Re: Has anyone finished a game - When is a game finished

[Wing Wong <buyer1342@saladlove.com>]

On Thu, 30 Nov 2000, jeff roth wrote:

> Just recently someone on this list asked if anyone had finished a game. I 
> have a breakout clone that I may have finished. What I want to know are some 
> ways hobby game programmers (or professionals to be) decide when a game is 
> finished. On my breakout clone I've reached all my original goals for the 
> game but I still see lots of room for improvement. I think this is similar 
> for many games.
> 
> When do you stop improving one and move on to the next?
> Jeff

Hmm... haven't finsihed one myself, but from my perspective, there would
appear to be two ways of looking at it. (Or primarily so..)

If your game is open development, ie. it's something you've been working
on and posting updates to on a regular basis... then the game is done when
you feel there isn't much else you can improve upon or add to. (But there
will always be new ideas). In many ways, it is like any other development
project. Most projects continue to be improved upon and added to.

If the development is for a project/final sales kinda target, then once
you've built and tested all of the core components and polished it up, the
development for that version/release is then over when the deadline for
sales/release comes. You may decide to take the idea and rebuild and
expand for <game> II, but that's for the next project. :)

Game programming/games is sort of like a fractal. At what point is
"enough" enough? When you get the picture, I guess. ^_^;; 

Wing.

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