Do I lack creativity?

[vitinho444]

Hey guys

I've been working almost non-stop one my recent game, divided into 2 parts, a revamp of the old single player survival, and the new ONLINE Multiplayer version.
But this question is about the SinglePlayer part.

I've noticed that I have a hard time building levels, or even games in general, due to my lack of creativity... I'm not a creative person, that pushes me down sometimes, because a game developer without creativity is like maybe a musician without the same quality... And it's a killer.
I'm working on a level on my single player game, and almost close to the finish I found it very ... linear. Do you know Storage Units? Those units you buy to store your goods, I'm making a map based on one of those places, and what I have so far is the roads, and the storage units line up (modelled by me), with several rows, but It's very simple really... And I don't know, because I look at some popular game and I see this:



And I try to do that, but It just doesn't feel right...

What you guys think? I'm in the wrong business huh? How you guys manage to get the ideas for the levels/maps you create and games in general.. It's something you learn? Something you are born with?

[a_bertrand]

No you are not in the wrong business, but simply put the kind of game you show up is NOT made by one guy alone. Why? beside for the obvious time it would take, there is also loads of different skills required:
- Story
- Graphical art (which could be further split in: modeling, lighting, texturing, animating, etc...)
- Music
- Sound effects
- Game engine code
- Scripting (programming the story inside the game engine)
- Quality check
- Marketing
etc...

Now those different areas are SOOO different that it's simply impossible to be skilled in all. You will be able to do one or maybe more of those but certainly not be good at all. Impossible. So either you game is simple as an old pacman or the old invader, and then you will manage, (flappy bird is an example of a simple game), or if you want such bigger more complex games you will see it's not doable.

So how can you work around it? Either you choose a project which is doable by a single person (yourself) with the skills you know you have and master, and in an acceptable time scale (more than a couple of weeks or months is not a smart idea). Or you need to build a team to work on your project. This last option generally fails for indies games, as people don't work all at the same speed, don't have all the same ideas, and may not invest enough time / efforts in a project they don't have the control.

[Gunner]

guy above me is a pro trust me vtinho

[hallsofvallhalla]

No doubt the area in the image above was modeled after a real place. If you want to model a storage unit facility then go to one and get pictures or look them up online. Model your area after it.

[vitinho444]

No you are not in the wrong business, but simply put the kind of game you show up is NOT made by one guy alone. Why? beside for the obvious time it would take, there is also loads of different skills required:
- Story
- Graphical art (which could be further split in: modeling, lighting, texturing, animating, etc...)
- Music
- Sound effects
- Game engine code
- Scripting (programming the story inside the game engine)
- Quality check
- Marketing
etc...

Now those different areas are SOOO different that it's simply impossible to be skilled in all. You will be able to do one or maybe more of those but certainly not be good at all. Impossible. So either you game is simple as an old pacman or the old invader, and then you will manage, (flappy bird is an example of a simple game), or if you want such bigger more complex games you will see it's not doable.

So how can you work around it? Either you choose a project which is doable by a single person (yourself) with the skills you know you have and master, and in an acceptable time scale (more than a couple of weeks or months is not a smart idea). Or you need to build a team to work on your project. This last option generally fails for indies games, as people don't work all at the same speed, don't have all the same ideas, and may not invest enough time / efforts in a project they don't have the control.

Wow, I totally forgot about that... I try to "master" everything in a game, but I end mastering nothing and It fails everytime. I need to use your approach instead, either do a game/project I can do with the current skills I have (or reachable new ones) or just stick to basic game ideas like the ones you mentioned.
The online part is being made 99% by me, while I have a friend with Photoshop skills to make the menus, HUD and GUI, but the rest is on me...
Can i achieve something that is beyond me, even if the final result ends up (and it will probably do) being less than what I achieved, but still there's a final result?

guy above me is a pro trust me vtinho

I know he is Thanks.

No doubt the area in the image above was modeled after a real place. If you want to model a storage unit facility then go to one and get pictures or look them up online. Model your area after it.

Well Storage Units are not a thing here in Portugal, so what I do a lot, is watch "Storage Hunters" and "Auction Hunters" (where I took the idea of this map) and try to go from there. The thing is, the details in such maps is huge.. Like the things i pointed out, I would only put them there, if they had a purpose, not just to make the map/level look "completed", but they are necessary! I won't give up though Even if I have to copy each single detail, I will manage to do it!

[Jackolantern]

No doubt the area in the image above was modeled after a real place. If you want to model a storage unit facility then go to one and get pictures or look them up online. Model your area after it.

This.

The above level is modeled after Iraq. They just looked at pictures of the conflict there and copied it with some changes to the game.

[Verahta]

Halls and Jack already said what I was going to say (visit a real one or look at pictures). If you are really struggling with some areas of your project you could start saving some money and hire somebody to do the parts you cannot do yourself to the level you want it to be done.

Just make sure your project is very well documented (good design doc) so the person you hire will know exactly what to do and what not to do within your parameters. Otherwise, you risk wasting money when the person inevitably does not produce what you expected. Very clearly and precisely lay out the requirements for the job. If possible find somebody local so you have more control over the process, but working with somebody online (like from Odesk or one of those virtual worker sites) is doable as long as you are very organized and prepared.

[vitinho444]

Halls and Jack already said what I was going to say (visit a real one or look at pictures). If you are really struggling with some areas of your project you could start saving some money and hire somebody to do the parts you cannot do yourself to the level you want it to be done.

Just make sure your project is very well documented (good design doc) so the person you hire will know exactly what to do and what not to do within your parameters. Otherwise, you risk wasting money when the person inevitably does not produce what you expected. Very clearly and precisely lay out the requirements for the job. If possible find somebody local so you have more control over the process, but working with somebody online (like from Odesk or one of those virtual worker sites) is doable as long as you are very organized and prepared.

I'm gonna try doing the first one.
Hiring someone is not on the table right now, As I use to say, If I'm not making any money, nobody will. And I wouldn't like to work for anyone for free, so I wouldn't ever hire someone to do just that.

But thanks

[Verahta]

I would counter with: "you have to spend money to make money".

[vitinho444]

Yeah but I can't put myself on debt at the age of 18... My family never had debt, and I won't start it.