And then it grows...

Somehow I managed to make my first game simple... after many failed attempts.

Now I'm on my second game, and, I decided to be a little more ambitious, especially since I had a partner working on it with me, and the idea was a reflection of the first project: main character, collects four objects, saves the world (or something like it).

But then it just got... bigger. I kept adding on more little sidequests, more collectibles, a few puzzles... and now it's grown into this huge thing and it's crazy! It hasn't gotten to the point of overwhelming (yet), but...

How often does this happen to you? How often do you come up with an idea that's simple in theory, but upon putting it into practice it grows, or, from your original idea, things expand? When do you know that enough is enough? When you look at it and thinking you CAN'T handle anymore? Before you reach that point? And normally, what is it that grows bigger for you? The plot? The world you're building?

It's just something that had been nagging in the back of my head and I just wanted to know what everyone else though, or if it did even happen to you (or are you able to keep everything in line and not have to deal with this sort of problem).

I made a post about this (where I asked for advice on how to stay focused). This is the sort of thing I wish to avoid as it can really get in the way of completing the game. I think you should get the main quest done first (and cut out all the side quests right now so you can remain focused on the main quest). You can add side quests later, giving priority to any that are related to (but not necessary for) your main quest.

Yeah, there are "side quests" that need to be done in order to get... say, a key to get into a main boss area, but then there are other things too... the game I'm making is supposed to be a storytelling experience (again uuuugh), so it requires a bunch of dialogue and little quests in order to get a better handle on what's going on, etc... not necessary, but maybe for people who want the entire story and not just blaze through each boss area and get part of it.

Because of that I end up being like "oh man this would be kinda cool" and then "oh man I really need to add this!" ... which is terrible, I know... it's less of a lack of focus and more of "this dummy wants to add EVEN MORE into their game, Aclairic stop".

First of all, what you mentioned ALWAYS happens. It's like a law of the universe or something. So, how to live with it?

There are two ways to write:
1. Create plot outline and sticking religiously to it; cutting out everything that doesn't contribute significantly to your story. AKA "Killing your darlings."
2. Make up s*** as you go along.

The second way can be more random but some truly creative stuff can come from it. And sometimes it's more fun. It seems you are doing it the second way. I suggest instead of framing your game inside an outline and stifling your creativity, you can use a cut off line based on playing hours.

For example, you can say, I want this game to be 5 hours long, and then write in a mini-climax/cliffhanger to end the game at that point. This will be Part 1 of your series. Then you can go on and create a Part 2, 3, etc. in the same fashion.

If you worry about save file transfers you could just publish Part 1, and then later publish a build with Part 1 + Part 2 and players can just use the same save files.

This happens to me all the time. I cancelled my last game because it was really ambitious and I realised that I didn't actually have much enthusiasm for it, so I started a small project and promised myself to keep it simple- 3 locations, linear story etc. But then because it feels so short and nonthreatening, I keep saying, oh hey, what if I include this and expand that and xyz etc etc.

I wouldn't say it's a bad thing, it means your game excites you and shows that you have big hopes and ideas for it. The problem is obviously asking too much of yourself. It's easy to forget that outside of the hobbyist game dev community, most of these games have full teams. When you're sharing a burden, on working on the parts you love, or are going commercial it's a bit easier to find the drive to put that amount of effort in, but as a one or two person team, a large game is going to take years, and it's just really hard to stick to.

The way I'm tackling the game I'm going for is stripping back to the absolute minimum. There isn't too much in the way of world building, no maps for maps sake or optional choices and side quests. Everything that's in the game is the bare minimum the game needs to tell it's story. Obviously, that's a little sad. I love optional content (sometimes more than actual story :guffaw:,) but the idea is that it's something I can work on and fire through at a decent speed.

When a bulk of the game is done, that's the chance to expand. If the love and enthusiasm is still there, then it's time to go back and add an extra door, a new side story. At that point, it won't matter if it means old things have to be revisited and revised, because if you have the energy to make the new stuff, I'd imagine you have the strength to actually get it in there as well. However, if by that point you're tired and a little fed up, you'll be feeling glad that there isn't another 28 npcs to write in. Using the resources that have already been made, you can struggle on a bit longer and finish the game as it is. It might not be as cool as you had hoped, but having a simple thing finished feels way better than having a grand project shelved I think. :cutesmile:

What I've done in my game is I've put the main focus into the main part of the story first. And, if part of the main story requires a side quest to continue, I've put in a placeholder side quest so that I can continue, then I come back and add the real side quest later. For example:

You mentioned maybe needing a key to advance for the plot in your example? So what I'd do is I'd just give the party the key for now, make the rest of the game, then later, either once the main story is done or once I hit writers block and need something else to work on, come back and add the true side quest.

Also, every time you get an idea that you think might be neat to include in the game, write it down in a word file, but DON'T actually implement it. Once the main game is done, then go back over those and see if you really need those, or if you should save them for another game. This way you can minimize feature creep to a degree.

I'd never thought of doing that before, that's an awesome idea! Yeah, it sounds a lot easier than trying to worm the side story in during the main storyline eventing... easier to build the body and add the extra limbs later, hahaha, I think I'll try that!


Yeah, What I normally do is write down all of the "side ideas" I have in mind int he bottom part of my document to be visited later. there are a couple of dungeons I want to stick in as side quests, but I know that if/when I do them, it will be last, after the main maps of the game and the story has been implemented. I was very gung-ho on my first game, to the point where it became less "fun" and more "I am GOING to finish this", to prove a point to myself that I could finish what I started, but working on this one has been by far much more enjoyable... so yeah, I want to add more and more. I feel like at the moment I have a good grasp on my limitations, because features I want to implement I am attempting to learn about or find work-arounds in order to get the effect I want. So it's a learning experience! A good one!


This is another really awesome idea! I never really stopped to think about how LONG it should be. I had written down the plot, and the steps the main character needed to take in order to reach the final objective, but as for the length of it... yeah. I know that seems like an airheaded thing, but as I do just... whatever I want to do, basically, I worry about time last and whatever time it end up, it just... ends up that time. I'll definitely try to implement it!