Why you should make a short game

Summary

The speaker shares their renewed passion for game development, inspired by 'A Short Hike,' a game that respects player time with its concise, enjoyable gameplay. They critique the trend of prioritizing game length over quality, arguing for the value of shorter, focused experiences. The speaker announces their own project, a cozy adventure game aiming for a 2-4 hour playtime, emphasizing the importance of creating varied experiences that respect both developer and player time.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The speaker's favorite game is 'A Short Hike', released in 2019.
• 📚 Initially heard about the game at a GDC talk but didn't play it until the Christmas break of the previous year.
• 🛠️ The speaker has a habit of starting and abandoning game projects due to their large scope.
• 💡 The solution the speaker found is to make short games, inspired by 'A Short Hike'.
• 📉 The games industry often values games by their length, which can lead to padding and unfocused gameplay.
• 🔄 Longer games can be problematic due to slow starts, complex tutorials, and overstaying their welcome.
• 🕊️ 'A Short Hike' respects the player's time with a concise and enjoyable experience.
• 🏔️ The game's goal is straightforward: for the character Claire to reach the mountain top by collecting feathers.
• 🛍️ The game includes mini-games, quests, and exploration without taking too much time.
• 💰 'A Short Hike' has been financially successful, earning $2.2 million in net revenue since its launch.
• 👤 The game was developed almost entirely by one person in just 6 months, showcasing the viability of smaller games.
• 🚀 The speaker is inspired to create a cozy adventure game with a play length of 2 to 4 hours, aiming for completion within a year.
• 🔧 The speaker is using the GDAU engine for development and plans to share progress in the next video.

Q & A

What is the name of the game the speaker discusses in the video?

The game discussed is 'A Short Hike'.

When was 'A Short Hike' released?

'A Short Hike' was released in 2019.

What inspired the speaker to try 'A Short Hike'?

The speaker was inspired to try 'A Short Hike' after hearing about it from a talk by the game's developer at GDC a couple of years back.

Why did the speaker find 'A Short Hike' so appealing?

The speaker found 'A Short Hike' appealing because it respects the player's time, is not overly complex, and provides a relaxing and enjoyable experience.

What is the main goal of 'A Short Hike'?

The main goal of 'A Short Hike' is for the character Claire, an anthropomorphic bird, to reach the top of a mountain by collecting feathers.

How long did it take the speaker to complete 'A Short Hike'?

It took the speaker less than two hours to complete 'A Short Hike'.

What is the speaker's opinion on the trend of long games in the industry?

The speaker believes that the trend of long games often leads to padding and unfocused gameplay, and that shorter games can be more enjoyable and respectful of the player's time.

What is the speaker's plan for their own game development?

The speaker plans to create a cozy adventure game with an intended play length of around 2 to 4 hours, aiming to finish it within a year and have a demo ready for Steam NextFest.

What engine is the speaker using for their game development?

The speaker is using the GDAU engine for their game development.

What is the estimated net revenue of 'A Short Hike' since its launch?

According to Steam's marketing tool, 'A Short Hike' has made $2.2 million in net revenue since its launch in 2019.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of game length?

The speaker believes that game length should not be the primary focus; instead, the quality and respect for the player's time are more important.

Outlines

00:00

🕊️ Rediscovering Passion with 'A Short Hike'

The speaker expresses their renewed enthusiasm for game development after playing 'A Short Hike', a game that respects the player's time. They discuss the industry's trend of valuing games by their length and the issues it brings, such as unfocused gameplay and long, tedious tutorials. The speaker found 'A Short Hike' refreshing due to its concise gameplay, which took only two hours to complete but was packed with enjoyable moments. The game's design, including its gliding mechanism and the collection of feathers to progress, is highlighted as a model for respecting the player's time without sacrificing quality or depth of experience.

05:01

🌟 Embracing the Short Game Development Philosophy

The speaker announces their intention to develop a cozy adventure game with an intended play length of 2 to 4 hours, aiming to finish it within a year and have a demo ready for Steam Next Fest. They discuss their choice of the GDAU engine and their approach to game development, which is influenced by the success and quality of 'A Short Hike'. The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating diverse experiences while respecting both their own time and the player's, and they invite the audience to follow their development journey through future updates.

