How to make a Game in a Week? - Checklist

You can make a Game in a Week

The Following plan applies to all types of Games.

The Programming part is limited here, and we'll have a more in-depth article for Video Games soon.

You can create a Game more easily, if you already have a World.

If you don't Day 1 is dedicated to Worldbuilding basics.

All you need to start is :

1. 10-12 Core Rules
2. 4-6 Characters
3. 4-6 Environments
4. 10 Events
5. 4-6 Items

To Improvise a Game you only need these 2 Rules :

• Give your players 3 Choices contextual to the Location
• Display the consequences of their choice to guide them to the next Location

Day 1 – Core Rules

Core Rules

• What are the Fundamental Aspects of this Game?
• Why are they Fundamental?
• What are the Win conditions?
• What are the Loss conditions?
• How can you design rules to be inherently Fun?
• How will they create Engagement?
• Who will they Appeal?
• How will you transcribe these Rules into a Story?
• How will you transcribe these Rules into a World?
• How will you display these Rules through the Characters?

Main Themes

• What are the Themes of your Game?
• How do they transcribe its Rules?
• How are they implemented in the Story?
• How are they implemented in the World?
• How do they become game mechanics?

Characters

• Who are your Characters?
• What are their Goal?
• Which Skills do they possess?
• How can they use them?
• When can they use them?
• Under which Conditions?
• Which Items do they need?

Day 2 – Character Models/Sprites

6 Basic Profiles

• You’ll want to define 6 base Profiles.
• Having 6 Profiles will help you balance Diversity & Consistency.
• It’s also enough for you to create intermediate/hybrid characters.

Roles

• Leader
• Is your Character Dedicated?
• Is she strategic?
• Is she caring?
• Solver
• Is your Character Focused?
• Is she knowledgeable?
• Is she persistent?
• Protector
• Is your Character Reliable?
• Is she dependable?
• Is she sturdy?
• Sponsor
• Is your Character Entrepreneurial?
• Is she resilient?
• Is she parsimonious?
• Advisor
• Is your Character Benevolent?
• Is she calm?
• Is she empathetic?
• Enticer
• Is your Character Fun?
• Is she enthusiastic?
• Is she fervid?

Physical

• If you’re modelling the bodies yourself the easiest way is to Start with the Thickest body and to Sculpt the 5 others out of it.
• Once you’ve got your base mesh you can scale the base proportions to Stretch or Shrink it.
• Any physique can go with any Role.
• Petit
• Muscular
• Busty
• Slender
• Slim
• Curvaceous

Behavior & Environment

• What are the Core Rules regarding the Characters?
• How should they React?
• According to which Criteria?
• Class & Profession
• Relationships
• Events
• Other Characters
• Rewards

If you want to know more on Character Profiles.

Day 3 – Environment Models/Sprites

3 of everything

• Depending on the Scale of your Game you may not be able to create 3 models of every type of asset.
• It’s better to start with a small scale project, especially if you’re going for 3D.
• Maybe consider starting with a 1-Room game.
• Or a House.
• Regarding Natural environment, you’ll generally use procedural generation for efficiency purposes.
• It can be used for Humanoid environments as well.
• Depending of the parameters of your Program & the level of Erraticness of your Settings.
• Multiple modifiers allow you to define the appropriate level of randomness you want to work with.

Nature

• Which Landscapes define your Game?
• Which Aspect of the Game do you want to display through the Landscapes?
• How would their Atmosphere be?
• How would the Wildlife be?

Creating a Civilization

• What are the Landmarks of your World?
• How do they define the dynamics of this World?
• Where are the Settlements?
• What kind of Settlements are they?
• Are there Capitals?
• Which Organizations administrate your World?
• What are their Rules?
• What are their Symbols?
• What are their Items?
• Which Accessories do they use?
• Which Accessories do they look for?
• Which Accessories do they grant to the Players?

Day 4 – Characters’ Behavior

Non Playable Characters

• What Types of Non Playable Characters can the Players meet?
• What are their Roles?
• What are their Functions?
• Do you have a Class system?
• What is their Class?
• Do they have multiple Classes?
• What is their Profession?
• Do they have multiple Professions?
• What’s their main Goal?
• Do they have other Goals?
• What are their Behavior traits?
• What are their Strengths?
• What are their Weaknesses?
• What are their Quirks?
• Where can you find them?
• Are their actions Location-specific?
• How are they specific to the location?

Behavior & Impact on Environment

• How are their Behavior affected by their Environment?
• How do you design your Non Playable Characters’ Intelligence?
• What’s the structure of their Behavior tree?
• What’s the structure of their State Machine?
• How many types of Behavior do you need?
• What should they be able to do?
• Which States can they adopt?
• How do they move?
• How do they interact with their Environment?
• What’s the most efficient way for them to Move?
• What’s the most efficient way for them to Act?
• What’s the most appropriate way to Act?
• How do you create a Coherent Behavior through their Actions?
• How do you parameter their Behavior?
• How efficient should they be?

Character Controllers

• What are the Core Rules in term of Movement?
• What are the Core Rules in term of Combat?
• How do the Character’s Possibilities evolve through the Story?
• How does the Environment limit the Characters?
• Physics
• Opponents
• Resources
• Status
• Which Characters can perform which Action?
• Which Skills is associated with which Command?
• How do you use Items?

What are the Core Controls?

• How Clear are they?
• How Ergonomic are they?
• Are they easy to memorize?
• How do you build additional Controls on top of them?

