in the months leading up to launch. Right now, I'll just keep working on drawing the grapics and saving them in my tilesets, as well as planning music and sfx.
 

TurtleRescueNES

Active member
Absolutely a fair question. I've abandoned a few iterations of my game as we've progressed through the beta versions, and those would not roll forward. I am still nervous that even with the full release in place, that my project will not be compatible with a later update. So for now, I'm doing what others have said. I just play around enough to learn how to do things. Build a miniature game with working physics, but not go overboard with level design. At this stage, I still have lots to do with asset design and those can easily be ported into later versions. And it looks like game objects are now becoming export/importable as well, so we're moving forward. :)
 

SeaFoodAndButter

New member
jsherman said:
Absolutely a fair question. I've abandoned a few iterations of my game as we've progressed through the beta versions, and those would not roll forward. I am still nervous that even with the full release in place, that my project will not be compatible with a later update. So for now, I'm doing what others have said. I just play around enough to learn how to do things. Build a miniature game with working physics, but not go overboard with level design. At this stage, I still have lots to do with asset design and those can easily be ported into later versions. And it looks like game objects are not becoming export/importable as well, so we're moving forward. :)

Yeah, I really want to move forward, but, I think at this point, we should just basically map out our games, keep working on graphics and concepts, and start thinking about music. I don't think, at this point, we should start plowing through to make out games. I mean, I wrote a story and planned about an 8 boss game, but I'm tired of starting all over every week or when there's an update.

Here's 1 example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFY5lngCrJY&t=1s

This is just the graphics for stage 1-1 (A basica tutorial). I put no enemies or bosses or anything other than the basic graphical layout out I want for the first part of my game. I also have made a map of my game in preparation of the day that NESMaker is stable enough to actually press forward to make an entire game that rocks.
 

Bucket Mouse

Active member
Joe just ran a poll asking if he should plan future versions of NESMaker with simple features, to ensure compatibility with earlier versions, or if he should add as many features as possible and risk incompatibility. The poll is overwhelmingly for the latter. It's inevitable if we want a good product in the end.

I would say it is possible to fully make a game right now (an adventure game anyway -- there ain't enough for a proper platformer) -- as long as you plan to use that version of NESMaker to finish it. The nice thing is that you can have more than one version installed.
 

mercuriusfm

New member
So, the issues you're facing are not unique to this engine and there is an industry answer to this which I call "version locking".

Basically, if you're going to make a software/game, you must commit to the engine version you're using, unless you make a calculated decision to upgrade, accepting that it will require work and adaption.

As an unreal dev, I can tell you that each version of UE4 adds many useful features, but also more often than not breaks or risks breaking things in the current game.

So long story short, as you have all suggested, plan your game and test features, but you risk wasting time.

OR... Lock your engine version, and deal with what you have to complete a project.

Hope this is helpful.
 
I am still waiting myself to download and get to work on NESmaker but am very impressed with some of the progress people are making with their games. Once I get into it I am sure there will be a good deal of resources and help available. I'm so busy I'll probably do graphics and basic game elements and try to hire people to finish it up.
 
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