Keywords

💡Short Hike

Short Hike is a video game released in 2019 that the speaker highly appreciates. It is a key example in the video to illustrate the value of shorter, focused games that respect the player's time. The game involves a bird character collecting feathers to reach the top of a mountain, and its short playtime of around two hours is emphasized as a positive feature rather than a limitation.

💡Game Development

Game development is the process of creating a video game, which is a central theme in the video. The speaker discusses their personal experiences with game development, including the challenges of starting and abandoning projects due to scope and the inspiration they draw from Short Hike to create smaller, quality games.

💡Scope Creep

Scope creep refers to the phenomenon where a project's scope grows beyond its original plan, often leading to delays and abandonment. In the context of the video, the speaker mentions it as a common issue in game development that causes them to question the viability of their game ideas.

💡Replayability

Replayability is the quality of a game that makes it enjoyable to play multiple times. The speaker mentions it as a method to extend the life of a game, especially in genres where making a game infinitely replayable is more feasible, contrasting with the focused experience of Short Hike.

💡Open World

An open world in gaming refers to a game environment where players can explore freely without being constrained to a linear path. The video critiques open-world games for often being filled with uninteresting side quests and for having slow starts, which can detract from the player's experience.

💡Tutorials

Tutorials are instructional segments in games designed to teach players the mechanics. The speaker expresses frustration with lengthy tutorials that can be discouraging, especially if the gameplay systems are complex and easily forgotten between play sessions.

💡Gliding Mechanism

The gliding mechanism in Short Hike is a gameplay feature that allows the player's character to glide, adding a layer of relaxation and enjoyment to the game. It is highlighted as a favorite aspect of the game that contributes to its overall appeal.

💡Cozy Adventure Game

A cozy adventure game is a sub-genre of adventure games that emphasizes a warm, inviting atmosphere and simple gameplay. The speaker announces their intention to create such a game, inspired by Short Hike, with a focus on a short playtime that respects the player's time.

💡Steam Next Fest

Steam Next Fest is an event where developers showcase their upcoming games on the Steam platform. The speaker mentions it as a goal to have a demo of their cozy adventure game ready for the event, indicating a timeline for development and promotion.

💡GDAU Engine

The GDAU engine is a game development tool that the speaker is using to create their new game. It is mentioned to provide context about the technical aspects of the game development process and the challenges of learning a new engine.

💡Net Revenue

Net revenue refers to the total earnings from a product or service after all costs have been deducted. In the video, the speaker cites the net revenue of Short Hike as evidence of the market potential for high-quality, smaller games, which has made $2.2 million since its launch.

Highlights

Introduction to the game 'A Short Hike' released in 2019.

The speaker's initial encounter with 'A Short Hike' through a GDC talk and subsequent interest.

Personal struggle with starting and abandoning game development projects due to scope realization.

The realization that making short games could be a solution to the problem of project abandonment.

Critique of the gaming industry's trend to value games by their length and the issues it creates.

The challenge of making long games interesting without padding or unfocused content.

The limitations of creating replayable games and the genres that benefit from this approach.

The problem with large open-world games and their tendency to include uninteresting side quests.

Concerns about the time investment required by lengthy games and the impact on starting new games.

The appeal of 'A Short Hike' due to its short playtime and the enjoyment derived from it.

The game's design philosophy of respecting the player's time through its mechanics and objectives.

Description of the game's core gameplay mechanics, including collecting feathers and gliding.

The presence of quirky characters, mini-games, and hidden coins that enhance the game's appeal.

The game's ability to provide a sense of freedom without overwhelming the player.

The business success of 'A Short Hike' and its revenue since launch, highlighting the market for smaller games.

The speaker's personal desire to create games that respect both the developer's and player's time.

Announcement of the speaker's new project: a cozy adventure game with a short intended playtime.

The speaker's goal to complete the new game within a year and have a demo ready for Steam Next Fest.

Details about the development engine being used and the speaker's plans to share progress in future videos.