Day 5 – Combats

Quest Board & Fights

• Did you build an Arena?
• Can you be a Mercenary?
• Can you perform Assassinations?
• Can you sponsor Assassinations?
• Are there Wars?
• Are there Battles?
• Can you engage in the Military?
• Can you contract with the Military?

Diversity of Fights

• Are they Usual enemies?
• What makes them Unusual?
• Is there a Multitude of enemy?
• How mix is it?
• Did multiple enemies form an Alliance?
• Is there a Stronger 1 in their group?
• Do they display an Unusual Behavior?
• Are they Normally Pacific?
• Do they use a Different way to Fight?
• How do you make a Fight Fun?
• How do you make it Interesting?
• What are the Stakes?
• How do you make them Clear?
• What are the different Options?
• How do the Fighters relate to each other?
• What are the origins of these relationships?
• How do they link the Combatants?
• How does the Players win?
• What are the handicaps?
• What are the rewards?

What are the Core Rules of Combat?

• How do you pace an Action sequence?
• What defines an Enemy?
• What’s an Aggression?
• How do you gauge Hostility?
• Is there a Neutrality situation?
• Do some Characters have a sense of Justice?
• Can you ask for Assistance?
• How does Combat rhythm the Story?
• How frequent is it in your World?
• How does it define your Characters?
• What are the core combat Skills?
• Which Items are necessary for a Fight?
• What are the main Controls?

Day 6 – Exploration

Enticement

• How do you create an Adventure?
• How do you use Action to pace Exploration?
• How do you upkeep the feeling of Discovery?
• How can the Player feel freedom?
• How do you create a sense of Free movement?
• Where would the Players Want to go?
• Where would the Players Need to go?
• How many types of Environment should your Game contain?
• What makes them Unique?
• Why would your Players want to visit them?
• What do they expect from this World?

Quest Board & Exploration

• How is your Board Organized?
• When do new quests become available?
• Do they depend on the Main quest?
• Which sort of contract can you find?
• Which Items are put on the Board?
• Can you go on an Artifact recovery?
• Or a Collect?
• Can you go Racing?
• Can you solve Mysteries?
• Can you escort people?
• Which kind of people?
• How does it help you discover the World?
• Would the Players find it amusing?
• How do you preserve the novelty?

A Diversity of Encounters

• How many types of Environment does your Game contain?
• What are the specificities of each Environment?
• What makes them Unique?
• Why would your Players want to visit them?
• What can they find in them?
• What do they expect from this World?
• How do you respond to these Expectations?
• Through which decisions?
• With which Creatures?

Day 7 – User Interface

Simplicity is the 1st Goal

• You want to have the Core Information on 1 page.
• Status
• Afflictions/Alterations
• Class/Role/Statistics
• Skills – Combat & Exploration
• Inventory
• Items
• Equipment
• Core Rules
• Map/Mini-Map (if you need 1)
• Active Quests
• other Quests available
• Then you can have Sub-Menus for each Category.

Enjoyment is the 2nd Goal

• How do you make it Visually pleasing?
• How do you develop a sense of Aesthetic?
• Which Kind?
• How do you Design it?
• Which genre is your Game?
• Which Setting did you choose?
• Does it look Reassuring?
• Does it feel Comforting?
• Does it exude a sense of Peace?
• Are there No danger in your menu?
• How do you create a sense of Flavor through the Interface?
• How do you display elements of the Story in the Interface?
• Which elements?
• How do they help the Story to unfold?
• How do they help the Player to understand the Story?
• How can you integrate your Interface in the World?

Customization is the 3rd Goal

• Create Blocks of Information.
• Movable Blocks.
• Of Different Size.
• Of Different Colors.
• All of them will be Specific to the Block’s function.
• A Customizable Interface creates a sense of Character.
• It helps the Player to appropriate herself the Game.

Alternative, Daily Plan

If you’d like a more Progressive Process.

• Which is implementable on a daily basis.
• The Estimate time is 5 hours.

Story & Game Design – 1h 30min

• Characters
• Environment
• Core Rules & Storyline
• User Interface

Arts – 1h

• 2D
• Characters sprites
• Environment sprites
• User Interface
• Text Boxes
• 3D
• Characters models
• Environment models

Programming – 2h

• If it is not a video Game, put this time back into the other 3 dimensions:

1. 40′ to Story/Game Design
2. 60′ to Art
3. 20′ to Music

• Characters : Physics, Controls & Artificial Intelligence
• Environment : Physics & Interactivity
• Core Rules : Storyline, Levels & User Interface

Music – 30min

• Characters’ Themes
• Environments’ Atmosphere
• Core Rules & Storyline
• Scenes’ Themes
• General Rhythm
• User Interface ?

Extra time – Game testing

If you can put more time into your Project, here’s what you can do.

You’ll need a group of testers.

This is a Collective Game

• Who are you testing your Game with?
• Are they willing to play this Game?
• What do they expect?
• When did they start playing?
• Is it their 1st Game?
• Do they seem to understand the Core mechanism?
• Do they accept them?
• How do they react to the Trails you propose them?
• Which Trails do you propose them?
• Would you enjoy them?

Their Suggestions

• How can your Players help you enhance the Game?
• What do they enjoy?
• What do they dislike?
• What confuses them?
• What enthusiasms them?
• Even if they can’t tell why.
• What would they like more of?
• What would they Modify?
• How would they modify it?
• Ask them for Procedures.
• How would they implement these Procedures?
• How detailed can they be?