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[sexybeastfareast]

I was a at video game conference a few weeks ago and there was a panel on topic of collecting and archiving. I had no idea that a lot of video games in the past, especially the most influential ones, had little to no materials archived. Whether its a copy of the obsolete game itself to concept art and source codes.

So I was wondering if you guys keep your game materials? What do you keep and what do you throw out?

[pelle]

Everything in git, in as much plain-text standard formats as possible (eg design documents as txt, graphics as svg). Multiple backups on everything. Avoiding depending on closed source and/or uncommon compilers or single-platform development environment.

Didn't use to do that, and it is a pain to try to recover some of my projects from the 90's. My future self 20 years from now will thank my current me.

[John Hutchinson]

I also use git. Version control is an absolute must. Periodically I also archive a physical copy onto another computer.  An external hard drive would be even better but I don't have one yet.

I've also started archiving and keeping major builds so that I can go back and reflect on how far the game has come and remember what steps I went through to get there. My hope is that I'll be able to get a bird's eye view of the development process and more easily isolate good and bad decisions that were made along the way, which I can then leverage to improve future workflow.

[LaughingLeader]

A question I thought of when I was reading your responses:

Do you have "to-do" lists? If so, what sort of format do you write them in? Pen & paper, Excel or some form of spreadsheet, simple text file, or some sort of other program?

My to-do lists are in a simple text file, but it's rather bloated now and I'd like to be able to have some simple feature like being able to check off what's finished, and perhaps archive those finished tasks, or group tasks into various categories and whatnot. I don't really know of any program that has those features though.

I just thought it'd be nice to have something like that so when you look back at your past projects, or even if you're still working on one, you could see what steps you took to get to various points of development, and what tasks you assigned to do so.

[John Hutchinson]

I prefer pen and paper for my to-do lists because I tend to get addicted to the compulsive nature of software like that... plus you can't draw diagrams and pictures in most of the software options.

I keep a separate binder for each project I'm working on, or seriously plan to work on later.  When I complete a list or run into a wall, I write down the areas that I think would make most sense to work on next (without looking at the binder). Then I refer to the binder to collect related data, crossing out anything that has already been addressed or is no longer valid with the current iteration. Then I combine my goal/plan with whatever related notes/ideas/to-do lists I found in the binder to create a practical to-do list. I try to resist the urge to break the items on this list down into pieces that are too specific. Planning specifics too far in advance can often be counterproductive since a lot can change as you mold your creation, rendering much of your time wasted or leading you down a less-than-optimal path. Instead, wait until just before you're ready to implement a task/item to break it down... and then break it down into really simple chunks before you start.

I work completely solo at the moment so all that works great for me. If you're working with a team, however, then you'll probably want to devise some sort of task board (scrum, lean, kanban... research these if you don't know what they are).  The bottom line is that you need some sort of system that can be easily changed and won't result in compulsive behavior.  Then just adjust it to better suit your needs over time.

If you're ever unsure about how you're going to do something, you're usually better off postponing it until other pieces of project are development and the game as a whole becomes more clear.

If you're interested in learning more about iterative development, check out a book called Agile Game Development With Scrum.  I knew a bit about these concepts already but this book really put everything in perspective for me. I highly recommend it.

[TobiasW]

My to-do lists are in a simple text file, but it's rather bloated now and I'd like to be able to have some simple feature like being able to check off what's finished, and perhaps archive those finished tasks, or group tasks into various categories and whatnot. I don't really know of any program that has those features though.

If you like it simple like I do, you might like http://workflowy.com

[pelle]

My todo-lists also where simple text files. I have started using Org-Mode now. It is also saved as a simple text file, but with things like check-boxes that can be ticked off, sub-lists that can be collapsed, and a billion other features.

[sexybeastfareast]

If you like it simple like I do, you might like http://workflowy.com

curiously clicked on the link and im loving it! going to use it for my uni notes. thanks for the link!

So no one keeps any concept art?

[John Hutchinson]

If you like it simple like I do, you might like http://workflowy.com

So no one keeps any concept art?

I do.  That's one of the many reasons I prefer the binder method I mentioned previously.

[LaughingLeader]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm currently messing with WorkFlowy and it seems like exactly what I was looking for. Now if only they released a desktop app version (for offline), that'd be perfect.

So no one keeps any concept art?

I do, but it's about one step above stick art (meaning it's pretty crappy), so I like to pretend it doesn't exist.

[seagaia]

trello is a nice way to keep track of progress on a project when working with partners. you can even print out all of the cards if you want, or export to json and parse that somehow to makea  histroy of all comments.

for my more personal notes, i have a portable journal for design on-the-go, a pad of notebook paper for design at home, a handful of text documents for little notes more related to programming and google docs/spreadsheets/pictures for organizing larger data with members or for myself when i need the sort of design task to be more "malleable".