Time to write a game

LCD · May 2012

Hallo, just wanted to know how long are you coders working on a (released) game. Minimum, maximum and average.
Mine are:
Minimum: 3 Days ("Ultra reflect")-I tried it but cannot do anything faster yet. The mouse control library was previously reused from earlier projects.
Maximum: 2 years and 10 months ("Quest for Witchcraft", I was just lazy and had much other stuff to do).
Average: 2 Months (Using non-cross developement software)/1 Month (if using cross developement). This depends on the project.

R-Tape · May 2012

LCD wrote: »

Hallo, just wanted to know how long are you coders working on a (released) game. Minimum, maximum and average.
Mine are:
Minimum: 3 Days ("Ultra reflect")-I tried it but cannot do anything faster yet. The mouse control library was previously reused from earlier projects.
Maximum: 2 years and 10 months ("Quest for Witchcraft", I was just lazy and had much other stuff to do).
Average: 2 Months (Using non-cross developement software)/1 Month (if using cross developement). This depends on the project.

Average so far, ~3 months. Though like anything creative I find it hard to distinguish between the time spent ruminating on an idea and actually sitting down and doing it*. Hopefully as I build up libraries of routines I'm happy with I'll be able to reduce the workload.

I can imagine how a project could end up taking years, especially as if there is a lull you need to regain motivation and unravel the code.

My minimum would be a 4 hours, but this is for a CGC entry :-D

* some might call this procrastinating ;-)

na_th_an · May 2012

This varies pretty much, and is in direct proportion with the amount of people involved. It's normal that if there are many people in the team, development time is LONGER 'cause free time is not the same for anybody, and most of the time it's impossible to coincide.

For the pre-2009 games in which I was involved, released by CEZGS, a single game could take months just because of that: too many cooks. A single change could be delayed for weeks 'cause somebody was not available at the time.

From 2009 onwards, most games are made mainly by two or three people. Average is a couple of weeks, maybe three, but some games take one month to be developed. Quickest game has to be Horace goes to the Tower, which was crafted in just one afternoon - but most of the routines were already in other games, so it's kind of cheating - even if I created graphics, map, and enemy placement data from scratch.

Ralf · May 2012

The quickest: 1 week

The longest: 5 years :)

Of course I wasn't working all these 5 years on the game. I started it, then get bored, it was laying in the dark corner and gathering dust, then I found motivation to finish it.

It took me really longer some years ago to make games. I lacked experience, I lacked ready to use routines. Now in each game I reuse a lot of code from earlier projects, which makes the work much faster.

Dr BEEP · May 2012

The quickest :
1 hour (CGC and 4th place)

The longest:
28 years!!
( I saw BOWLING for the Videopac in 1980 and ever since I had a ZX Spectrum in 1983 I wanted to make my version of the game. Although I made a ONELINER wuth the same game it lasted until 2011 befor I coded a version on the ZX81 that comes closest to the original {apart from the 2 player option})

LCD · May 2012

R-Tape wrote: »

Average so far, ~3 months. Though like anything creative I find it hard to distinguish between the time spent ruminating on an idea and actually sitting down and doing it*.

If you do a conversion, lets say, of a C64 game (like I just currently do. f**ing character display! Spectrum cannot handle this that fast!), there is no need for much creativity, but doing original new games consumes much time. I usualy use the time in metro or tram to work out some new ideas.

R-Tape wrote: »

Hopefully as I build up libraries of routines I'm happy with I'll be able to reduce the workload.

that is the most time saving factor. I think, in the 80-ties many coders were only able to write large projects because they had access to a large library. partly written by other in-house coders.

R-Tape wrote: »

I can imagine how a project could end up taking years, especially as if there is a lull you need to regain motivation and unravel the code.

That remainds me about some of my old projects. I found a disc full of sources behind my bed, but now I can code much better and do not just improve the code, but rewrite it optimised from scratch. I guess, if you continue the work on a game after months, you also try to rewrite some parts.

