Things I have learned in this project so far.

Bientôt l’été has already been a very interesting learning experience for me. Here’s some of the things that I have discovered. These are not necessarily universal ideas, just things that are important for me, for the kind of work I want to make, within the limitations I have to deal with. And not necessarily things that will find direct application in Bientôt l’été, but more so in future projects.

Don’t do realism.
The closer you get to realism, the easier the graphics can be ignored. Plus realism always creates expectations that the game can not deliver on. And it is where the work deviates from reality that meaning is born.

Make one thing only, avoid structure.
Just make one situation, one environment. Otherwise you need some kind of structure to switch between the different situations. And that creates technical and narrative complications that are best avoided. Plus you spread your resources thin.

Avoid interactivity.
Designing interactivity is a pain in the neck. The player should not be required to do something in order to achieve something that is required to make progress or whatever. Design the environment assuming the player wil do nothing. And make that interesting. Any interactivity that flows logically out of the situation is fine. Just don’t assume that any is needed.

Schedule two production cycles.
One before and one after alpha-testing. For the kind of work that we do, in which the experience relies a lot on atmosphere, a videogame needs to have a certain level of completion before it can be tested and evaluated. If a lot of changes seem appropriate after testing, there needs to be sufficient time to implement them. Just assume that you will be making the game twice, or making two games.

Joy is more important than art.
Forget about being original or challenging players’ assumptions. This stuff always backfires. Just try to make something nice for people. If the work is made in sincerity, it will automatically contain worthwhile artistic elements. Ultimately, in all honesty, pleasing players satisfies me more than confusing them.

Don’t make a multiplayer art game.
For people to play together, there needs to be a sufficient amount of them. The more people play the game, the more chance a player will run into another player. If you make a game that wil not attract a large audience, multiplayer doesn’t make much sense. Not without a strategy to bring players together.