Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Geek Culture / WIP Threads. Do you do 'em?

Author
Message
Fallout
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 10:14 Edited at: 4th Mar 2010 10:16
Link
I'm wondering how many of you guys are making a game, but have chosen not to make a WiP thread? And if so, why?

I used to always make WiP threads. Personally, I found them rewarding because I got to show off my game and get some kudos before it was finished. It made each feature addition seem a bit more worth it. But for my latest two projects, I've decided not to make a WiP, and I'm not 100% sure why. I think it's mostly because I find making the screenies, videos and answering the thread comments is a waste of "game enthusiasm" that would be better spent on the game itself. I find motivation is a rare commodity, and 100% needs to be plowed into making the game, and none into talking about it. So I doubt I'll be making any more WiPs until I really need community feedback.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on WiPs? Love em, or loathe em?

Radical hamsters skipping furiously into the blue ether, questioning their very existence while breathing out the bitter fog of smoked haddock.
Back to top
Profile PM
Dragon Knight
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Jan 2007
Location: Newcastle
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 10:23
Link
Well I used to make quite a few, and it really does encourage you to finish your projects. BUT when people stop commenting it makes you feel like the project isn't worth your time.

Anyway, I still do it, but only when I'm nearly finished, giving me that extra boost of support to add special funky little features and so forth. ^-^.

I agree a bit on the motivation being a hard attribute to maintain, but I've found the solution, NO MATTER WHAT at least do one thing on your game per day. Even if it's minor it's still progress, and eventually it'll be complete heh.


http://www.hybridwolves.co.uk
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Fallout
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 10:29
Link
Quote: "NO MATTER WHAT at least do one thing on your game per day."


That's very good advice. Last night I didn't feel much like game development, but I forced myself to add in a gun turret model and place it correctly on my ship. Really simple code. 20 lines maybe ... but it IS progress.

Also, good tip on the WIP. I think I will make one at the end too, in order to get feedback to improve the game.

Radical hamsters skipping furiously into the blue ether, questioning their very existence while breathing out the bitter fog of smoked haddock.
Back to top
Profile PM
Van B
Moderator
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Oct 2002
Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 10:43
Link
They can be a 2 edged weapon, they take up time, but can also boost your own interest.

For me, projects are a bit less public these days, just being sensible - quite a difference to go from a tutorial section covering a game, to nothing at all.

One thing with WIP posts though, is they can put on the pressure when it's not really necessary or welcome. People see a nice looking game and proclaim it to be the best thing since sliced ham. That puts pressure on the creator, it becomes daunting to meet those expectations, which tend to be formulated before the game is even at demo stage. If people just showed support without getting all dewy eyed, then I think there would be less pressure. I've seen amazing WIP games die with all the positive feedback imaginable. Personally I can't help but suggest things in WIP threads, which I hope people see as a compliment - I mean if your WIP thread gets people thinking and coming up with ideas, then your onto something, surely.

I think that the best WIP thread would be at a decent demo stage, where your ready to get proper feedback, can post YouTube videos and have some finished media. Folk seem to appreciate when WIP threads are started quite late in development, when there's lots to see and maybe play the game as well. People like to give feedback to projects that will be completed, and maybe even have their feedback positively influence the game, get rid of a bug or improve an effect, something like that. They feel part of it and will support the project vehemently.


Health, Ammo, and bacon and eggs!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
jasonhtml
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 20th Mar 2004
Location: OC, California, USA
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 10:50
Link
After making a few WIP posts, I stopped. I've been working on The Souls of Aemos for six years now. Progress has been slow, but always forward. I decided I wouldn't make another WIP post until my public beta was released, so I would have PLENTY to show for it, and updates well on the way.

In the mean time, I just work on it whenever I have time.

Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Oolite
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 28th Sep 2005
Location: Middle of the West
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 13:37
Link
I'm on the fence with WIP posts. All the ones that I have ever made have mainly been about models and not really games design. Back when i used DBPro i never really told anyone about my projects, they were mainly little helpful tools that improved workflow or planning that i never felt the need to share with the community.
The reason i have a blog set up is purely to keep myself motivated, i'd rather have a private blog that people can read, leave comments if they wish, rather than have to watch a thread fall off the page and disappear into the void. That will probably lose me more motivation than not updating a blog for a few weeks. At the end of the day, i reckon most of us have other commitments that we have to take care of and using our downtime to work on personal projects is what tends to relieve stress. Having to keep a WIP thread up to date is just another distraction from the project i'd much rather be working on. Most of the time the work is purely just for me and not anyone else, if i do want some Constructive criticism it's then that i'd post something.