R-Tape wrote: »

My minimum would be a 4 hours, but this is for a CGC entry :-D

Oh, CSSCGC do not count. My entry was written in 15 minutes ;).

LCD · May 2012

Dr BEEP wrote: »

The quickest :
1 hour (CGC and 4th place)

The longest:
28 years!!
( I saw BOWLING for the Videopac in 1980 and ever since I had a ZX Spectrum in 1983 I wanted to make my version of the game. Although I made a ONELINER wuth the same game it lasted until 2011 befor I coded a version on the ZX81 that comes closest to the original {apart from the 2 player option})

Cool! 1 Hour is not bad!, but CGC does not count.
Wanting to write a game and starting do it are two different things. Starting means: write the first instrution for it, having at least a unsharp vision how it would end up as finished game.

joefish · May 2012

I took three years on-and-off to do one game - even then I was rushed towards the end.
But then because it's my own time I'm wasting, I'll take as long as I like to get things as right as I possibly can. I can't see myself working much faster in future as my plans become increasingly ambitious.

Gedlion · May 2012

This supposes I finish them. Lemme see. 30 years and counting, now, probably.

Though, to be fair, for that long there might be point releases on the way :)

Or alternatively, a whole novella's worth of writing. Talk about overdocumenting the code... (do a bit, get it to work, get it to work properly, then write it up as if I was going to do it that way in the first place...right?)

http://goo.gl/4jPd5

Though, to be fair, the point of /that/ project isn't actually finishing a game.
(It shouldn't be waffle, either...but it is!)

na_th_an · May 2012

My problem is that my attention span is relatively short. If a game takes too much to happen, I end up tossing it, most likely. Sometimes I pick it up later and finish it off, but that's pretty unlikely.

Dr BEEP · May 2012

LCD wrote: »

Cool! 1 Hour is not bad!, but CGC does not count.
Wanting to write a game and starting do it are two different things. Starting means: write the first instrution for it, having at least a unsharp vision how it would end up as finished game.

Well, then it is 2,5 year for the ZX81EMUL and still one project running that is unfinished.

LCD · May 2012

joefish wrote: »

I took three years on-and-off to do one game - even then I was rushed towards the end.
But then because it's my own time I'm wasting, I'll take as long as I like to get things as right as I possibly can. I can't see myself working much faster in future as my plans become increasingly ambitious.

At least I know that YOUR projects are technicaly the most impressive ever. River Raid tech demo was outstanding. Buzzsaw was great! So taking your time is a good idea.

Timmy · May 2012

Didn't had the time to reply earlier, but Id say that my usual game takes months.

I also find that 95% of that time is not coding. Most of the time is spent on making graphics, testing the mechanics, designing the levels and more playtesting.

Sokurah · May 2012

Dingo took three months, and that's including having to re-familiarize myself with Z80 and not having a library of code to start with. The game was (afair) playable after two months - only a lot less polished.

If I had to do the graphics too it would've taken (at least) twice as long - and only looked half as good - because I'm rubbish at graphics, so having the benefit of working with a such a great artist as Mark really helped speed things along.

I really wanna get started on a new game too, but for that very same reason I'm hoping to find someone who can do the graphics again, and hopefully allow me to concentrate on the coding and have it done in the same amount of time.

Matt_B · May 2012

I've written some minigames in the space of a day. ZX Qubic is probably the best of them; the interface leaves a bit to be desired, but it plays a very strong game that's difficult to beat.

At the other end of the scale, there are projects that have been going on for years and are yet unfinished. It's often the case that I'll get the coding done, but hit a brick wall when it comes to getting a playable game out of it, and it'll just sit there until inspiration come along.

LCD · May 2012

Excellent!
And do you all beginn with a placeholder graphics to write the code first, and then make proper graphics, or do you start the game design with proper graphics and then write the code?
Which way take less time?
Do you make Playtesting all alone?

