Learning to let go of a project
One of the biggest challenges facing any developer (on any project) is simply when to call time and just ship it. Whether it’s down to just the overall complexities versus requirements versus the goals of the developers, or if it’s just a case of shifting goal posts, it’s something which can happen to the best of us.
In fact, seeing Wired’s story on the failure of Duke Nukem Forever happened to remind me of this very fact, as it’s something I’ve been battling myself. I mentioned in my wrap up of the year of how thanks to a PC failure, work on my XBLIG project Meteor Swarm came to a stand-still.
Reflecting on things a bit more, I realised that leaving it in this stage was a blow to my own confidence on shipping projects. Combined with a few other factors personally, I realised it’d be a lengthy period of time until I could do it justice and get it out into the wild via Xbox Live Indie Games.
The result? I’ve decided to clear it out of the system and chalk it up as a glorified prototype. Which means, I’ve built it for PC & made it available online here.
I guess the realisation that it’s almost been 2 years since I started work on the original prototype project is quite sobering. I’d started it originally as my simple use case in building something with XNA. In fact, it actually worked out quite well for the mechanics of game flow, polish, etc. On the flip side, I’ve got an incredible amount to learn on game mechanics though, and leaving this unfinished was an anchor around my neck.
With it out the door, what’s the plans for the future? I’m not sure to be honest. Looking at the various games hitting the service now, I feel there’s no way I could get away with charging for it regardless – and by accepting its out there, maybe I can move onto another project and feel somewhat more recharged in the new year.
Anyway, download it, play it & have fun. Hopefully you’ll get as much fun out of it as I did working on it in the early days :)