Hey Everyone,
I’m here to talk about the development of “Photo Fight!”, including the pivotal role of male genetalia in the crafting of our submission (even though no phallic objects made the final cut).
The premise of the game is to snap fabulous photos of enemy players and avoid them doing the same to you. We all love the concept now, but that’s not the game we set out to make, which brings me to our first takeaway:
1. Be prepared for and embrace change, especially before you even have a working prototype
We started with a team of 5; all enamored with the idea of a local multiplayer arena game featuring slapping each other with floppy pool noodles. We weren’t quite sure what to do gameplay-wise, so we scratched our heads for a few hours without getting much of anywhere before one of us went back to the brainstorm notes and asked, “What if we made a game about dick pics?”
We were on fire with ideas and mechanics after that. You’d be chasing other players around with a camera and trying to take pictures of their junk: such a lovely concept! Unfortunately, we eventually chopped the dick theme (heh), but the ideas we were able to cultivate during that phase were the ones that stuck. The pool theme brought us together; but if we kept fixated on it, we’d still be fishing for a good idea (yes, yes, I now realize: pool noodles and penises have a lot in common, you’d think I’d have thought about it before now?).
[there’s 10 more pictures and 3 more lessons… play it now, or keep reading!]