From Idea to App Store Part 1: Getting Started & Designing Your Indie Game

In this podcast Charlie & I discuss the ideation & design steps needed to get started building an indie game, using my recently released game Carrier Commander: War at Sea as a template to help aspiring indie developers see the start-to-finish process of releasing a game. Charlie and I have both been working in the mobile gaming industry for several years, and have recorded a number of podcasts on various gaming topics. This podcast is part one of a series of 3 covering the entire process materializing a game into reality.

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Links

Part 2: Facing the Challenges of Indie game Production - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI7-ltisuzQ
CGF Homepage - https://chengdugaming.com/
Carrier Commander: War at Sea (App Store) - https://itunes.apple.com/app/carrier-... (Google Play BETA) - https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.BerlinHaus.Carrier_Commander

Time-Stamped Notes

0:00 - 2:30 Developing from Asia for low cost of living. 2:30 - 8:00 Getting started and choosing your game idea. - Making thousands of prototypes vs. Making 1 complete game - Prototyping - Link to Previous Podcasts Mentioned - r/ game ideas subreddit - Making your game unique 8:00 - 9:30 Story of The Ember Conflict - Indie game made by devs in Beijing - Indie development is cut-throat & difficult 9:30 - 11:00 - Choosing a Genre (Strategy) and a Game Development Tool (Game Maker) - Fate of the Real Time Strategy Genres - Game Makers Deployment options 11:00 - 16:00 Drawing up your Game Design Document - Making design decisions early to saves time later - Waterfall approach to Software Design - Details of the Game Design Document - Mechanics & Compulsion Loops - Aesthetics and Theme - Replacing Tutorial Text with Good Level Design - Mobile Users habits vs. Console & PC Gamers - Importance of the First Time Experience