Back to top
Profile PM Website
charger bandit
15
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th Nov 2009
Location: Slovenia
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 16:10
Link
No posts in your WIP thread tends to bring your motivation down,at one point reaching cancelation of the project.


A.K.A djmaster
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Fallout
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 16:15
Link
I think I agree with you guys actually. When your WiP thread starts to scroll off the bottom of the screen and lose momentum, it kills the motivation. So it's probably best, as said above, to create WIPs when the project is near completion, and you want feedback and to generate pre-release interest.

Radical hamsters skipping furiously into the blue ether, questioning their very existence while breathing out the bitter fog of smoked haddock.
Back to top
Profile PM
Kravenwolf
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 14th Apr 2009
Location: Silent Hill
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 16:28
Link
I used to start them here and there for a few games I was working on in the FPS Creator board, but, TBH, I think the only reason I started them in the first place was to procrastinate working on the actual game

Lack of comments can be a little discouraging, I suppose, but IMO, what's even worse is gettig a lot of "looks great", and "keep it up" comments, with little or no feedback on the project itself. Don't get me wrong, I still appreciate the motivation of a pack on the back from those short "keep it ups", but I think critisism is really what I was fishing for in the long run.

Anyway, yes. I've been working on two (I hope to be commercial) projects periodically over the last several months. But when (or even if) I'll put them in the WIP board or Showcase is still undecided. This isn't because of anything to do with comments or feedback though. I've just lost interest in WIPS threads.

Kravenwolf

Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Robert F
User Banned
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 18:22
Link
Quote: "NO MATTER WHAT at least do one thing on your game per day."


I don't believe that. If I don't feel like it one day, then I don't feel like it. If I force myself to do it, then it will just turn out like crap.. because I probably don't care that much at the time.

It would be different if I was working at a business for obvious reasons, but I'm not. So I'm gonna do stuff on my time when I want.
Back to top
Profile
Jeku
Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 4th Jul 2003
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 19:02
Link
Quote: "So I'm gonna do stuff on my time when I want."


Just be prepared for a 6-year dev cycle then


Senior Web Developer - Nokia
Back to top
Profile PM Website
Fallout
22
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 19:54 Edited at: 4th Mar 2010 19:54
Link
Quote: " don't believe that. If I don't feel like it one day, then I don't feel like it."


I think the idea there is it can be something really small. Even if it's only tweaking a model, or adding a single function, your game will keep progressing. After all, you don't need motivation to spend 10-15 minutes on your game, unless you're particularly lazy.

Personally, I think that idea will work for me. I am going to force myself to do something small, every day, if the motivation dwindles. Hopefully doing a tiny bit will lead to me wanting to complete something else, and encourage more work. If it doesn't, at least I'm still making some progress.

Radical hamsters skipping furiously into the blue ether, questioning their very existence while breathing out the bitter fog of smoked haddock.
Back to top
Profile PM
lazerus
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 30th Apr 2008
Location:
Posted: 4th Mar 2010 20:32
Link
The buffer forces me to work between shows. Im actually tweaking the uvmap for my model now while i sort out the next episode. (Its strange the episodes are under the wrong names + numbers, It should be;
309, 310, 311, 312
but it is;
309, 309, 310, 311

Rather annoying lol


http://lazerus-reborn.deviantart.com/
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Jimpo
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Apr 2005
Location:
Posted: 5th Mar 2010 00:09
Link
I find that the comments and feedback are worth the time spent on screenshots and videos. I also think it is important to start early WIPs, because it is much easier to fix a flawed core game mechanic at the start of a project, than it is towards the end.

Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Gizmoguy
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Apr 2006
Location: Hell
Posted: 14th Mar 2010 05:09
Link
ive not been using wip fpsc forum for my game as its been filled with negativity the last few times ive ventured in.

i post my game wip elsewere and get people to test it all the time and as soon as its alot closer to completion then il wip it just to get some extra feedback.

