game DESIGN - Frequently Asked Questions

Last posted July 21, 2008
Most recent updates to the FAQs (since the July 21, 2008 posting):


1. FAQ 35 - Added a reader Q&A about the negotiability of contract
terms.
2. FAQ 47 - Added a new wise quote from Dr. Laura; expanded the "brick
walls" quote by the late Randy Pausch.
3. FAQ 56 - Added a 3D tool, thanks to Dan Lingman.
4. FAQ 32 - Added crosslinks to other FAQs.
5. FAQ 67 - Added a reader Q&A about preparing to be a programmer.


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Archive-name: GDFAQ.txt
Newsgroups: comp.games.development.design
Posting-frequency: weekly
Last-modified: February 7 (Chinese New Year), 2008
Version: 1.38


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I. THE FAQ FILES ON THE INTERNET. WHERE THEY ARE AND WHAT'S IN THEM

The Game Design FAQs (answers to Frequently Asked Questions) are at
http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html

The FAQs are:

FAQ #1. "I have a Great Idea for a game. How do I sell it?"
FAQ #2. Basic outline for a game design document.
FAQ #3. Preparing for a career in game design.
FAQ #4. Applying for a job in game design.
FAQ #5. Testers -- The Unsung Heroes of Games.
FAQ #6. Trade Shows and Conferences -- Are They Worthwhile
FAQ #7. Various Jobs In The Game Biz -- Which Are You Suited For?
FAQ #8. Recommended Reading For Aspiring Designers
FAQ #9. Professionalism and Attitude
FAQ #10. All About The Process (How Videogames Are Made) (Dec. 2001)
FAQ #11. "FAQ 1 Redux" - MORE About What To Do With Your Game Idea
(January 2002)
FAQ #12. Things You Can Do At Home (February 2002)
FAQ #13. More Game Design Tips (March 2002)
FAQ #14. Details about the Job of Game Designer (April 2002)
FAQ #15. Game Programming by Marc Vaughan (May 2002)
FAQ #16. Doing It Yourself (Making an Indy Game) by Noah Decter-
Jackson (June 2002)
FAQ #17. More About Testing (The View From Inside Q.A.) by Matthew S.
Burns (July 2002)
FAQ #18. Case History in Game Design: The GAME TIME Watch (August
2002)
FAQ #19. Game Calculator (another blast from the past) (September
2002)
FAQ #20. Board Game Design (October 2002)
FAQ #21. The Submission Process (November 2002)
FAQ #22. Classic Games Q&A (December 2002)
CATCH-23. Quandaries, Contradictions, and Oxymora of the Game Biz.
(January 2003)
FAQ #24. Ten Stupid Wannabe Tricks (February 2003)
FAQ #25. How to Choose a College (or make any important decision)
(March 2003)
FAQ #26. It Don't Come Easy (April 2003)
FAQ #27. Breaking the Barriers (May 2003)
FAQ #28. GLOSSARY OF GAME BIZ TERMS (June 2003)
FAQ #29. Starting Your Own Game Company (July 2003)
FAQ #30. If You Have To Ask... (August 2003)
FAQ #31. What If I Have The Ultimate Idea? (September 2003)
FAQ #32. Writing For Games (October 2003)
FAQ #33. The Korean Game Developers Conference (November 2003)
FAQ #34. A Question of Degree (December 2003)
FAQ #35. More About Submission Pitching (January 2004)
FAQ #36. Fishing (February 2004)
FAQ #37. High School Career Questions (March 2004)
FAQ #38. Prototyping Card Games (April 2004)
FAQ #39. Legal Stuff - Intellectual Property (May 2004)
FAQ #40. Passions vs. Feelings (June 2004)
FAQ #41. Switching Careers (July 2004)
FAQ #42. Producing Games (August 2004)
FAQ #43. The Idea Man Calleth (September 2004)
FAQ #44. Choosing Regular College vs. Game School (October 2004)
FAQ #45. DaMath (November 2004)
FAQ #46. Conferences Redux (December 2004)
FAQ #47. Wisdom and Wise Sayings (January 2005)
FAQ #48. Working In Japan (February 2005)
FAQ #49. Is It Enough? (March 2005)
FAQ #50. Is It Possible? (April 2005)
FAQ #51. Wasting My Time? (May 2005)
FAQ #52. Two Choices (June 2005)
FAQ #53. Game Graphics & Audio (July 2005)
FAQ #54. Networking Tips (August 2005)
FAQ #55. Wannabe In Perfect Land (September 2005)
FAQ #56. How Do I Make My Own Video Game? (October 2005)
FAQ #57. How To Succeed In The Game Biz (November 2005)
FAQ #58. Legal Stuff Part 2 - Contracts in the Game Biz (December
2005)
FAQ #59. Exceptions To The Rules (January 2006)
FAQ #60. The Publishing FAQ - Making A Game Is The Easy Part
FAQ #61. So You Wanna Clone Somebody Else's IP
FAQ #62. Finances Of Game Development
FAQ #63. Freelancing
FAQ #64. Stuck In A Non-Game Country
FAQ #65. How To Ask Good Questions And Get Good Answers (Dec. 2006)
ROUTE #66. "Is It Worth It?" (Jan. 2007)
FAQ #67. So You're A High School Kid And You Want A Game Job Right Now
(September 2007)



