There are only a few days left for this year’s Indie Game Making Contest! You’ve all worked so hard to get this far, so don’t let a small mistake trip you up as you reach the finish line. To help avoid that, I’ve got a few late-game tips to share.
Test Your Game!
This is by far the most important. Test your game and have others test it. If you haven’t started this process, follow Arnold’s advice. The quickest way to get knocked out of this contest is for a judge to get stymied by a game-breaking bug. Last year, a handful of games that were otherwise very good got screwed over by simple oversights. We don’t want to see this happen to projects that might have had a shot at a prize so start testing those games ASAP. While avoiding bugs is the top priority, it’s not the only one. Your game will only improve through this process.
Give Yourself Time to Submit Your Game Carefully
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. Don’t wait until the very last minute of the last day to submit your game. The internet is a finicky place, anything could happen and you want time to react and correct your course should something go wrong. Familiarize yourself with our guidelines to make sure you don’t overlook a crucial detail.
Hosting is Important
The judges will be downloading a lot of games in a short time once this contest ends and not all hosting sites are created equal. Try to pick sites that involve the least amount of hassle – Dropbox is a favorite of mine. Try to avoid obnoxious sites like Megaupload that make people jump through a bunch of stupid hoops before allowing files to be downloaded. Obviously, we judges are professionals and we’re going to do our best to download all the games that are eligible, but keep this in mind for the players too. Nobody wants to feel hassled for just trying to play a game!
Finally, Don’t Give Up
This certainly applies for the last few days of the contest, but also for the days afterward. Not everyone will finish on time. Life gets in the way. But regardless of whether you make the deadline or not, you started something and it would be a shame not to finish it. Don’t give up on your project after August 7. You never know what it might turn into someday.
Keep up the great work, everyone!
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