15 replies to this topic

[Jenny]

Speaking myself, I've always pretty much just worked with what I have in my head rather than writing things down. This is uh, not the most efficient way to do things especially if you step away from a project for a while, since you may forget what you had planned.

 

More recently, I've had design documents where I lay out things like story / area flow and progression, among other things. I'm wondering though, how do the rest of you plan your quests? I think hearing the ways other people do (or don't) go about it could be helpful for some.

[Orithan]

Lots and lots of rambling in notepad documents. It usually ends up a mess in no time flat.
Rough area designs may be instead hashed out using an image-editing document like Paint.net

[Nightmare]

I admit I mostly keep things in my head.  I don't write things down as much.

 

But if you work with other people, planning might be a thing.

 

-Jmaes

[Bagu]

I should definitly be more organized...

[Twilight Knight]

I use a google drive document to keep track of TODOs, story elements, item/HCP locations, credits, shop prices and much more.

It's mostly a real lifesaver to be able to look up where I'm planning to place an item. The TODO list naturally is also a great help

 

The document started with a few pages, to write down some general ideas, but is already 35 pages by now 

 

 

I also do the same as Orithan where I sketch most overworld ideas in paint. Dungeons I like to draw on paper with an eraser close at hand


Edit: also the very first thing I planned was the item locations, primarily which items in which dungeons. I'd recommend that to everyone, so you can place secrets/shortcuts in the quest early on, without being sure on the actual dungeons

Edited by Twilight Knight, 22 August 2021 - 05:49 AM.

[Bagu]

I always begin with the storyline

[Bagu]

I use a google drive document to keep track of TODOs, story elements, item/HCP locations, credits, shop prices and much more.

It's mostly a real lifesaver to be able to look up where I'm planning to place an item. The TODO list naturally is also a great help

 

The document started with a few pages, to write down some general ideas, but is already 35 pages by now 

 

 

I also do the same as Orithan where I sketch most overworld ideas in paint. Dungeons I like to draw on paper with an eraser close at hand


Edit: also the very first thing I planned was the item locations, primarily which items in which dungeons. I'd recommend that to everyone, so you can place secrets/shortcuts in the quest early on, without being sure on the actual dungeons

You motivated me, to make a TODO list for "Little Hero"
...The quest is becomming bigger than expected. So, it's probably reasonable.

[Mitchfork]

I think I do something similar to Twilight Knight - I have a big Google Doc that's just like, stray thoughts and planning.  This spans from huge macro level, like the overall plot of the game, to mid-level progression diagrams, to micro dungeon theming notes.  Google Docs is nice because you can share it with other people that are collaborating on the project and you can access it anywhere (useful for killing time on work computers).  Here's some stuff that's in Crucible Crest's (with some details blurred / redacted for spoiler reasons).
 
Overall game plan with item dependencies. Not as important if you're doing a linear quest, but really helped us figure out what items to put where based on what we can count on the player already having.


Notes on equipment and upgrades:


Overall map, numbered screens:


We also have a mood board where we posted a lot of fan/official art. This is more to just try to get in the headspace of the tone and atmosphere of different scenes or places. For example, the Impa art here really inspired the dark, candle-lit room where she is. There's another fan comic of Abei (not shown) that used a blue shade that Sheik used as a starting point for the blacksmith's home as well.

 

But probably the most important thing to document is a to-do list.  This is by far the thing I stare at, add to, and modify the most in the document.  I break it down into sections - like the Engine checklist is mainly for handling script bugs and new features that need to be added, but we also have area checklists for things like caves and other events that need to be completed.  This is important because a lot of the time you'll notice something testing, or somebody will mention something that needs to be changed, and you're not able to fix it that moment or you just don't want to.  This lets you just jot it down and it doesn't get lost, so later when you're in the mood to clean up equipment or something, it's all there.

 

[Twilight Knight]

Wonderful! This amount of planning must be super useful for collaborating really well. Also some interesting insight and sneak peaks into Crucible Crest, exciting stuff!

I also like the diagram you made, probably should make one myself to get a good overview of available items in the quest.

The style of lines and shapes looks unfamiliar to me, but is it made with diagrams.net?
If you haven't heard of diagrams.net, it's pretty neat and included by default with your google drive apps:

[Bagu]

I prefer dropbox, instead of google drive.

[peteandwally]

There was a roguelike that came out in the past few years where the dev was quoted saying "every item is just another key" or similar. That is pretty much what determines where your character can go and controls everything else. Planning items and dungeon order is always a good start. I like to make groups of dungeons that can be tackled in any order around a small start area, then make sure to include warps as the world expands so repeating paths doesn't become too boring. Gaining an item can help with opening previously closed overworld paths to make travel easier in the endgame.

[Mitchfork]

The style of lines and shapes looks unfamiliar to me, but is it made with diagrams.net?

Yup, that's the program I use. I like that you have more of a grid to work with than something like Powerpoint.

[Architect Abdiel]

What I do, really depends on the type of quest I am doing.

 

In my more recent quest, Fantastic Dungeons and Where To Find Them for instance, was that I created a whole bunch of example screens which I copy/pasted all throughout the quest for dungeons.

I also made an overworld, and then copies that entire map to a new map. Mainly, cause I intend to make future quests with that same overworld.

After that, I started planning dungeon shapes, keys and item placement for the entire quest. Dungeon shapes were based off of the Straw Hat crew members from One Piece.

 

That was a very simple quest though.

 

 

I have a more ambitious one that I am planning right now, and am working on making several documents for various things.

Thanks to you guys, I used diagrams.net to create a diagram of the main dungeon/pre dungeon progression. It is very basic, and doesn't necessarily cover everything that will happen between dungeons.

My next plan, is to make a document with important information for various parts of the quest. Optional items, upgrades and the like. As well, as defining gimmicks for the various dungeons. Since this quest actually has gimmicks for once.

 

After that is planned, I will return to making dungeon plans, and build all the dungeons. Then I will make the overworld, and make overworld plans.

The last thing I like to do is polish and write.

[Avaro]

basically, like Jenny, i lay out general ideas, story, progression in a design document. it helps to have a plan written down, and i don't need to stick to the plan. it's dynamic.

 

though i never saw the point in to-do lists personally. i dont need to break down tasks into bullet points, i will know what needs to be done by looking at the project. this is assuming it's a solo project.

 

i also like painting the flow of a dungeon layout before making it

[Twilight Knight]

though i never saw the point in to-do lists personally. i dont need to break down tasks into bullet points, i will know what needs to be done by looking at the project

I mostly write down bugs and ideas I'm bound to forget otherwise. To me it makes little sense actually breaking down what needs to be done at a much later point in the game, takes away all focus from what you're doing at the moment and you're left with a daunting list of work ahead.
 

I used diagrams.net to create a diagram of the main dungeon/pre dungeon progression.

Neat