INDEX FOR THIS FAQ*

I. THE FAQ FILES ON THE INTERNET. WHERE THEY ARE AND WHAT'S IN THEM
II. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME DESIGN NEWSGROUPS
III. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE NEWSGROUP

*("FAQ" is short for "Frequently Asked Questions.")

Note: This FAQ is (and will remain) in text format. References to
internet URLs are not clickable. Scroll down to read this FAQ; if
viewed on the internet, use your browser's "Back" button to go back
to the page that referred you here.


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II. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION TO THE COMP.GAME DESIGN NEWSGROUP

Welcome to the comp.games.development.design Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs). There is another game design newsgroup -
rec.games.design - but that one has a "mini-FAQ" and I don't want to
step on anybody's toes. The purpose of this article is to assist
readers in finding answers to their Game Design questions and to
introduce new readers to newsgroup and bulletin board etiquette.
Questions and comments about this FAQ should be emailed to Tom
Sloper (tomster@sloperama.com). This article is posted weekly at the
newsgroup. The FAQs are on the web at:

http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html

The newsgroup FAQs are on the Web (instead of being posted regularly
on the newsgroup) because

1. The FAQs are sizeable, and we wanted to be nice to the newsgroup
servers around the world.

2. Some of the FAQs contain pictures. These newsgroups do not support
"binaries."

3. "Newsfeed" is a funny, mysterious, unpredictable thing -- not
everybody's ISP provides timely access to the current postings at the
newsgroups, so sometimes a user will look at the newsgroup and not
see
recent postings which other users can see there. It often happens
that
someone will ask a question that's answered by the FAQs -- we advise
the asker to read the FAQs -- but the asker can't see them even
though
they had just been posted a few days previously. Thus the web version
of the FAQs. The web version will not expire like newsgroup postings
do.

4. Newsgroups are becoming a lesser-known part of the internet as the
Web grows in usage, and there's a clear need to include graphics in
the FAQs.


