Twenty Hours to Level Up
I am trying something new.

Based upon my success (such as it was) creating an RPG from scratch in 40 hours, I'm going to be working on 20 hour iterations on Apocalypse Cow. While the 20 hours aren't going to be necessarily consecutive, the idea is to focus my time the same way I was able to focus it on that micro-project.

Every 20 hours, Apocalypse Cow is going to level up.

The idea is this: I'm going to start working in 20 (working) hour iterations. That's (theoretically) a week for a part-time indie like me. I am going to shoot for having a "release" for Apocalypse Cow at the end of every iteration. Now, "release" doesn't mean a final release to public, but it should be releasable for those working with me on testing. But I am going to be treating it as if it was a release candidate. I'm going to focus and plan out my time and project for every single hour with that goal in mind.

After all, that's the goal of iterative prototyping - with each completed cycle, you have a product that could be labeled "finished."

I'm jumping into some less-familiar territory at this stage due to the amount of work I have to do with content. While I'm getting third-party help for content, I still have to do a bit of it myself. I'm not much of an artist. It's quite possible I'm going to blow 10+ hours at a shot on a single low-polygon model or polishing up an interior level. But that's just what it has to take --- things aren't gonna get any easier with the RPG looming on the horizon after AC is done.

I'm hoping this will really help me focus on actual meaningful deadlines, and encourage me to put in those hours that I need for this final stretch. After all, it's an addictive mechanic in RPGs, MMORPGs, The Sims, and so forth --- so why not real life, huh?

I'll let you know how this goes.

Labels: Apocalypse Cow, productivity

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 7:46 AM (Permalink)