Here I'd like to give a few more thoughts and things on my recently announced video game project "The Voyage of Kiki Banana". This is to further clarify the nature of the project, exactly what it is I'm doing, and why I'm doing it. If you'd like some extra context and clarification, read on.
Specifically, what are you working on?
In the announcement post, I claimed I was working on a video game. This is true, The Voyage of Kiki Banana is indeed a video game. I should clarify, though, that I'm not starting off jumping into the production of the entirety of the game. Rather, what it is I'm working on is effectively a Tech Demo.
This Tech Demo will be the starting "tutorial" area, with some missing story context to keep the focus on the game play (because that's what I'm aiming to demonstrate primarily with this demo).
How long do you estimate it'll take to make this Tech Demo?
Naturally, that's difficult to determine with any real precision, so I can only guess. As a deadline, I'm giving myself a year to complete it, which should be plenty of time (I hope)... We'll see, though.
I do already have about two and a half months worth of work put into it, as well as years (about half a decade's worth) of thought-equity put into it also, so I've got quite a head start right off the bat.
And by "thought-equity" I mean that I've spent an awfully long time developing the underlying concept of the game from a vague inkling of an idea to a specific working concept by means of mental processes (thinking, imagining, etc.) such that I know exactly what I'm jumping into. In other words, I have a crystal clear Vision for this game, now it's just a matter of putting in the effort to actualize it.
The hardest part will be to design and implement the mechanics of the player character Kiki's move set. Second hardest will likely be enemy AI. Everything else, though, shouldn't be terribly difficult, so it'll probably go by at a steady clip... but we'll see.
What will you do once this Tech Demo is completed?
I mentioned this in the announcement post, but I'll reiterate here.
When the Tech Demo is completed, I'll make it freely available to anyone interested in playing it (which hopefully will be a sizable amount of folks), and I will sit back and monitor any and all feedback - What do people like about it, and why? What do they not like, and why? I'll ask for feedback here on this website and my social media pages, as well as I'll scavenge the internet looking for live streams, let's play videos, reviews, comments, etc. for feedback as well.
I'll collect as much feedback as humanly possible, process it all, and use that data to inform my next decision.
If the feedback is mostly negative, I'll either retool the project entirely based on feedback or abandon the project altogether, take what I've learned from the experience, and start on another game project. If the feedback is neutral or nonexistent (indicating complete lack of interest), I'll likely drop the project in favor of another. If the feedback is mostly positive, I'll go ahead and launch a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the full game's production (as I'll need a lot of help with it!)
However, I should note that feedback alone won't determine what I do afterwards. I'll also take into consideration my own experience with making the Tech Demo. Did I enjoy the process? Did I not? If so, why? Would I be happier working on a different type of game, or is game-making just not my thing?
So you can think of it this way:
If people enjoy playing the demo AND I enjoyed making it, then expect the full game to go into production. Needless to say, this is the ideal scenario.
If people enjoy playing the demo BUT I didn't really enjoy making it, then I'll either attempt another genre of game with the same characters and world, or move on to another medium. Basically, I'll take what people liked about the game, and roll that into another project that's more enjoyable for me to produce.
If people don't care much for the demo BUT I enjoyed making it, I'll likely move on to another game project with different characters, world, story, etc. Don't worry, I've got plenty of other ideas to fall back on in case this happens.
If people don't like the demo AND I didn't like making it, the whole thing will be dropped and an entirely different project will be considered.
Why have you chosen this project as opposed to any others?
Again, I briefly touched upon this in the announcement, but I don't think I explained myself very clearly, so if you don't mind, I think I'll do just that here. I'll try to be succinct, though, so don't worry.
The whole reason why it's been literally years since I've done much of anything to show for is because I've been spending that time just trying to figure out what I want to do. There's so many things I can do, and so many things I'd like to do, but only so much of me to do them... so I have to be prudent in my decision-making.
However, I've grown tired of spending my days weighing options and fretting over making the "right" decision (or even just a good decision), so I've gone ahead and made one - I'm making a tech demo for this video game idea I've had since about 2018 or so. I've already worked on it some, and I do seem to enjoy working on it... so why not give that one a real good try?
I've made my decision. I'm going to commit to this endeavor regardless of whether or not it's the "right" decision, or even if it's merely a good decision, I don't care. I just want something to do, and this is something to do. It's something I have faith in, something that I think people will enjoy a whole heck of a lot more than some random smaller, more "reasonable" project that I've been working myself into a tizzy trying to come up with to no avail.
If I'm making something I have no real passion for, why would you have any passion for it either, right? By working on a project I really am passionate about (daunting in scale though it may seem), I think that passion will translate to a much more enjoyable experience for you the audience. That's the theory, anyway.
I want to really give this a shot, too, which is why I'm committing to it. I don't want to flake out on it, worrying that I've made a mistake. If it happens to be a mistake, good! At least I can say I did something! Besides, mistakes are excellent learning opportunities, anyway. And if it happens to be the best decision I've ever made, even better!
Anyway, that's it for the addendum. Just wanted to add a little more context to the announcement and clarify exactly what it is I'm doing (making a tech demo for a game, not the entire game).
That's all for now. Until next time,
Peace Be and Take Care!
