Are You Building Your Game on the Sand?
Jesus told the story of a man who built his house upon some sand (Mathew 7:24-27). We don't know much about him or the house—it could be that he dreamed of building it his entire life, or maybe he heard a word from the Lord. If we had seen him earlier in life, we may have seen him studying plans, sketching designs, scouting sites, and driving everyone around him crazy by talking about how great it would be.
Regardless of the details of the man, the beauty of the house, or how much effort and resources went into its construction, things turned out differently than he had planned. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
Hopefully, this story was merely an illustration, and no one was injured when the house collapsed. Nevertheless, these types of failures can cause injuries to ourselves and those in proximity. Ask those who have worked on failed games or lived through a studio collapse.
No one sets out to fail; we all start building with the best intentions and confidence in our success. However, sometimes, things happen along the way that unknowingly sabotages our project—little things that go undetected or dismissed until we see them in hindsight and realize what happened.
Here are thirty characteristics of failed projects that I've experienced or witnessed throughout my career. Use it as a spot-check while building your game, and hopefully, you can help avoid disaster.
Unrealistic timeline
Unrealistic budget
Building multiple games at the same time
Relying on volunteer labor
Hoping someone will build your game for you
Misappropriating a promise of God
Trying to build a AAA game
Not having a marketing plan
Leaving marketing to the last minute
Betting your family's future on the success of the game
Not having a backup strategy
Not seeking advice
Not validating your target audience
Refusing to listen to feedback
Unwilling to define goals
Working in isolation
Not trusting your teammates
Not empowering your teammates
No clear direction
The design lives in a single person's head
Unwilling to edit or cut ideas
Prideful about investment/publishing deal
Prideful about press coverage
Prideful about past success
Distracted by the shiny
Working in your own strength
Neglecting your family
Neglecting your health
Scaling too quickly
Not spending enough time in pre-production
