Constraints and Our Theme

Dive deeper into more inspiring stories of how game developers have faced and dealt with constraints they faced during their game development process:

• An artist suffers nerve damage in his hands and re-imagines his approach to art. The video (ten minutes long) shows his amazing work and offers lots of inspiration. “I had to quit trying so hard to think outside of the box, and get back into it.”
• Rough notes from a presentation by the makers of Tri, a Ludum Dare game they made into a full release. Includes a great list of small games. “Limit your project, not your brain.”
• How the makers of Gone Home turned their small team’s limitations into an innovative and successful indie game. “...slowly learning about everything it has the bravery and restraint not to be, not to do.”

As you learned creating a theme helps create constraint, which then helps you stay in scope. Using the example of using "layers" as a theme, you could choose to use this theme mechanically, for example by using Unity’s physics layers. You could also use it thematically, for example by making a game about layers of meaning or atmospheric layers.

Using the comment tools here, come up with some thematic concepts you are considering for your game.

Too big for eight weeks: scope-busting genres These genres are “scope busters” that are not recommended for your first original game project. For most, it’s because of technical difficulty or art resources. In the case of role-playing and strategy games, it’s because they do not lend themselves to concentric design. Many professionals would struggle to make a good game in these genres in just eight weeks.

• Role-playing games
• Real-time strategy, except tower defense
• Turn-based strategy
• MOBA (multi-player online battle arena)
• Rhythm games
• Fighting games

Too big for eight weeks: scope-busting features These features require deep technical expertise and/or many, many hours to implement. You can certainly make games with these features as you develop more skills and take on bigger projects, but trying to get them into your very first game would be a beginner mistake.

• Network multiplayer
• Squad AI or fighting game AI – basically any AI besides patrol, navmesh or A* pathfinding
• Procedural content
• Realistic art style
• Custom 3d models, i.e. that you model and texture yourself
• Virtual reality
• Isometric or 2.5d perspective

Approach with caution: risky genres and features The following genres and features are difficult for beginners, but doable in the context of this course if you have help from either asset packages or tutorials.

• 2D platformer
• Third-person camera
• Tile-based mechanics
• Puzzle games (for design reasons)
• Soft-body physics
• Adventure games