Well a while ago I posted a thread saying I'd planned my next game and it was going to take 200ish hours or something and be ready by, uh, last week.
Well, this would have been true if I'd used BlitzPlus, but because I used BlitzMax there was a whole host of technical problems to solve. Then I released all my collated code as the Grey Alien BlitzMax Game Framework and this alone took more than 200 hours and I haven't even started my next game yet!
However, I've done a *new* plan today for the new game and luckily there aren't any unknowns so it's a lot easier to estimate. It looks like around 120 hours are required to get to a 10 level beta and then another good 40 hours are required to make another 90 levels and perform post-beta tweaks/fixes/polishing etc.
The actual marketing and selling bit is thankfully handled by my producer so I can just heave a sigh or relief when the game is done and sit back with butterflies in my tummy watching is sell. That bit sure gives you a rollercoaster ride feeling - some of you will know what I mean :-D
So *maybe* there'll be a beta in 3-4 weeks on this forum. However, a lot depends on if the producer can actually get the graphics and music to me on time, otherwise the schedule goes out the window. But at least I can work on other things meanwhile like a platformer and shoot'em up (eh guys ;-))
Anyway, when this one takes >160 hours, you can say "I told you so already and now I'm telling you again, doh!" ;-)
Well, this would have been true if I'd used BlitzPlus, but because I used BlitzMax there was a whole host of technical problems to solve. Then I released all my collated code as the Grey Alien BlitzMax Game Framework and this alone took more than 200 hours and I haven't even started my next game yet!
However, I've done a *new* plan today for the new game and luckily there aren't any unknowns so it's a lot easier to estimate. It looks like around 120 hours are required to get to a 10 level beta and then another good 40 hours are required to make another 90 levels and perform post-beta tweaks/fixes/polishing etc.
The actual marketing and selling bit is thankfully handled by my producer so I can just heave a sigh or relief when the game is done and sit back with butterflies in my tummy watching is sell. That bit sure gives you a rollercoaster ride feeling - some of you will know what I mean :-D
So *maybe* there'll be a beta in 3-4 weeks on this forum. However, a lot depends on if the producer can actually get the graphics and music to me on time, otherwise the schedule goes out the window. But at least I can work on other things meanwhile like a platformer and shoot'em up (eh guys ;-))
Anyway, when this one takes >160 hours, you can say "I told you so already and now I'm telling you again, doh!" ;-)