A few days ago, Tom said something on twitter that inspired me to make this post:   

                                 

I owe the beginning of my journey of making games to Newgrounds. I’ve decided to start writing about the process here to shed light on development for those interested in making games too. 

Since I’ve been fortunate enough to quit my job two years ago and be financially sustained by doing what I like (making games), I want to share with you my mistakes, my learnings and my process as it evolves.

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I’d like to return the favor by writing posts every week.

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I feel it is only right to give back and hopefully inspire others the way I was inspired by artists on Newgrounds who came way before me.

My game, Sentry Knight Tactics (pictured below), is a continuation of a series of games I’ve developed over the course of a few years. I’ve developed a few other series of games; some of which were failures and others that were successes.

                    

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How do you know what will stick and be successful for you?

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You don’t. Experimentation and borrowing from other successful works is key.

I’ve made about 30 games for fun and experimented with tons of genres before I found what works for me. I’ve worked on a few original series, done many game jams and have made contract games for sponsors. Some received millions of plays, high scores and continue to make me money. Some were absolute failures and received public scorn. All were learning experiences that help me as I continue to grow.

Of the games I made, those that did well I made sequels of. Dino Shift became Dino Shift 2. Siege Knight became Sentry Knight. Sentry Knight was loved so much, Justin and I (the programmer) were commissioned to make a sequel and a got a publisher’s interest in Sentry Knight Tactics. These games were financially successful enough for me to not have to work as a graphic designer anymore. 

Experimenting with these early games informed my aesthetic sense and game “feel”. From Dino Shift, I learned players like my cute, colorful characters with expressive, emoticon-like faces. From Sentry Knight, I learned players liked cool animated special effects, gorgeous backgrounds (thanks to Jason) and cartoon gore. I also learned to remove what they hate.

Do what works. Do what you like.

I try to take the feel and aesthetic to the next level with each game I make. The increasingly higher ratings and higher income from my work quantifies their importance to success to me.

     
                                                          (Quality, Score and Plays increase with time)

Aside from learning through experimentation, I tend to borrow what works from other games. My philosophy is that more of what is good can’t be bad. A concept has proven itself and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. 

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My new game is NOT original, just smarter

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Sentry Knight Tactics borrows a lot inspiration from Mika Mobile’s iOS game, Battleheart.

                           

My new game is Battleheart on cocaine. I loved Battleheart. It has a lot of heart despite my many gripes about all it does wrong. Sentry Knight Tactics is what Battleheart could have been if done well.

Sentry Knight 1 was originally supposed to be a side-scrolling RPG. I lacked the skill, money, and vision to make such a game at the time and instead made Sentry Knight 1 the tower-defense game it became. As I developed the Sentry Knight series, I thought about how I could make the world fitting for an RPG. 

I always wanted to make a 2D interpretation of World of Warcraft growing up. Battleheart perfectly broke down the party-based raid controls of WoW into a simple, single player game.  Since they did it so perfectly, it would be foolish for me to try and reinvent the wheel. I took this genre out for a spin with my jam game: Punk Bitches vs The Undead before I decided to integrate the concept with Sentry Knight.

Sentry Knight Tactics is going to do what Battleheart tried to do but actually make it good.

Battleheart demands you grind levels over and over again. Battleheart recycles its ugly backgrounds.  Battleheart only has a few enemies. Battleheart has lousy music. Battleheart’s levels are limited to one screen. Battleheart has no story. Battleheart’s sequel was terrible and lost all the charm of the original. 

I’m taking what Mika Mobile did and making it better with my brand of game feel I learned from making older games.

                            
                                                      (Side-scrolling, loot AND killable chickens. Wow!)

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Work smarter, not harder

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Time is money. When starting making games, you’ll be broke. You don’t want to waste time and money producing expensive games that take forever to make and that you don’t have the vision or experience to make.

I have a series that was liked amongst fans. I have a publisher who gives me X money to produce a game. I work on my new game within these restrictions. A lot of developers more talented than I burn themselves out, go broke or just flat out fail from from not reaching the unrealistic and high expectations they set so early in their career.

One day, I’ll be able to make even bigger games. Until then, I work within my restrictions.

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What are you going to do this new year?

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I want to post more about my process in 2016; hopefully i'll make one post every week.

I want to make three games this year.

I hope my posts inspire other people to make content this year.

I hope the people that I inspire in turn inspire others.

Let me know what you’re going to make.

PS. If you want to see more Sentry Knight Tactics stuff and don't feel like waiting for the next post, follow its twitter