Indie developer Tom Francis walks through the scope changes that occurred while making Heat Signature and what lessons can be applied to other games.
Last year developer Tom Francis (the former PC Gamer editor-turned game developer) released Heat Signature, the long-awaited follow-up to his critically-acclaimed Gunpoint.
However, Heat Signature took three times as long to make as Gunpoint, and Francis learned meaningful lessons about how to ensure his future projects wouldn’t take as long.
At GDC 2018, Francis took the time to present a talk on his experiences, sharing how other indie developers can avoid overscoping their game into oblivion. It’s a great talk that many developers can learn from, and you can also watch it in its entirety (for free!) on the GDC YouTube channel.
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.
Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.
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