Transcripts

hello everyone today I'd like to take a

bit of your time to talk about one of my

most favorite games in recent times the

game is a short hike released in 2019 I

first heard about this charming little

game a couple of years back I think it

was from a talk by the games developer

at GDC I like the look of the game but I

didn't end up trying it out back then

fast forward to the Christmas break of

last year I finally decided to give it a

go and since then I can't stop thinking

about it it is the game that has

rekindled my enthusiasm for game

development for a couple of years now I

have picked up this bad habit of

starting new projects and eventually

abandoning them usually this happens

when I start to realize how large the

scope of the game I have in mind really

is that then makes me wonder if the idea

is really so good that I should pour so

much of my time into it but recently I

feel like I have found a solution to the

problem I think the solution is to make

short gains there's this longstanding

Trend in the games industry of valuing a

game by its length the idea is that

customers want longer games because

longer games provide a better bank for

the buck and so developers try to make

their games long as those are the games

that the customers buy but as with

anything in life there has to be some

trade-offs and so sparing some

exceptions longer games often mean the

game is padded and unfocused one way to

get around the issue is by making a game

nearly infinitely replayable but that

only works for certain genres like

sports games procedurally generated

games and well Tetris with action

adventure games this is much harder to

do so more often than not a large open

world is introduced to counter that the

world is often filled with pointless

uninteresting side quests with little

variety additionally many of the open

World Games take ages to get started

waste a lot of time making you run from

point A to B and more often than not

overstay their welcome maybe it's my

diminishing attention span or just the

nature of the attention economy itself

but I just have too many other things I

could be doing in The Limited number of

hours I get every day instead of going

through another 5 minute long opening

cut scene it's gotten to a point where

often find myself discouraged from

starting new games what if I've played

for an hour and I'm still in the

tutorial and what if the game playay

systems are so complex that the next

time I open the game I'd have forgotten

what I've learned in the tutorials in

fact the reason I finally tried a short

hike was well it is short unsurprisingly

it took me less than two hours to get to

the end of the game and I was taking it

pretty slow but most importantly I

thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the 2

hours there's one overing theme that I

think encapsulates the design vision of

this game a short hike respects your

time the goal of the game is for Claire

an anthropomorphic bird to reach this

one mountain top the whole game revolves

around you collecting enough feathers to

attain this goal each collected feather

gives you additional Climb Time and Wing

flaps so with every new feather you gain

the ability to climb just a bit higher

this not only makes previously

undiscovered locations accessible but

also gives you entry to locations you

could previously see but were not able

to get to because maybe they were just

too high to reach on top of everything

is my favorite bit of gameplay the

gliding mechanism it's just

relaxing the game never gets too hard it

doesn't try to create a deep storyline

there are quirky and funny characters to

chat with all around the island some of

whom will give you quest to complete you

can play mini games as a fun

distractions there are coins hidden

around every corner making it rewarding

just to explore and due to the small

island environment it takes place in

none of it takes too much of your time

you always have something you to do

without a lot of downtime yes the game

play is not super deep but that's not

the goal of the game it gives you the

same sense of Freedom large open World

Games try to provide without

overwhelming you and even before you

start to grow tired of the somewhat

simple gameplay it ends leaving a sweet

taste in the mouth in other words the

game being short is not its shortcoming

is the defining feature of the game from

the business perspective a short hike

definitely proves that yes there is a

market for smaller games if they made a

high bar quality according to the steam

marketing tool at games.com the game has

made $2.2 million in net revenue since

its launch in 2019 these are great

numbers for a game made in just 6 months

and developed almost entirely by one

person the reason I feel so strongly

about this game is because I have

realized that this is just the type of

game I want to play and make I don't

want to just copy it of course but I

want my game to have a similar feel in

one way or another being a solo

developer I don't want to spend 5 years

of my life working on a single game

hoping it comes out great when I reach

the other side time is short and I want

to create as many different types of

experien as I can while respecting both

my and the player

time and that brings me to the

announcement I am making a cozy

Adventure game with an intended play

length of around 2 to 4 hours my goal is

to get it finished within a year and

have a demo ready for steam nextfest

early next year not everything about the

game is finalized these are still early

days

I'm using the gdau engine as I've

mentioned in my last video though I'm

new to the engine I am beginning to get

a hang of it in the next video I'll go

over some of the systems that I have

worked on and where I see the game going

from there so like And subscribe until

next time bye-bye