Caveat: These notes are not at all complete, entirely accurate, and my own impressions of what was said at the time.
(There's also a slack where this can go)
How to chunk out the work, how to ensure it gets done.
There's more techniques and tools than people. They all come down to tracking, keeping honest about it, and occasionally analyzing it to find out where you can do better.
** Track your work in JIRA / Trello / etc
** Github repo with a single readme, flesh out the entire structure. That's your game bible. Changes require a github repo change.
** Do a lower priority task for the satisfaction.
** Pomodoro technique
** Standard Project Managers Body of Knowledge (Don't, please, it's far to much for something that doesn't have 4+ teams involved. Still has some good ideas though.)
** Body doubling is very helpful - doesn't even have to be in person. Can watch programmers on twitch. Music to Code By.
** Make a promise to yourself and keeping it. Scope, train, track. Don't have to 100% it.
** Post a dev-log of what you've accomplished in your day. Others will find inspiration there. (Gigasaur)
** Limit to a 3-item to-do list.
** Give yourself deadlines.
** Give the whole project a timebox; decide your go / no-go at that time. What's your criteria for go / no-go?
It's a blessing if you put in your backlog for later. MVP first, then reach into your backlog.
** Built a game that took 30 seconds to play but 7 years to make; could be useful (BACKLOG / Parking Lot)
** Set your Minimum Viable Product before you do anything else.
Enthusiasm and time are your main resources.
**Easy to burn yourself out - Breaks make you more productive and happier.
** Shape your space - don't make it huge, boring, or hard. Keep is it small, fun, and easy. Discover what's easy for you to do that's not easy for everyone else.
** Hire out the art / etc. (takes money).
** Trade your time for a skill you don't have.
** Automate whatever you can.
** If the work feels bad - stop and refactor, find another way.
** Cultivate and maintain enthusiasm. Remind yourself why you got into it.
** If the work increases your skills, recognize what you're getting better at.
Get feedback, find more sources of feedback, make it simple for people to give feedback.
**reddit has "destroy my game"
**BostonIndies - lots of meetups.
** Critical Mass Boston - co-working space.
** You've seen it a hundred times, it's new to them.
** Simple A/B test for them. Easy.
** You are not your audience (3x5 cards for loading principles) - https://xkcd.com/1205/
How timeloops play a role in stories
Is there a meaningful difference between a restart? Save-scumming.
Repetition & change is necessary - do it better next time.
You have knowledge of previous runs, but no objects (though there are some exceptions)
Braid? That's time rewind, out of scope for this talk.
Diagetic - they have to know they are in a time-loop. If only the player remembers and your character doesn't, how does that change the game?
Noticing what's different can be harder in a game.
Recontextualize something you've already done, give more information each time.
Doesn't have to be a full reset, there can be milestones. Example RE;Zero. Multiple time-loops.
Does there have to be a way out of the time loop?
Trigger for the loop - usually death, could be day-end, but could be others. Or if the main character feels there's no way to move forward. What;'s their agency? Should be knowable, or it could really suck.
This is effectively time-travel - and something will change as a result of the time-loop. For the better? Just for the main character?
Lack of Control is key. You can't leave. Are the consequences looped?
Always break the time-loop.
When is enough enough? Player should have a mechanism to know when they are done.
Keep from frustrating or boring folks unless that's a design goal.
Combat being R-P-S is kinda hilarious, as they'll throw the same thing first...but will change when you win the first hand if you lost last time.
Chaotic systems -small things you do can change the output of the whole system.
Someone who thinks they are in a time-loop, but aren't, they're just not observing.
Have the toll of the time-loop take effect.
Get the player to show mastery of the mechanics to break the time loop.
On playback, list what the player did, like in Spelunky2.
Oxenfree
Life is Strange
12 minutes (yeah, not so good)
Stars in Time
Eternal
Moebius (30-second itch.io game?)
Hadean Lands - https://hadeanlands.com/ - shortcuts, showing how to get better.
Dark Souls - narratively, maybe in game play?
Void Stranger
Movies: Palm Springs, Primer.
Reternal - difficult and frustrating game, looks like a shooter, but bullet hell in 3d? https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/1649240/
Truth Strapper - https://store.steampowered.com/app/3239830/Truth_Scrapper/
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