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III. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THESE NEWSGROUPS

New readers are well advised to familiarize themselves with the
normal
practices on the group before posting. Certain types of postings
frequently pop up -- and some of them sometimes can cause flaring
tempers and flame-o-grams.

o The best type of posting is a question about the DESIGN of games,
especially from the point of view of an industry participant,
involved
in designing games. End user viewpoints are not off-topic, however.

o Please don't post off-topic messages. We at this newsgroup are
interested in discussing GAME DESIGN only. There are other
newsgroups
for the discussion of other topics. Like programming or graphics.
This is not a programming or graphics newsgroup.

o People occasionally find a reason to post a picture to illustrate a
question. This is a BIG no-no! Do NOT post any pictures here. You
could always Email a picture to someone who can look at it and answer
your question.

o One of the entertaining pastimes of newsgroups is "flaming", where
posters publicly insult each other in terms that they might not use if
meeting face to face. If you have been flamed, please don't take it
personally, and PLEASE don't start a real flame war over it. Just
remember that people at keyboards are sometimes more feisty than they
might be face to face. Can't we all just get along?

o What you should do before you post a question:

- If you haven't read the articles that are regularly posted to
the newsgroup news.announce.newusers, please do so. You will
learn about some general rules and principles that apply to
virtually all newsgroups, like a ban on posting most binary
files and MIME attachments, and sending email instead of
posting if your message is intended only for one person.

- Read the newsgroup for at least a week (reading for some time
before posting is proper etiquette for ANY Usenet newsgroup.
If you didn't realize that, all the more reason for you to go
back and read news.announce.newusers).

- Be aware that posting in newsgroups can cause you to start
receiving unwanted junk Email. But if you put a "nospam" filter
in your Email address, others have to be smart in order to Email
you in response. You have to decide what to do.

- Read the other FAQs. See section I...



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UPDATE LOG

Feb. 13, 2003 - FAQ was created for 2 newsgroups: comp.games
..development.design and rec.games.design.
Feb. 14, 2003 - due to toe-stepping concerns, the FAQ is now intended
solely for comp.games.development.design. Deleted an irrelevant
passage. Tightened line lengths.
Feb. 24, 2003 - added FAQ #25.
April 14, 2003 - added FAQ #26.
May 22, 2003 - added FAQ #27.
May 29, 2003 - added FAQ #28.
July 28, 2003 - added FAQ #29. Minor wording changes in the intro.
August 31, 2003 - added FAQ #30.
September, 2003 - added FAQ #31.
Nov. 3, 2003 - added FAQ #32.
Dec. 2, 2003 - added FAQ #33.
Dec. 2, 2003 - added FAQ #33.
Dec. 28, 2003 - added FAQs #34 and #35.
Sometime in Feb. 2004 - added FAQ 36.
March, 2004 - added FAQ 37 and FAQ 38.
April 25, 2004 - added FAQ 39.
June, 2004 - added FAQ 40.
July, 2004 - added FAQ 41.
July 31, 2004 - added FAQ 42.
Sept. 15, 2004 - added FAQ 43.
Sept. 30, 2004 - added FAQ 44.
Oct. 18, 2004 - added FAQ 45.
Dec. 5, 2004 - added FAQ 46.
Jan. 30, 2005 - added FAQ 47.
Feb. 28, 2005 - added FAQ 48.
Mar. 30, 2005 - added FAQs 49 and 50.
Apr. 13, 2005 - added FAQ 51.
June 12, 2005 - added FAQ 52.
Juneteenth (6/19) 2005 - added FAQ 53.
July 19, 2005 - added FAQ 54.
August 7, 2005 - added FAQ 55.
Oct. 3, 2005 - added FAQ 56.
Nov. 26, 2005 - added FAQ 57.
Dec. 20, 2005 - added FAQ 58.
Dec. 25, 2005 - added FAQ 59.
Mar. 10, 2006 - added FAQ 60.
Apr. 19, 2006 - added FAQs 61, 62.
August, 2006 - added FAQ 63.
Sept. 21, 2006 - added FAQ 64.
Dec., 2006 - added FAQ 65.
Jan. 16, 2007 - Added FAQ 66.


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Copyright 2003-2008 Tom Sloper. All rights reserved.

Tom Sloper - Game Designer, Producer, Consultant

Information and bulletin boards for game industry aspirants.
http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html

Sloperama Productions. Services for game developers and publishers;
"Making Games Fun, And Getting Them Done." http://www.sloperama.com/business.html

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