Project Gnome

I've been spending some time learning Godot Engine in pursuit of a game idea I had about a decade ago. But as I wrote fairly recently it's important to get some momentum going for these things.

I took a class while at university from a published video game designer and developer. There were two key themes to game design that the teacher emphasized. The first was using different design elements, such as fonts, logo, colors, sound and music to create a consistent tone for your game. The second, but arguably more important theme was to focus on the "fun" in the game it seems obvious that a game should be fun, but it's also fairly obvious that this isn't always the highest priority in the development of a AAA game.

It was in the course of this class that I wrote out a design document for what I am calling Project Gnome. This is a combination real-time strategy and first-person game with an emphasis on player vs. player competition.

Nothing in the design is technically unfeasable, other than that it might be too ambitious a project for a single developer with a full-time career. But I'm going to try.

Even though the ultimate game is intended to be a 3d game, I am starting with Godot Engine in 2d. The reason for this is a couple of things. First, I think I can capture a lot of the mechanics of the initial idea in a 2d game. Second I think it will be a quicker route to something satisfying that validates the concept of the game. Finally, I think it's important to work on the thematic and tonal elements as much as on the mechanics, and this approach lets me keep the focus on developing the art style, characters, world lore and other elements that I'll need to have solidified more before working on this in a 3d way.

I'd say it's "easier" but I'm not sure that's true.

So, in the coming weeks I hope to update on progress as I work through the initial stages of the game. The first milestone is a navigable map. Wish me luck!