As for listening to feedback… you really have to have a good filter for that. I get all sorts of comments and requests for art thigns going into my game that I never implement. Some things I backburner, some things I implement straight away. My favorite way of dealing with that sort of thing is meeting them headon and sharing their excitement at the idea and finding what I like about it, and either likening it to something I already have in the game or finding a way to frame it in a way that I build on their idea and make it something that’s actually worthwhile to add.

When I have to let them down, I tend to minimize it, or assume a little of the blame for not being able to do it, while acknowledging the coolness of their input. Or framing it in such a way that I’m partially implementing their idea and making them feel more involved. Ultimately, that’s all people really want, and if you can get quality feedback out of it, then that makes everybody happy. It’s an interesting dance, especially when you’re dealing with the directors of your company! heheh.

Finish and release your game!

So I sort of say the same thing, if at least 3 people are requesting a feature then you should look into it. You can always remove it later.

I was asked to give a presentation on game development with GNU/Linux for the DePaul Linux Community. That talk should be within the month, which means that I need to figure out what to talk about! This game will definitely be shown at the talk in various stages of progress.

While I don’t think I can hit my month’s end target, I will try to get a demo up for people to try out. If the feedback I got at the small meeting is any indication, releasing this game to the world should give me a lot of good ideas.

P.S.: In case you’re wondering, I’m a Computer Science senior and I’m aspiring to be an independent game developer myself. I stumbled upon this blog a few months back and it’s been on my RSS list since then .