Thread by @mossdogmusic

At the talk by @catacalypto: Writing Within The Lines: Designing IF Without Scope Creep #Narrascope

"Scope creep comes for everyone...." #Narrascope

What is scope creep?

"The tendency for projects of any size to accumulate inessential features over the course of development, progressively expanding the scope."

Keywords: "inessential" and "progressively" #Narrascope

Recognize what is essential for *your* game. Dwarf Fortress has little-to-no-scope creep because everything is in service of the simulationist experience. #Narrascope

Scope creep is not about how large your game is. It's a problem of organization. It's similar to yak shaving in that it introduces the possibility of endless iteration. #Narrascope

There is almost always a reason to implement another feature. But it can wreck your project. #Narrascope

There are different forms of scope-creep-caused sprawl. Consider author facing vs playing facing. Who is experiencing sprawl? Neither is a good player experience at the end. #Narrascope

Why scope creep is bad: so many reasons (tag yourself - j/k, I've done all of these at one point and another) #Narrascope

Many of these problems boil down to: you want your game to be a clearly communicated experience (for you, for the player, for publishers, for code execution). Complexity interferes. #Narrascope

Problems are harder to find and squash in complex systems. #Narrascope

What is your current situation? Your limitations and resources will make a difference in your available effective scope. PS pay your collaborators. #Narrascope

Limitations are not necessarily bad things - balance in your life is a GOOD thing! Scope creep will take away your balance. You need balance. Carve out time for the things that matter to you that aren't your projects. #Narrascope

If your structure is supposed to look like the structure on the right, don't let your execution look like the structure on the left. Plan consciously. #Narrascope

The structure can be understood also as a map of the player experience. It doesn't mean your nodes need to look like that. #Narrascope

"I like to learn from my mistakes! And I like to PROVE that I have learned from my mistakes." Invasion node map clearly does not have the same structure problem as the prior node map. #Narrascope

Invasion was planned as a game that could be written in a flight, a layover, and a flight. It had to be constrained and finishable. #Narrascope

Tightly planned structure, tightly planned narrative, and a scenario (pursued by aliens, recovering memories) that worked with that structure. And then Invasion got tighter, because it was above the sub-Q word count. #Narrascope

Edit! Think about why everything has been included. What can be cut? What is the justification for it to stay? Find the least useful section and examine it carefully. Cut what doesn't work. #Narrascope

Technique: Figure out what parts of the work are your highest priority, and why. Do this as a habit. #Narrascope

Be honest with yourself about what you love vs. what fits. You will internalize your project's priorities this way. #Narrascope

Build out a single mechanic as part of a smaller project before committing to many interlocking systems. It keeps your systems from muddying each other. #Narrascope

And then:
1) You can get feedback on your mechanic via your smaller project!
2) You will know what does and doesn't work about your mechanic in order to make it better!
#Narrascope

3) Instead of focusing on what that dream project could be, you have this small scope project that isn't the project of your heart. If it fails, you haven't broken your heart. It sets expectations for you. #Narrascope

Real life deadlines are helpful!

What Isn't Saved Will Be Lost is a game about choosing whether to keep memories. It came into existence because it could be built by deadline - but then the deadline forced priority decisions. In a good way. #Narrascope

Deadline was Indiecade. Nobody noticed the features that were missing. And nobody cared. #Narrascope

DEADLINES ARE GREAT

I HATE THEM

#Narrascope

Make peace with the idea that any good project can have multiple satisfying directions and iterations. And all are equally valid and good. #Narrascope

Take your dream project and think of the best version of it.

Go down a step. What if you spend 18 months or you don't go over your budget?

12 months?

6 weeks?

Game jam version?

You will learn your ladder. You will learn the heart of your game this way. #Narrascope

Pick two versions somewhere in the middle. The 18 month version and the 12 month version, maybe. Make the smaller version first. #Narrascope

If at some point you want to revisit the larger version, you can. It's yours. #Narrascope

Track your time on projects, at least as an experiment. It's really good to understand where your time is going. #Narrascope

The truth is, yak shaving is fun. But is it worth it? Maybe don't shave your yaks. Maybe scope your yaks. #Narrascope

Takeaway slide! Also, buy Pathologic 2!

#Narrascope

(From Q&A)
Keep opportunity cost in mind. What are you losing for doing this cool thing? Also, after a little while, evaluate the new feature. Is this really a good idea? #Narrascope