should my first game be my dream game?

[WayneDwayne]

So i got as far as being able to make a game but it wont be great.

What would be smarter: make a smaller game to improve my skills before making my dream game

or

just start with my dream game and improve it as it goes on?

 

[Hagatagar]

Make a small, simple game.
Nothing too complex, nothing too fancy.
Have a short, straightforward story, not a branching nightmare, with only one LI, maybe one side chick if really necessary.
Define a beginning, middle and end from the start. Don't get site tracked by "Oh, I have an idea!".
Also try to have only those fetish/kinks that you like, don't try to please everybody other then you.

It is important that you aim low for your first project. Most devs quit because it's much more work then they expected.

Edit: Don't underestimate the dopamine rush from a finished project.

 

[Steuan]

Yeah, go simple for your first game. Don't burn yourself in vain. A short and straight-forward game like Acting Lessons would be a perfect start.

 

[Waterthose]

That's entirely up to you, I personally went with making my dream game my first game. Why? Well I only had one game in mind and it really wasn't going to be a short story.

 

[woody554]

nobody makes a small enough first game, we all screw that pooch. it does lead to a lot of remaking the first part of your big first game, over and over. it would definitely help a ton to make that small, no, tiny game first. and it would make the second one 10x better.

but the trouble of course is we all have that big game idea we REALLY wanna make, and it's much more fun to think about it.

 

[Doorknob22]

My usual advice is "start small, create an AVN you can start and finish and by the time you finish it you'll know how to proceed". This site is riddled with overambitious projects which were abandoned since the developers bit more than they could chew.

Some parameters which may allow you to tackle a "dream game" straight away:

• Are you an experienced developer in the mainstream tech industry?
• Are you familiar with project management and ran some projects from start to finish?
• Is your "dream game" relatively simple compared to other AVNs you've seen?
• Do you know how the story ends?
• Do you posses very high personal discipline you can harness to committing to this "dream game"?

If you feel you can answer 'yes' to most of the questions above, perhaps you can start with your dream game straight away. Otherwise, perhaps you should start with a smaller project. Either way: good luck!

 

[AlternateDreams]

As the others have said, if your main objective is to create a game, it's best to start with a small project.
If you still want to work on a specific project that's too complex for now, what you can do is extract a smaller game from it.
For example, you keep just one gameplay loop, one character, one sub-story from your dream project and turn it into a smaller stand-alone game.
This keeps you motivated because not only are you making technical progress, but you're also working on a project that interests you.

Now if your main objective is to learn the technical side of game creation, it's a bit more complicated. It's important to have small projects to validate certain skills, but you also need a complex project.
The reason for this is that a complex project is not just "a small project but bigger". You'll be confronted with problems you'd never have encountered on a small project (extreme code reuse, automation, tools development, etc.).

I'd also like to point out that whatever choice you make, you can expect to spend a lot of time on your project, even for things that looks simple. So only go for it if it's something you really want to do for fun.
I forgot the most important thing : Good luck!

 

[chainedpanda]

Who says the two things have to be separate? If your dream game include specific elements such as world building/powers etc. Why not create a small first game which allows you to implement that stuff? You can always build upon them in your second game.

That way, you not only get the experience/confidence needed to build your dream game, but also the time to further expand on what you originally wanted to do. You can see it as a sort of long prologue for your dream game, or a spin-off of some sort. While it may not contain the original characters you desired, I think it's a good compromise no?

 

[Mr. Kin]

Hello, my dear forum friend. I am not the best at giving advice, but I have just one: do what you like to do. I say this because, during my journey developing my first visual novel, I realized that the pleasure of creating something comforts you in moments when you might try to sabotage yourself into abandoning the project, thinking it won't work out. I haven't finished the first episode yet, but over time you will improve your skills.