After the tensions calmed from the latest scheduling problems, work got back on track for our first game, though with Farran being tied up with end-of-semester work and Adam and I working more and more at our day jobs, the fact remains that game development just isn't the primary time bucket right now. Even still, it poses new challenges - specifically THIS challenge: creating content, collaborating, and making a good foundation for our game without having tons of time to pore over it together. Mr. Bond cautioned us already, saying that our first game will probably suck, and that we should just get that through our heads now. Regardless, it still deserves as much attention and effort as possible. In the spirit of trying to pare down the scope for Game #1, Farran thought it might be interesting to focus on the specific conflict between nations that initially would have ballooned outward into the massive setting we had planned. By focusing on two cultures in depth, we can give them the intimate attention they deserve, plus work on improving visual and audio styles as our skills mature. His example there was The Elder Scrolls series, and it's a pretty fantastic series to draw inspiration from if you ask me.
To be honest, his suggestion, as simple and short as it was, brought my fears and tensions to a three-week low, and got me back on the hopeful track for "Hey, we can do this! It's a lot of work, but we'll learn and inspire along the way!" It's a beautiful change of pace, considering all the work we'd put in for mechanics so far won't be for waste, either: instead, the game will focus on very particular events, and will be driven more by intimate story details than a large, interactive world. This allows us to focus on our strengths (worldbuilding, weaving stories, impacting player empathy with our constructs) while learning new skills (illustrating, 3D modeling, coding for OpenGL), which is perfect for our introduction to the field.
And, to make this public: I'm sorry, guys. I dun goofed with the taskmaster bit. I was so wrapped up in "CRAP! Farran wants something to show people NOW!" that the project went from enjoyable and thought-provoking to chest pains and sleeplessness (I'm not even kidding). Moving forward, though, we have plenty of work to get through this week while we wait for Farran's triumphant return from the grip of studentdom (if only for a few weeks).
