One of the best things about a plan is you know when you are finished.. Sounds daft, but it's true.
In my games I made the first one, on the fly.. It worked out OK, but I was tweaking things even after I'd finished.. Others I've planned out, in terms of features, but not in terms of time.. I never seem to get that right, for the feature list.
The other thing I find plans help with is getting the 'overall' structure right. If you can plan out most of the features, then sometimes, the old flash of light hits, and you find a new way of approaching the project.
Another 'sometimes', is that the planning part can actually be quite good fun, but I do know some people who get so involved in the planning that they never do the actual project.
In my games I made the first one, on the fly.. It worked out OK, but I was tweaking things even after I'd finished.. Others I've planned out, in terms of features, but not in terms of time.. I never seem to get that right, for the feature list.
The other thing I find plans help with is getting the 'overall' structure right. If you can plan out most of the features, then sometimes, the old flash of light hits, and you find a new way of approaching the project.
Another 'sometimes', is that the planning part can actually be quite good fun, but I do know some people who get so involved in the planning that they never do the actual project.