RVA #GGJ15 Keynote Talk - From Consumer to Creator: Making Games

@cattsmall@cattsmall
From Consumer
to Creator:
Making Games

@cattsmall
I’m Catt Small.
I like video games A LOT!

● Game developer (solo, Brooklyn Gamery,
Buttered Toast Studios)
● Teacher & event organizer (The Code
Liberation Foundation)
● Product Designer (SoundCloud)
● Illustrator, student, etc.
About me:

Played games as a kid

Made dress up dolls

Collaborated with friends

Made game jam games

Making weird stuff!

At the beginning,
game dev was
a mystery

Is this it???
Game Dev Story, Kairosoft

@cattsmall
My first #GGJ
(2012)

I knew nothing about
making games

Kirby, © Nintendo
I was the artist

We had huge aspirations

Our game was pretty bad...

But we made
SOMETHING,
& that ROCKED.

What I learned:
YOLO, just do it.

The next year,
I took a break from GGJ
to improve my skills.

Went to more jams & hackathons
Prism Shell
Hexapong Teledoor

Joined Code Liberation

What I learned:
Polished games come
from a lot of practice.

What I learned:
It’s okay to fail if you
learn from that failure.

@cattsmall
My second #GGJ
(2014)

I knew more about
making games

We made a finished game!

It didn’t win
any awards.

But it got a lot of
positive responses.

It was shown!

It was memorable.

What I learned:
Jamming is about self-
improvement,
not winning.

What I learned:
Keep working on your
game if you think
it has potential.

What I learned:
Advocate for yourself
and you’ll get heard.

@cattsmall
Other tips for you!

Games are made
of several things...
most of the time.

● Characters: beings with which player(s)
interact
● Mechanics/Rules: systems that determine
how player(s) interact with the game
● Goal: what the player(s) must do to finish
the game
● Story: narrative driving the game’s goal &
rules
What makes up most games:

You don’t need all
(or any) of these.

Not a programmer?
You can do other
important things.

● Sound design (SFX, music)
● Art (characters, level, menus)
● Game design (levels, systems, logic)
● Writing (story, menus, instructions)
Some other roles:

There is something
for everyone.

● Game art: www.opengameart.org
● Sound effects: www.grsites.com/archive/sounds
● Sound effects and music: www.freesound.org
Free resources:

Remember to
make a plan.

Try not to jump
right into code.

Sketching

Paper prototyping
http://mondaybeginsonsaturday.com/2012/02/29/paper-prototyping/

This will help you
stay on track.

We are now living in
the era of accessible
game development.

GameMaker Studio
GameMaker Studio, Yoyo Games.
image credit: gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com

Construct 2
Construct 2, Scirra

Unity
Unity Engine, Unity Technologies

Construct 2

And more!
Twine, Scratch,
Stencyl, RPGMaker,
openFrameworks,
Processing...

Pick whatever gets
the job done.

Dream big, but
start small.

Make the important parts work

Evaluate nice-to-have
features later

Put the fancy stuff
in when you can.

If something isn’t working,
pivot ASAP.

Don’t waste 3/4 of
the jam getting a
feature to work.

Confused about something?
That’s normal.

No one should
judge you for
needing help.

Everyone does this!
Google is your best friend.

saintpetersblog.com
Rubber duck method

If you can,
playtest your game.

Watch people play

Solve frustrating problems

You only need
FIVE PEOPLE.- "A mathematical model of the finding of usability problems"

Work hard.
Sleep well.

Take naps.
Dorkly

If you stay awake
for too long,
your code will suck.

Remember that
games don’t have
to be “fun”.

Games are about
MEMORABLE
EXPERIENCES.

Most importantly...
がんばれ！
(do your best!)

Don’t leave if your
game doesn’t get
100% finished.

Stay and learn from
what others make.

In summary:
● Put the polish in later.
● You don’t have to be a programmer!
● Ask for help and test your game.
● Listen to your body and sleep as needed.
● Games don’t need to be fun, but should
convey memorable experiences.
● Don’t give up – push through & learn!

Questions?
Comments?
Tweet @cattsmall

Thank you!
Think of questions later?
Tweet @cattsmall
Email catt@cattsmall.com

RVA #GGJ15 Keynote Talk - From Consumer to Creator: Making Games

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RVA #GGJ15 Keynote Talk - From Consumer to Creator: Making Games