"Just a few words on time management: Forget all about it."
Then he illustrates that productivity cannot be measured by the pure volume of work you do and that it's about figuring out what parts are most important to achieve your goal. Makes sense, right?
I have my problems relating to this philosophy when it comes to indie game development.
While I think it's possible to cut out a few things in a game that aren't necessary for it to be fun and profitable, there is still plenty that cutting out is risky or simply impossible. In the end there will be a lot of tasks that inevitably need to be done to make the game work and fun.
While I think it's possible to cut out a few things in a game that aren't necessary for it to be fun and profitable, there is still plenty that cutting out is risky or simply impossible. In the end there will be a lot of tasks that inevitably need to be done to make the game work and fun.
Still i believe there's a lesson to be learned there.
Looking at my last two game projects I can say that I
was working quite efficiently but I also know that I could have finished both projects in less time.
I must admit though i'm not too worried about getting my next project done in less time. I'm more worried about the outcome of the next project, since my last two games weren't really that profitable. They wouldn't have been profitable in even half the time. I would even go so far and say that even the best marketing wouldn't have made them profitable.
That's where the difference between Efficiency and Effectiveness comes in which Ferris also emphases in his book.
Let's have a look at Wikipedia's definitions for both terms:
Effectiveness means the capability of producing an effect, and is most frequently used in connection with the degree to which something is capable of producing a specific, desired effect.
That's where the difference between Efficiency and Effectiveness comes in which Ferris also emphases in his book.
Let's have a look at Wikipedia's definitions for both terms:
Effectiveness means the capability of producing an effect, and is most frequently used in connection with the degree to which something is capable of producing a specific, desired effect.
Efficiency in general describes the extent to which time or effort is well used for the intended task or purpose.
In terms of capability of producing the desired effect: a fun & profitable game, I think both game ideas and resulting concepts/prototypes were only capable to produce the desired effect to some extent.
This leads me to the conclusion that with my next project I'd like to spend more time on effectiveness - the right idea and concept - before worrying about realizing it in an efficient manner.
So yes, sharpen your axe before you chop down a tree but also think twice about what tree you are picking.
This article is part of the #idevblogaday initiative. Be sure to check out the other articles on idevblogaday.com.
Tree photo courtesy by Till Krech
So true! I'm currently developing my first iOS game (moreover, my first real game in total) and I was struggling with game design from the very beginning. I changed major parts of my game during my development circle, which is very time consuming, but also frustrating to some degree.
ReplyDeleteWell, at last I know now that prototyping is EXTREMELY important. Next time I will spend a lot of more time thinking about my overall game design before I jump into coding parts of my game that I would throw away after a while because I realized that feature X and Y didn't fit into my game.
I know what you are talking about, i've been there as well ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to just jump into the fun when you are starting a new game project without actually looking where you are going beforehand and proper planning.