How Good is Good Enough?

[BonesTheRabbit]

I've been dabbling in the level editor and lurking here on the forums for awhile. After some time, I've come to the realization that I'm a bit of a perfectionist; the maladaptive kind. Now, this sort of work mentality can have positive and negative consequences. One of the positives is that I can create very detailed and arguably quality work. The consequential negative is simply why you haven't seen any work from me.

Frequently, I see posts like this:

I'm just saying that because from what I've seen you're not doing a whole lot new and unique with the assets. All of the screenshots I've seen so far, while they are still high quality, have just been basic rooms in Amnesia. They're nothing that I haven't seen done just as well in other custom stories, and I think you have the talent to be able to make some really unique and fresh areas with the default assets, which I'd just like to see more of.

I become extremely self-conscious and worried that my work just isn't perfect. Now, pragmatically, I know that perfection is a mechanically unreachable status. Nothing is perfect, and perfection is in and of itself a flaw. But I often times need to take a step back and ask myself "How good is good enough?" I find myself pouring over articles, and analyzing the more popular / quality custom stories, seeing what I like and don't like as a player. But I have trouble actually finishing something and being able to say "Yes, this is finished. I will move on to the next part."

I want to make a quality custom story, to sort of prove myself to my peers, and maybe form / join a team later on, once people have seen what I can accomplish as an individual creator. Moreso than that, however, I want to actually create the custom story, and get it into the hands of those who might like to play it.

Does anyone with similar experiences have any advice?

[palistov]

Enough.

[JonnyAnomaly]

I've dropped a couple of projects I've started just because they were too ambitious for me to be able to achieve in a reasonable time period, and also because I started things without a plan. I think the most important thing is to make a plan for the gameplay and environment before you begin in the editor because otherwise you'll end up struggling to make gameplay around a nice series of rooms you've made. I've yet to complete anything for Amnesia but having made a plan for a series of maps is making the task of just building everything around a plan a lot easier to handle. You can get the broad strokes down first, and then spend as much time as you want adding the nice details later on.

[FlawlessHappiness]

I guess what you're talking about isn't what a good map is, but what a good game is.

It's easy to make rooms in the level editor, but does it feel like a house?

Yes, were walking in tunnels, but are we really underground?


You shouldn't go with "Good enough". You create something, and then you improve it.
Good enough, sounds like you made something, screwed a little around and thought: "Meh, it's good enough..."

Creating something amazing is not something you do everytime. But that doesn't mean you should drop it, if it isn't perfect. Release it anyway. You are learning by doing. Improving skills and ideas all the time.

Also right now is the time to develope your experience. Being in a company like FG you can't just start create a game, and then drop it halfway. You have to make money somehow, and therefore they must make something great.

You have to learn what it is first.


Kman used the word "Unique".
It kind of describes what were looking for. Were looking for something we haven't seen before.
Everything I could be naming wouldn't help you, since i've already seen it, and others probably have too.

Imagination is the best!


Extra note: Sometimes It's not the maps but the experience that counts


Lol i'm actually learning something myself just by writing this. Because i too feel like you do sometimes. Is my work good enough?

Yes, yes it is. It is for you! Maybe it's not to Kman, but it will one day, when you create something cool

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Actually, many people in various fields ask themselves the same question, especially in areas like art or engineering. I mean, it's not uncommon for people to want to fine tune their creation some more, or add to it some new and cool features, simply out of commitment to quality and love for their work, but often there's really no end to it. You can always improve something, and it will always seem like adding a new feature could be a really good idea. If this spins out of control, you may just never finish your project (also, deadlines get broken, you have feature creep, lack of funds or other resources, etc.).

This doesn't mean that one shouldn't strive for quality! Quality is important! But it does mean that you need some kind of a plan early on.

In your case, for a CS, think it through a bit, and figure out what are the most important aspects of it, what kind of experience you want it to be, what are the most necessary resources to achieve this, how many levels you want, how many is reasonable, how much time you have, etc..
Basically, prioritize things, and figure out roughly what would the completed CS be (but, realistically), and then work toward that.

Spend your time on things that matter the most, and do the less important things if you find room for them. For example, put the most effort in the areas where the player is going to spend a lot of time, and put less effort into hallways through which the player is just going to run through in fear. Or concentrate on the major story points first, and add the less relevant detail later on.
Of course, what is more relevant will depend on your ideas, approach and the CS itself.
Set yourself a milestone or two (like, milestone one: if the game has these things, it is a decent game; milestone two: refined enough to be released, etc...).
You could even release new content after your initial release (new levels, better textures), as a sort of a patch.

Also, you could ask some of your friends how the CS feels. Do they feel that it needs more work? Make them tell you why, and in what areas.