Building Houses...?

Building Houses...?

I love telling people about my progress and listening to them say to me, "You haven't finished the first level, yet?"

I ask them, "Have you ever made a video game?

They reply, "No."

"So you have no idea what goes into a video game."

(the 'I just stuck my foot in my mouth' look on their face is priceless)

"Have you ever made a house?"

"No. But, what that go to do with anything?"

"Simple. Dig this analogy.

Systematically speaking, making a video game is just like building a house.

Before you make a single room and lay a single square inch of carpet, you have to lay a solid foundation of concrete upon a level surface of dirt, plumbing, and primary electrical outlet which provide the house a horizontal basin, clean water, and adequate electricity. All of these things have to finished and the concrete dried before any of the framework can be erected.

And since I am a one man crew (with a part-time artist drawing the aliens) cutting the wood and assembling the framework has to wait until all of the previous work is finished.

And let's think back even farther, before doing any physical work, all the materials have to be purchased, all of the permits have to be in place and the permits are not going to be granted if my design is lacking. Thus, the design has to happen, first. Most likely, the design will go through several changes and modifications to fix any errors or oversights.

Now given this analogy I would not make a single level or a room without all of the prior work conceived, labored upon for several days (maybe even weeks), double checked, and finished."

I just love when people jump to conclusions about a topic for which they know nothing about... It's gives me a chance to share information :)