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[Jordgubben]

When can a game considered done? Or rather, when can a game be considered complete? I'm not talking about when a game is perfect, or even "finished" but complete (as in completable). Can there be a "done" without a predefined scope?

Let's take the original Super Mario Brothers and remove world 3 and 5 (and then renumber the remaining worlds). Assuming we did not know that the game was intended to have 8 worlds, would we consider the game complete with 6 worlds. Or to take it in the other directions, how do we know that the original SMB was not supposed to have 9 worlds?

Would it be wise – or at least feasible – to make a game that consist of nothing but a start screen, one (1)  very short and practically empty level and then the end credits roll. This game could (in theory) be considered done, if not very interesting. More content could then be woven in gradually and even tough the game was "not finished yet", it would always (or at least very often) be "done".

This is something I've been casually pondering for a few days and I'd like to hear what the rest of you think about it. Is this just insane ramblings of a mad man or do I have a point? (Yes, I an well aware of the fact that one does no necessary exclude the other)

[Pfotegeist]

Answering your question my own way.

My avatar is a bunny, I reduce the color palette for style. I also drew some circles and called those bunnies. They look a little cuter with ears. If I drew the body without a face it'd make much less sense. With the nose and front legs on a body I believe it'd be mistaken for a mole. The bunny must meet some criteria. If I emphasized the wrong points, I might still call it a bunny although an outside observer would know it's a mole.

In the same sense if an app emphasizes a player having a finite number of actions, they're buying a bus ticket. A company could gamify a bus ticket purchase; track how close someone is to a bus stop with GPS; show everyone else who is buying the ticket. It wouldn't make sense. Most customers want a ticket, the multiplayer aspect would require a tradition of lax privacy.

[DeRoquefeuille]

I don't think there is any universally valid definition of a game beeing "done", that can be applied on games from an outsiders perspective. The game is done, when the creator(s) of the game sees his/their creative vision fulfilled in the product.

Maybe you could call a game "complete", when all the emergent properties arising from the mechanics of the game, have been explored in detail.

[ThemsAllTook]

Maybe you could call a game "complete", when all the emergent properties arising from the mechanics of the game, have been explored in detail.

This is the best definition I've found. Given a particular set of mechanics, it's usually possible to find a comfortable amount of content to explore them fully without overstaying its welcome. However, the question of when the mechanics themselves are done is a much harder one...

[Jordgubben]

Maybe you could call a game "complete", when all the emergent properties arising from the mechanics of the game, have been explored in detail.

Wouldn't this definition indirectly imply the following?
If a game that was generally thought to be complete gets an expansion, sequel or mod that only adds new content (but does not change the mechanic) than this would "un-complete" the original game. But I get your point (and I'm possibly just Semantics trolling by stating my objection to that definition). The goal of game design perfection is to completely explore the possibility space of the mechanics.

But perhaps "complete" is not the even the world I should be using. What I mean is as state of completion where the game can be described like this:
"Ur.. Umm.. You can like play it from the beginning to the end and yeah maybe you could consider it complete even though there is possibly (or even obviously) more room for improvement. It's like a full game. At least nothing obvious is missing."

Perhaps the word "completable" is more like what I'm searching for than "complete". A game that should possibly not be released to the general public yet. The existing content has the indented final production quality. It id definitely ready to be released – not only as play testing or as a demo –  but as a shorter version of the final game. Not single vertical slice, but multiple vertical slices stacked together in a manner that is indistinguishable from a finnished game.


(Edit: Proper grammar! Just a little bit..)

[gimymblert]

let me introduce two concept:
1. verticla slice
2. horizontal slice

1. it's when all the mechanic are done at the highest asset polish in one level
2. it's when all the mechanics ABD length of game is realized at minimal asset polish

there is also 0. or prototype where all mechanics are demonstrated at minimal polish in one level. Also call the MVP (minimal viable product)

3. it's when all the mechanics are demonstrated in all level at highest polish, aka the ideal finished state

Your game is done somewhere between all those point depending on arbitrary metrics and real world pressure you will have, it start with the MVP to the ideal finished product whose length is either convention or your own arbitrary length (5mn? 10m? 20mn? 30? 1h? 2h? 3h? 5h? 10h? 20h? 30h? 50h? 100h? 200h? 300h?)

[Jordgubben]

The concepts of NOM (Nothing Obviously Missing) and MVP are very similar. Both originate from the same Lean Start Up way of thinking. But the difference is that where MVP focus on the first release in an incremental development cycle, a NOM is all about the last release in the development cycle (that may by coincidence also be the first release).

(Most) Game development differ from traditional software development in that we actually intend to stop development some (relatively short) time after release (the exception would be online games like LoL & WoW). Games have sequels in a way that most other software does not.

What I'm arguing for (and this may be a bit controversial for some) is to not even aim for an IFS (Ideal Finished State). Limit scope on a delivery date and get something out the door.

(edit: Realised that that I had never explained the "NOM" abbreviation in this thread. That was a bit silly of me. Can't really expect anyone else to recognise/understand an abbreviation I just made up a few days ago  )