God in his heaven, alls right with the world.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
RUCCUS
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 11th Dec 2004
Location: Canada
Posted: 14th Mar 2010 06:29 Edited at: 14th Mar 2010 06:34
Link
Ive been working on a project that seems like its never going to end for the last 3 years. Each year I end up rewriting the entire thing to speed it up and allow for better features later on. I could post a WIP, its certainly at a testable stage, but I feel its a fairly unique idea that I dont want getting out until Im sure Ill be able to finish it. That and, every time I posted a WIP in the past, regardless of how rewarding it felt to get the good comments, Id get too drawn into checking the thread all the time for new replies instead of just sitting down and working on the project myself. Im waiting until I have implemented all of the features Ive been working on to post a WIP. I figure itll have a much bigger "wow" factor that way anyways, and then I can just focus on polishing it up in the WIP thread.

I remember a few years back, some random on the forums tried to tell me off because he hadnt seen much of my work on the forums. That was probably more rewarding than posting a WIP thread and getting good comments. I could just sit there and laugh at the guy, knowing Ive got something pretty awesome on my hard drive that will probably outshine anything the troll would ever make.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Gil Galvanti
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 22nd Dec 2004
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: 14th Mar 2010 06:52
Link
Quote: "Ive been working on a project that seems like its never going to end for the last 3 years. Each year I end up rewriting the entire thing to speed it up and allow for better features later on. I could post a WIP, its certainly at a testable stage, but I feel its a fairly unique idea that I dont want getting out until Im sure Ill be able to finish it."

Haha, I know exactly what you mean there, only I DID post a WIP of it, so I feel like I'm letting people down when I keep rewriting it and don't work on it for a month or so, so it is probably better not to post until later in development .


Back to top
Profile PM Website
RUCCUS
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 11th Dec 2004
Location: Canada
Posted: 14th Mar 2010 19:32
Link
Thats the other thing to take into consideration; how your forum rep will change with each WIP thread. If you can post a WIP thread that will undoubtedly be finished and attract attention, then sure, its a great idea. You'll get great comments, encouragement, and people will come back to see your next project and encourage you even more. But whenever you make a new WIP thread for your latest and greatest, and end up letting everyone down by not finishing it, you're losing potential viewers for your later WIPs down the line. Take the XenoPhysics post in the WIP boards for example; this guy sparked everyone's attention when he announced he was wrapping the Havok engine for DBP. Tonnes of people - including myself - were extremely interested in gaining access to this awesome physics engine. A few weeks into it, his posts stopped being focused on what he has been incorperating, and turned into posts answering people's questions about what will be incorperated in the future. Shortly after that it seems he has dropped the project entirely due to school work and issues in the real world. I was checking that thread every day to see when it would be released, but now I cant remember the last time Ive checked it because it seems to me he's not going to finish it - at least anytime soon. Now if he ever posts a new WIP thread for it, Im going to be a lot less interested as I know there's a good chance the same thing will happen again.

You have to think about how you'll let down your potential viewers in your future projects if you're unsure that you'll be able to finish the current project at all.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Yodaman Jer
User Banned
Posted: 14th Mar 2010 19:43
Link
Quote: "Quote: "Ive been working on a project that seems like its never going to end for the last 3 years. Each year I end up rewriting the entire thing to speed it up and allow for better features later on. I could post a WIP, its certainly at a testable stage, but I feel its a fairly unique idea that I dont want getting out until Im sure Ill be able to finish it."
Haha, I know exactly what you mean there, only I DID post a WIP of it, so I feel like I'm letting people down when I keep rewriting it and don't work on it for a month or so, so it is probably better not to post until later in development ."


Yep, I know the feeling. I posted several WIP threads over the course of a a few months about this one game idea I've had for a while. Each time I posted it, I always decided later on that I should have made the game differently and promptly change it, leaving the thread to die (which was fine because my projects and "game demos" back then were snot). I'd repeat the process the next time with a thread, and so on until one day I realized what I was doing and stopped.

It's much better to just wait until you know that you're going to keep your game the way it is, and if you make any changes they'll be small and won't require you to change everything about the game. It's better to have about 3/4s of the game done before posting a demo/WIP thread, I've learned. Unfortunately I've never gotten that far in a project.


Check out my videos!
Back to top
Profile
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2025-05-24 21:53:19
Your offset time is: 2025-05-24 21:53:19