A Postmortem of Inago Rage

Ichiro LambeDejobaan Games

www.dejobaan.com

Summary Ichiro Lambe, Dejobaan Games Topic du Jour: Inago Rage

Postmortem 3 best decisions we made during dev. 3 worst decisions we made during

dev.

Background Information WPI, Class of 1998 Enjoyed playing games... Enjoyed creating games... A career in game development:

Perfect!

Dejobaan Games Founded in 1999 9 Titles

7 PDA Titles 3 PC Titles (There’s some overlap.)

Most recently: Inago Rage Larger, more immersive than our

previous PDA games.

Inago Rage Began in 2002 First-person shooter for Windows Players create the levels in which

they fight. Released about 3 months ago.

Good Decision #1: Differentiation We differentiated the game from

others in the genre. Pac Man clone won’t sell.

First-Person Shooters = tough market. Noticed: building is popular but

inaccessible to casual gamers. Differentiated by allowing all players to

build.

Good Decision #2: Middleware We used middleware right for the

scope of our project. ...and we used it wherever possible.

Conitec A6 Gamestudio for 3D Saved us development/debugging

time. Improved over time.

Good Decision #3: Reusable Framework We created a code base that was

re-usable in future projects. Have been doing this for PDA games

too. Example: Last Man on Mars Benefits

Less work in the future. Concepts not in first title can be in

subsequent ones.

What We Learned Differentiate your game. Use middleware appropriately. Create re-usable code. Lesser advice:

Back up regularly. Get plenty of rest. Hydrate. Go dancing occasionally.

Mistake #1 – Poor Design Architects design buildings before

building them. Prototypes Blueprints

We failed to do this. We started off right, with “Killgame”

prototype...

Mistake #1 – Poor Design The prototype “evolved” into the

actual game. Code, art assets added piecemeal.

Failed to separate design and implementation. Design decisions clouded by technical

considerations. Had to re-create systems.

Narrative/Walkthrough

Outline:1. Player launches Inago.2. Title screen appears.3. Pre-game slideshow.4. Player begins game.5. First-person view – we see platforms,

gems.6. Timer countdown.7. (Etc.)

Mistake #2 – Marketing Woes We switched from PDA to PC games.

Lost an audience receptive to our games.

Lost journalists receptive to our news. Four problems we ran into:

1. Had to develop new code. 2. No existing fanbase on PC. 3. No press contacts for PC market. 4. Greater competition.

Mistake #3 – Playtest? Us? We failed to do external playtesting

consistently. Internally, we played the game one way. New players played it differently! Our way was more fun.

We therefore had to backtrack and re-implement. And Inago Rage suffers for it to this day.

Postmortem Summary Do:

Create gameplay that differentiates your game from others.

Use middleware where appropriate. Create reusable code.

Postmortem Summary Don’t:

Start development in earnest without a design plan.

Underestimate the effects of millions of people who have no reason to listen to you.

Assume everyone will play your game the way you do.

Project Summary Released November 11, 2004

Demo released January 30, 2005 2 years from official start to completion. Budget: $11,000 18 people involved in one way or

another. 2 Artists 2 Voiceover actors 1 Dan Playtesters, models, and me.