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[grayfox88]

I'm gonna be the harsh realist here. I had a couple living with me that lost both their jobs at the same time and the boyfriend decided to take a stab at making games for the IOS, so I set him up and lent him my iMac, with the condition that he and his girlfriend continue to look for a job, I would help them out. 3 months later and he had nothing to show except a level 85 death knight. I promptly booted his ass without remorse, I'm sure your girlfriends parents will do the same.

But if you're serious, and dedicated, you MIGHT pull this off. But only if you really apply yourself, be disciplined and focus on making your game.

Also, I can't stress enough the importance of getting a part time job doing anything, don't just look at retail - watch job banks online and ask friends who have jobs in your area to hook you up. 8 hours a week at the local carwash is more income than you have now, and your future in-laws will appreciate the effort, and you can continue to learn and work on your game stress-free.

Don't be a deadbeat and everything will work out.

[Theophilus]

I'm not experienced at all (I've made about $1.50, mostly ads), but here's my advice.

Remember that your audience controls whether you eat or not. If you make a super awesome game with lasers and zombies and minecrafts and RPG elements, but don't get it's name out there, nobody will play it. Making a good game is the easy part, for some, while the hard part is getting people to play it.

EDIT:

Also, I didn't read your game idea, but it looks HUGE, especially for a first game.

[grayfox88]

Also - I've been attempting to make games for over 5 years now unsuccessfully. I'm indecisive and procrastinate a lot. I would create overly ambitious designs and get maybe a map, model, or piece of concept art done before I was overwhelmed or moved on to my next idea. You need to be careful of these mistakes, remember to start small, like Theophilus is saying.

[delete me]

The current discussion has nothing to do with this board. We seem to all think the same thing, and our piece has been said. So how about we just watch this develop? I'm interested to see where his game goes.

[Elwood Sharit]

@xoorath:
Well if there's so much to be said in opposition, I shouldn't stray from my own intentions here. I did originally post, looking for advice. And if the majority of the advice is to lower my expectations and create something small instead, possibly that should be considered.

I can't come around looking for bits and pieces of advice and just choose what I want to hear, all points are equal here and I have to weigh it all out. That doesn't mean I'll be giving up just yet, but at this point I'm at least re-evaluating my standpoint.

[Fallsburg]

That's a good attitude to have.  I think that we just want to fully get across just how difficult it is to make a game, particularly one of a large scope, and especially if you haven't done it before. 

Don't give up on the making of your game, but perhaps you should put this one on the back-burner until such a time as you have some experience.  There's no better way to kill your dream game than to make it as your first game (my experience at least).

[JWK5]

Where I always falter when it comes to game development (or art, really) is the "why", I am kind of at that insane stage of life where I don't know what I want to do and why and it pretty much slows everything to a crawl as I try to sort my brain out.

Anyways, once you know why of you want to do (and you genuinely have a good reason to do it) then you will have an easier time doing it because you have a proper destination and can devise the shortest and clearest path to reach it.

If right now you are just trying to pay bills then don't get all crazy with the Cheese Wiz, just look for examples of smaller (i.e. lower development time) games that sell well and aim for something along those lines. Once your bills are paid you can start focusing on the more ambitious and creative stuff you really would like to create (if that is what you really want to do).

Many musicians and artists do advertisements and "less artistic" stuff to keep them afloat long enough to complete their real life's work. There's nothing wrong with doing a little 'grunt work' now and again.

Thanks all around. Everything will work itself out.  

this is what hope looks like before it is crushed by reality

I need that on a bumper sticker.

[JWK5]

That is an interesting way to look at things, though the problem with just giving in to compulsions is that sometimes you are compelled by the urge for distraction or avoidance which in the end only leaves you chasing your own tail. A lot of the feeling of being "lost" sets in when you've stopped chasing your own tail and realized there is a whole world out there full of better things to chase.

[Blodyavenger]

Hey hey!

I don't have any expereince around making money with games but I'm working on my first commercial product at the moment, just like you. Well, except that I have almost 4 years of experience around game development.

Of course, Isupport you, work hard and do what you believe in. There is a lot of chance that you'll meet the same fate as the others said but who knows, you can be an exception

What goes for the reality, you should find a job at least for some time so you're not just a nuisance to her mother and maybe you'll not just help with food and electricity bills but you may hire some artist / musicians for your project.

Now, don't give up and work hard! Get to your code already  

[baconman]

I'd have to concur. I've been working on stuff about on the scale you're talking about, and it's usually over a year in the making. And as somebody who's housed a "deadbeat" this year, I can assure you: Your parent-in-laws are NOT going to wait that long.

We aren't saying this because we don't believe you can create this. You absolutely can. All we're saying is that it's way bigger inside the code than the external product appears to be, and there's a lot LOT more to gamedev than what's obvious. Many of us would LOVE to see this title, but that also means seeing you not become homeless and hopeless at 30% completion. From somebody that's been there too already, believe me, that REALLY fucks with your development process!!

I'd suggest hitting 5 applications of one neighborhood corner per morning, and another per evening, 4 days a week. Make sure you remark to the manager that you have "a good feeling about this." It's a tiny thing, but it can make all the difference.

Spend about 30 minutes a day on art or coding, because it's kind of hard to start making "building blocks" of code if you don't have the graphical assets to back them up. That part alone has taken me a month, and I'm maybe 5% of the way through THAT. Keep this going/alive, especially in the 3 off days. This, along with job-seeking, will keep you from burning out on either one; and only devoting a reasonable amount of time to each will keep you focused and sharp.

Finally, don't forget to be reassuring to your girl too. While this is understandably a tough spot for you, you also need to consider her place in all of this. Not only is she in the same struggle you're in between job and passion stuff, but she's likely also being torn between her feelings for you and her love for her family in this, along with her own self-worth being judged by the situation you're both in as well. It's that sort of pressure that a girl needs a spectacularly positive and reassuring boyfriend for. Make at least a couple hours devoted every week for this kind of thing, and make it more about caring for her.

[Elwood Sharit]

Can I get a lock on this thread please?
It's turned into a forum of it's own more than a dev log. I'll start an actual dev log with details on a new smaller game idea soon, taking everyone's suggestions into account.

Thanks all of you.  

[deathtotheweird]

in the lower left hand corner of the page there is a lock button. you can do it yourself.

[delete me]

I wasn't trying to get you to be adverse to the suggestions.

What I was trying to say was:

It's turned into a forum of it's own more than a dev log.

Which in and of itself has validity, just perhaps somewhere else? I'd still be interested to to talk about the subject.