next »

[Glaxor]

I've been building a game a week for the last 6 weeks using HTML5 with the Phaser engine. Most of the games I make this way I end up just using basic shapes for the different sprites.
It has occurred to me that having a set of "gray box" type sprites would be useful for rapid prototyping, but why stop there? A small pool of sound effects and music would help flesh out a prototype as well.
Do any of you have a rapid prototyping kit you use to bang out an idea really fast, or do you just spend time searching through the list of free assets available online every time?
I was thinking a blank player character with walking, running, idle, attack and death animations. A basic "enemy" sprite with the same animations as above. Maybe a four-legged animal sprite and an ally NPC sprite with those five animations as well. Basic sound effects for the above and some simple music files to give the feelings of action, adventure, sadness, happiness, success and failure.

What would you keep in your rapid prototyping kit if you had one?

[Armageddon]

http://kenney.itch.io/kenney-donation

[Glaxor]

Thanks, Armageddon! I've searched for assets before but what I found were mishmash catalogs with maybe a couple of gems hidden somewhere in there. This looks like a very well organized collection.

[Cranktrain]

Everyone has their own approach to prototyping, and no doubt there are many valid ways, but I don't tend to use external kits. I'd rather do a couple minute sketch in Photoshop to block out graphics, graphics that look horrendous and messy, but I really don't think a game needs animation or sound effects or even a cohesive look-and-feel to work as a prototype. If a prototype looks pretty, that's probably a sign that it's moved beyond the prototype phase!

[Glaxor]

...I really don't think a game needs animation or sound effects or even a cohesive look-and-feel to work as a prototype. If a prototype looks pretty, that's probably a sign that it's moved beyond the prototype phase!

That's a good point, DizzyDoo. I find that the prototypes I make with basic shapes or rough sketches work well for my own exploration, but I know what I'm trying to do and am able to read deeper than what is actually on screen. Its when I start seeking feedback from others that the game needs to be able to communicate to a player that doesn't know what I was trying to do. This is where I feel that animations, sound effects, and even some simple music helps a lot.