This second week blog has come a little late, but with good reason. As I stated last time, we wanted to finish our MVP by today and … ta dah we just about managed it.
We now have a basic working version of our game with the core functionalities implemented. Of course, we aren’t finished yet, and a lot of the functionality will need further development, but we’re confident of meeting our September 9th deadline with enough features to pack a mighty wallop.
One key element of our first two weeks has been the opportunity to converse with our industry mentors, Andy Gibson (@TeamPesky) and Simon Barratt (@barog). Both have been incredibly useful in critiquing our ideas and working paradigms with the knowledge of more than 30 years combined in the video games industry.
One of the key pieces of advice has been to focus on small wins as much as, if not more than, the big features. When it comes to games and gaming, it’s the user experience that trumps all. While large features keep the game entertaining in the long run, it is the small wins that keep users playing and enjoying the game every time they pick up a controller (or keyboard). Elements such as particle effects, reactive feedback from actions, and additional dynamic environment elements all work to draw players into the game and create the sense of a real living world that they themselves are exploring.
At the minute we need to focus on implementing some of the bigger features that did not need to be in our MVP, such as trading and fleet control. However, we’re planning to make sure any little ideas or quick features that could easily improve a single users experience aren’t lost to the tide. More sea based puns will be coming your way next week.
Happy sailing,
Adam
Adam Boyne 
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