I don’t have much to say about my current projects that hasn’t already been said, so instead I’ll pose a question to all who are interested: big games or small games?

Anyone who has delved into game making with GM knows that there is a wide range of possibilities for what your game can be. You can make a massive, planned out game that takes months, possibly years to finish. Of course, the odds are stacked against you. Changing interests, boredom, epiphanies that come as you learn more about programming… all are only a handful of the millions of things that can cause you to stop working on a long-term project. And yet the payoff for completing a large project remains great.

On the other hand, a project of smaller scope has rewards as well. When you work on something small, you can focus much easier on the details, work out many of the problems that you might have left in a larger game, and generally make a higher quality product, at the cost of quantity. With a smaller project, big changes can happen if they are needed, and the design can remain open, since there won’t be as many modifications to make in the important parts of your code. A game of smaller proportions can usually be expanded upon more easily than a larger game as well.

So is it better to make a game that players will take many hours to complete, and then likely not play again for long periods of time, or is it better to create a smaller game, one which the user will try over and over again, but possibly (or eventually) grow bored with? Which type would be easier to complete for you? Which type of game do you have more fun playing?

It’s an interesting point to ponder before you start working on a project. Thinking along these lines has kept me from starting some projects so far, when I know that the time is not right, and I will not be able to put forth the effort to complete it. One thing that I have learned from creating art, and after using GM (and other coding languages) for so long is that your projects are finished when you say they are. If you feel like you can’t finish a game, or it’s become too large to complete, ask someone for help, or find ways to make it finished. It’s done when you want it to be.

This was just something I’ve been thinking about lately. Perhaps it will help some of you come to terms with projects you’ve been thinking about / working on.