RVA #GGJ15 Keynote Talk - From Consumer to Creator: Making Games

@cattsmall@cattsmall

From Consumerto Creator:

Making Games

@cattsmall

I’m Catt Small.I like video games A LOT!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

● Game developer (solo, Brooklyn Gamery, Buttered Toast Studios)

● Teacher & event organizer (The Code Liberation Foundation)

● Product Designer (SoundCloud)

● Illustrator, student, etc.

About me:

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Played games as a kid

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Made dress up dolls

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Collaborated with friends

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Made game jam games

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Making weird stuff!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

At the beginning,game dev was

a mystery

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Is this it???

Game Dev Story, Kairosoft

@cattsmall

My first #GGJ(2012)

@cattsmall@cattsmall

I knew nothing aboutmaking games

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Kirby, © Nintendo

I was the artist

@cattsmall@cattsmall

We had huge aspirations

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Our game was pretty bad...

@cattsmall@cattsmall

But we made SOMETHING,

& that ROCKED.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

What I learned:YOLO, just do it.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

The next year,I took a break from GGJ

to improve my skills.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Went to more jams & hackathons

Prism Shell

Hexapong Teledoor

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Joined Code Liberation

@cattsmall@cattsmall

What I learned:Polished games come from a lot of practice.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

What I learned:It’s okay to fail if you

learn from that failure.

@cattsmall

My second #GGJ(2014)

@cattsmall@cattsmall

I knew more aboutmaking games

@cattsmall@cattsmall

We made a finished game!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

It didn’t winany awards.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

But it got a lot of positive responses.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Yay!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

It was shown!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

It was memorable.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

What I learned:Jamming is about self-

improvement,not winning.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

What I learned:Keep working on your

game if you thinkit has potential.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

What I learned:Advocate for yourself and you’ll get heard.

@cattsmall

Other tips for you!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Games are madeof several things...most of the time.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

● Characters: beings with which player(s) interact

● Mechanics/Rules: systems that determine how player(s) interact with the game

● Goal: what the player(s) must do to finish the game

● Story: narrative driving the game’s goal & rules

What makes up most games:

@cattsmall@cattsmall

You don’t need all (or any) of these.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Not a programmer?You can do other

important things.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

● Sound design (SFX, music)

● Art (characters, level, menus)

● Game design (levels, systems, logic)

● Writing (story, menus, instructions)

Some other roles:

@cattsmall@cattsmall

There is something for everyone.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

● Game art: www.opengameart.org

● Sound effects: www.grsites.com/archive/sounds

● Sound effects and music: www.freesound.org

Free resources:

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Remember tomake a plan.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Try not to jump right into code.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Sketching

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Paper prototyping

http://mondaybeginsonsaturday.com/2012/02/29/paper-prototyping/

@cattsmall@cattsmall

This will help you stay on track.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

We are now living inthe era of accessiblegame development.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

GameMaker Studio

GameMaker Studio, Yoyo Games. image credit: gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com

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Construct 2

Construct 2, Scirra

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Unity

Unity Engine, Unity Technologies

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Construct 2

@cattsmall@cattsmall

And more!Twine, Scratch,

Stencyl, RPGMaker, openFrameworks,

Processing...

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Pick whatever gets the job done.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Dream big, butstart small.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Make the important parts work

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Evaluate nice-to-have features later

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Put the fancy stuff in when you can.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

If something isn’t working,pivot ASAP.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Don’t waste 3/4 of the jam getting a feature to work.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Confused about something?That’s normal.

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No one should judge you for needing help.

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Everyone does this!

Google is your best friend.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

saintpetersblog.com

Rubber duck method

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If you can,playtest your game.

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Watch people play

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Solve frustrating problems

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You only needFIVE PEOPLE.

- "A mathematical model of the finding of usability problems"

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Work hard.Sleep well.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Take naps.

Dorkly

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If you stay awakefor too long,

your code will suck.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Remember thatgames don’t have

to be “fun”.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Fear

Amnesia, © Frictional Games

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Joy

Rayman Legends, © Frictional Games

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Sadness

Contrast, © Compulsion Games

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Excitement

Prism Shell, © Brooklyn Gamery

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Games are about MEMORABLE

EXPERIENCES.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Most importantly...がんばれ！(do your best!)

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Don’t leave if your game doesn’t get

100% finished.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Stay and learn from what others make.

@cattsmall@cattsmall

In summary:● Put the polish in later.

● You don’t have to be a programmer!

● Ask for help and test your game.

● Listen to your body and sleep as needed.

● Games don’t need to be fun, but should convey memorable experiences.

● Don’t give up – push through & learn!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Questions?Comments?

Tweet @cattsmall

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Thank you!Think of questions later?

Tweet @cattsmallEmail [email protected]