How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Often times, in our experience designing games, the answer is similar. In the course of making a game there seems to be a nearly endless stream of tasks to be tackled. These range from small and benign to big and foreboding. Some of them you will know how to do already, some will be in completely uncharted territory.
As we have started this little experiment, here are some things we have found that have helped us to keep taking bites so that we can eventually eat this elephant:
Talk often
If you are working with a team or working on your own but getting advice, talk often. This is when we find that most of our epiphanies happen. When you are batting ideas around and looking at them from different angles is when you are most likely to have breakthroughs of inspiration.
Write a list
This may seem too simple, but you won't get everything done if you forget what you needed to do, so write it down. This will help to keep you organized and make sure that things are done in the proper order.
Get to work
That elephant is not going to eat itself and talking about it won't do the job either. Once you've decided what you are going to do, get out there and do it. Have fun and enjoy the journey, but get to work. This is how dreams become a reality.
We have used these ideas and seen great things happen. Remember a dream without a plan is nothing more than a wish and a plan without action is nothing more than hot air. Keep at it, go to work, and start eating that elephant one bite at a time, then your dream can one day be a reality.
