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Before you start step by step

In step by step, the studio makes your game in eight steps and stops after each one. You are the judge: you look at what it made, then carry on, or have that step redone with your notes. Each step is paid when you start it.

Start from New game → Step by step → Start step by step.

The eight steps

| Step | What the studio does | What you look at | Typical credits* | Typical time* | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1. Brief | Turns your answers into a title, a pitch and the scope of the game | Name & pitch | 2 | 6 min | | 2. Artwork ideas | Draws several looks for the game, each as a finished in-game picture | The looks, side by side | 2 | 8 min | | 3. Art direction | Refines the look you chose and writes the rules every later picture follows | Style frame, palette, art bible | 3 | 7 min | | 4. Game design | Writes the rules with numbers, the controls, the story, and the list of everything to make | Gameplay, Story | 3 | 8 min | | 5. Characters | Designs each character and animates each of its moves | Characters | 19 | 25 min | | 6. World & interface | Places, objects, logo, cover and the interface | World, Objects, Logo & cover | 15 | 13 min | | 7. Music & sound | Music, every sound effect and the voice lines | Music & sound | 12 | 16 min | | 8. Build & playtest | Programs the game, plays it, fixes what it finds, publishes it | The game itself | 21 | 47 min |

*For a small game (3 characters with 6 moves, 1 place, 2 music tracks). The real numbers for your game are shown next to each step before you start it. All the steps together cost the same as building the game in one go.

Music & sound only needs the game design, so after step 4 you can do it before or after the characters.

What you will be asked

Step 1 is a short wizard, one question per screen:

  1. The game: what it is, who plays, what they do.
  2. The story: is there one, what is at stake.
  3. The universe: where and when it happens.
  4. How it plays: what the hands do, how someone wins.
  5. Players and look: how many players, 2D or 3D.

Every question has Let the studio decide: it then picks what fits your other answers best. Answer at least one question in a sentence.

Every later step asks one optional question about what it is about to make ("Who should the characters be?", "What should it sound like?"). Leave it empty to let the studio decide.

Choosing the look

After step 2 you see the artwork ideas. You can:

  • Choose one, and say what to change in it ("this one, but warmer");
  • Let the studio choose: its art critic and an outside judge compare them;
  • Ask for new ideas with your notes, if none of them is right.

The look you lock in at step 3 is the reference for every picture after it, so this is the moment to be picky.

Deciding how big the game is

Each step shows the numbers it decides, with their price:

  • at the artwork ideas, how many looks to draw;
  • at the game design, how many characters, places, levels, rooms and music tracks the design plans;
  • at the characters, how many characters and how many moves each;
  • at the world, how many places and objects;
  • at music & sound, how many tracks and voice lines;
  • at the build, how many playtest rounds.

Until the game design is done, you can change anything. After it, a step can only add to what the design planned (one more character, one more place): the studio then plans the additions before making them. Removing something means redoing the design.

Reviewing a step

When a step is done, the game's page says Your turn and points you to what to look at. Open anything in the sidebar to see it large, and leave notes; on a picture you can click a spot to pin a note there.

Then either:

  • Continue to the next step. This approves the step you just looked at. Your notes go along to the next step.
  • Redo the step with your notes. Only what the notes ask for is changed. A redo costs part of the step (the whole step for the brief and for new artwork ideas). A step can be redone until a later step has been built on it.

If a step fails

The game's page says so. You can continue the step at no extra charge, with everything made so far, or take its credits back.

Tips

  • Be concrete where you care, and leave the rest to the studio. "The hero is a grumpy noodle chef" helps more than "a cool hero".
  • Look closely at the art direction and the characters: they are the most expensive to change later.
  • Keep the first game small. You can always add characters, places and levels afterwards with a change request.