Good point! Especially if you have something like RPG maker that can do all the initial work for you right away and you can jump into the content of the game. In that case the "prototype" might be your story in a google doc, with some variations, that you could share with a few people to get feedback on.
How does one avoid "endless prototyping"? How do you progress from making random prototyped to a more focused product?
This can be a pretty deep well that could trap developers as well. Is it better to make a throw away game, but a completed one or work on many different games which may never get completed? This could be a discussion of its own.
Ah! That's a good one Chris. I've seen developers fall into that trap for sure. I agree, the discussion is pretty nuanced.
My intuition wonders if it could be related to trap #5 (not finishing prototypes). It can be easy to make a ton of tech demos but not take them far enough to answer the 2 questions from the trap to understand if it is worth finishing. Could also be related to trap #6 (not getting feedback). Since they don't take the prototypes far enough to have other players test them.
It's hard to say since it isn't a trap I've fallen into yet, so I don't have a lot of experience with it *knocks on wood*.
Prototyping may be more or less important based on what kind of game you're trying to make and how similar it is to existing games.
There is no need to prototype a classic rpg game for example.
Good point! Especially if you have something like RPG maker that can do all the initial work for you right away and you can jump into the content of the game. In that case the "prototype" might be your story in a google doc, with some variations, that you could share with a few people to get feedback on.
How does one avoid "endless prototyping"? How do you progress from making random prototyped to a more focused product?
This can be a pretty deep well that could trap developers as well. Is it better to make a throw away game, but a completed one or work on many different games which may never get completed? This could be a discussion of its own.
Ah! That's a good one Chris. I've seen developers fall into that trap for sure. I agree, the discussion is pretty nuanced.
My intuition wonders if it could be related to trap #5 (not finishing prototypes). It can be easy to make a ton of tech demos but not take them far enough to answer the 2 questions from the trap to understand if it is worth finishing. Could also be related to trap #6 (not getting feedback). Since they don't take the prototypes far enough to have other players test them.
It's hard to say since it isn't a trap I've fallen into yet, so I don't have a lot of experience with it *knocks on wood*.