Tales of the Rampant Coyote

Adventures in Indie Gaming!

Game Dev Quote of the Week: A Bird In the Hand Edition

Posted by Rampant Coyote on April 4, 2014

Christer Kaitila, noted game-jammer and the creator of the One Game a Month initiative, wrote an article at the beginning of the year about how to succeed at making one game a month. It was really tough to pull out a single quote out of a fantastic advice-packed article, but here’s one:

“Perfection is, by definition, unattainable. You’re going to have to swallow your pride and accept imperfection. To neglect this is to chain yourself to the project for an eternity. Remember, you can always make a sequel. Releasing your game even though you know you could improve it forever is a good thing. Not only will it lift a huge weight off your shoulders and give you something to be very proud of, but once it gets into your player’s hands they may come up with new features you’d never considered.”

I really, really suggest you read the whole thing. The article is specific to creating a game a month, but the recommendations he makes are invaluable no matter what size of project you are making – from a 24-hour game jam to a massive AAA project. I’m taking some of his advice to heart, as getting a project done quickly is a problem with me. I take way too long and need to improve my development speed by at least 2x, and I know for certain I’ve got the potential to do that (and even better).

UPDATE: Can’t believe I forgot the link:

How to Succeed at One Game a Month


Filed Under: Production, Quote of the Week - Comments: Read the First Comment



  • McTeddy said,

    I’ve been doing one game a month this year and I’m actually pretty excited. It’s been putting some of my theoretically “Productivity Tips” to the test… and working out pretty freaking well.

    With my current project, “Ghostbusters Inc.”, I somehow researched and implemented a random city with traffic driving the streets in 2 days. I never thought I’d build something like that in my lifetime… but TWO DAYS!?

    – – –

    I like his save points, but my own method is slightly different. I prefer to pick “Breaking Points” while designing the game that are each possible “Fully complete game stages”.

    When my “Deadline” hits, I cut out everything except my latest complete breaking point. This leaves me a set amount of time to polish my “Fully complete game” and make it look intentional.

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