Habits of a Point & Click Adventure Game Designer
I have less than two weeks left now until my self-imposed deadline for writing the puzzles for my Bible-teaching point and click adventure game. I thought I’d spend today blogging a little about my method. The first thing to say is that there is nothing magic about it! I’m prone to slipping in to attitudes which are tantamount to superstition: that if I could only find the right location with sufficiently high ceilings, or the perfect notebook, or discern the secret method used by the grand masters, well maybe THEN I’ll be able to unlock the creativity I need to get this thing made! But as I explained yesterday, it’s the Lord who must build this house – so other than praying for his guidance and inspiration, I don’t think there’s any special formula.
That said, I have settled into a number of little habits. Where I work, people take proper lunch hours, so I find my best puzzle-writing time is from 1pm-2pm. Because of the cold weather, I’ve had to be a bit creative in finding spots where I can sit indoors, out of the wind and the rain, but where I still feel relaxed enough to work well, and ideally without having to pay for a coffee for the privilege. I’ve found one or two public spaces nearby, so I tend to alternate between them. I mostly use my trusty notebook and gel pen, and try to tackle one remaining question each day with a private brainstorm – like “where can the player get a ladder from?”. When I’m at home I often get out my whiteboard (I love whiteboards!) because it gives me a bit more freedom just to throw out any random thought knowing that I can always rub out the useless ones later.
My ultimate goal is a “puzzle document” like the one for Grim Fandango, detailing each section of the game with a list of characters and a map of the various locations, followed by a summary of the game, including all of the puzzles, their solutions, and the various cut-scenes that take place in between. I’m going away for the last weekend in February to go and stay with my parents, so I intend to use that time to finish it all off.
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