Arda · May 2012

well, we have not seen enough entries for this year's cgc yet, be my guest to spare your 15 minutes for it :D

Gedlion · May 2012

Arda wrote: »

well, we have not seen enough entries for this year's cgc yet, be my guest to spare your 15 minutes for it :D

I think the biggest barrier to entry - and one reason I've dumped all my "that would be fun for CGC" is that the rules state if you win, you have to host next year. And since I have zero interest in hosting, and worried someone might actually vote for my idiotic idea, I've elected not to enter every year!

LCD · May 2012

Arda wrote: »

well, we have not seen enough entries for this year's cgc yet, be my guest to spare your 15 minutes for it :D

I think exactly the same as Gedlion.
My Homepage has a 10 MB limit and if someone will make a game with IP of other persons (Think about the Sonic game), I can be sued. Both will be no problem if I host anything on my TOR server, but then it will be difficult to people to access it.
I also prefer to write good games.

dm_boozefreek · May 2012

Quickest I've finished a game 23.5 hours, with almost no sleep.

Longest....erm ongoing, I'm still working on a few I promised I'd release almost 11 years ago :lol:

spud · May 2012

First one I wrote took about 15 months, second is still in development after four months but with one month off to do lost disks and is nearing completion, so another month of work probably to complete. The lost disks took one month exactly. Having a spec to work from (in that case a finished game) speeds it along incredibly.

LCD · June 2012

spud wrote: »

First one I wrote took about 15 months, second is still in development after four months but with one month off to do lost disks and is nearing completion, so another month of work probably to complete. The lost disks took one month exactly. Having a spec to work from (in that case a finished game) speeds it along incredibly.

Thats true. If it is a conversion job, it can be done much faster, noticed this with Earthraid: Just two weeks! U-Boot hunt took 4 weeks, even if it is simpler (I'm not counting the time where the developement disc was lost as developement time).

Mark R. Jones · June 2012

Sokurah wrote: »

If I had to do the graphics too it would've taken (at least) twice as long - and only looked half as good - because I'm rubbish at graphics, so having the benefit of working with a such a great artist as Mark really helped speed things along.

Awwwww shucks! :)

Anyone seen my "FLOOD 2" design? Anyone fancy trying to make it work on the Spectrum? :p

LCD · June 2012

Mark R Jones wrote: »

Awwwww shucks! :)

Anyone seen my "FLOOD 2" design? Anyone fancy trying to make it work on the Spectrum? :p

Pics or it did not happen!
8)

Sokurah · June 2012

LCD wrote: »

Pics or it did not happen!
8)

Check this thread for pictures (on Facebook).
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=29322

Mark R. Jones · June 2012

Here's a zip containing all the full size scans for the game:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/pvb6b6

R-Tape · June 2012

Speaking of time to write a game, for those who are entering is anyone going to have something finished in time for the Spectrum show comp (Aug 31st deadline)?

Barring mishaps I should have something, hopefully it doesn't prove too ambitous...

catmeows · June 2012

R-Tape wrote: »

Speaking of time to write a game, for those who are entering is anyone going to have something finished in time for the Spectrum show comp (Aug 31st deadline)?

AYBABTU should be done by that time and Fikee said that he perhaps submit it there. However it is questionable because last time we talk he said he will release it when its finished and im afraid he loves it too much to ever release it ;) Not sure how much is done by now, as i'm working on some auxillary routines but he had 3 or 4 playable levels few weeks ago. [but man, it looks great ... ]

R-Tape · June 2012

catmeows wrote: »

AYBABTU should be done by that time and Fikee said that he perhaps submit it there. However it is questionable because last time we talk he said he will release it when its finished and im afraid he loves it too much to ever release it ;) Not sure how much is done by now, as i'm working on some auxillary routines but he had 3 or 4 playable levels few weeks ago. [but man, it looks great ... ]

That would be cool, best not to jinx it though!

LCD · June 2012

This weekend I will work again on "Manga Girlz Challenge". It is a puzzler. Also "Earthraid 1.1" is on the todo list (It looks like a "Earthraid Plus" is possible too, written entirely in assembler). Then the work on "Journey's End II" will start.

Time to write a game

Comments