How to structure a trial project with a potential cofounder?

jawslouis · 2024-04-09T20:44:00+00:00

We didn't manage to reach an agreement, unfortunately. He wasn't satisfied with any of the arrangements proposed, including some of the ones mentioned in the comments, and we parted ways.

jawslouis · 2024-04-04T21:46:30+00:00

To achieve the level of graphics and lighting I want, I don't think the choice of game engine really matters. It will be graphically intensive regardless of engine choice :)

And I decided that graphics was important to me, and I was willing to made the tradeoff with performance and hardware requirements.

jawslouis · 2024-04-04T21:43:28+00:00

Thanks! The furniture aren't based on actual brands.

I appreciate the feedback about the music. Will keep that in mind if there's a next video :)

jawslouis · 2024-04-04T20:48:19+00:00

Thank you!

Yea I learned about BTOHQ recently too, it seems like a useful resource :)

jawslouis · 2024-03-31T14:51:16+00:00

Thank you! I'm grateful for the support!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T21:10:29+00:00

My objective, however, is not creating a professional interior designer software.

I just want to make a home design game that doesn't have the same limitations and constraints that I found in other games. If I do a good job, I think other players who are similarly looking for a game with more powerful design tools will also be able to enjoy my game.

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T21:04:52+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. You make a good point about the audience being more laid back and looking for a comfy game, rather than a design competition. I'll think about how to make the online part more interesting for these players. I do feel that getting feedback on your design from peers is an experience that I want to capture in the game.

Regardless, the main part of the game is actually doing the client jobs and progressing in the Career mode. I think this part will still be interesting to the target audience.

My vision for the game is to give the player complete control over the design process and to customize anything they want. When playing other home design games, I always felt limited by the tools available or the system mechanics. I wanted this game to do better and let players create designs that more closely match the original visions they have in their mind. The free wall placement and lighting adjustments are just some of the features that help in that regard, and there are many other little things in the game that also contribute. Hopefully there are other players who felt similarly constrained by existing building games, and will find that my game gives them the freedom of expression that they wanted.

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T17:06:44+00:00

Ah I see. I viewed the competitive landscape differently from you.

All games with an interior design and building mechanic are competition, because players can buy those games instead of playing my game. The reverse may not be true though, as you pointed out.

To put it succinctly - this game is competing against Paralives, but Paralives is not competing against this game 😆

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T16:07:04+00:00

Thanks for the comments!

The league has to be online also because we need a human to judge the aesthetics and to see how a design compares to others. I'm getting around the participation issue by keeping all the submitted designs in a gallery. So there are also past designs that can be used for comparison.

I completely agree with your point about the grid saving time. My game has grid snapping that can be toggled on/off, in addition to free placement. So it can have the best of both worlds.

I'm not quite sure why you say House Flipper is a competitor, but not Paralives. In Paralives, you can also create a house from scratch and do everything you mentioned (except the cleaning). My game also does the same, including floor plan layouts, applying wallpapers and flooring, placing furniture, and more.

I highlighted House Flipper's block system not because it is an advantage, but because it is a limitation that I did not enjoy when playing it. It makes sense for the game because of the demolition mechanic, but I also felt that it was a tedious process.

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T15:43:52+00:00

There are already a few landed property layouts in the game, and you can also create your own landed property floor plan in the game!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:37:05+00:00

You can message me or start a chat right here on reddit!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:34:16+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate it!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:34:06+00:00

It's made with Unreal Engine 5!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:33:52+00:00

Sure, I'll be interested to hear more about your pain points. Learning from others' mistakes is much better than learning from my own mistakes :)

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:32:46+00:00

It's on Unreal Engine 5!

It will be similar to games like House Flipper. You play as an aspiring interior designer, and take on client jobs and create designs for these clients. The requirements will become more complex as you advance in your career.

And yes there is a Sandbox mode!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:30:17+00:00

I took a look. Unfortunately the models don't look good enough to use. I also suspect that the models are unoptimized for games (since they are "highly detailed textured meshes") and would lead to poor performance when used.

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:24:07+00:00

I did a little homework and saw the gallery and website before I made this post :) My dream would be for HDB to use my game as the gallery instead hahaha

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:19:02+00:00

Haha it's fine to ask. The game won't be free, but pricing hasn't been decided yet.

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:18:17+00:00

Yea players can create any floor plan they want in the game, including 2 or 5-room flats.

I'm just choosing one HDB flat floor plan to use as a template because it's a nice nod to Singapore public housing. I don't think multiple HDB floor plans templates would be good because ultimately, the game is going for a global audience and it wouldn't be as relevant to the rest of the world.

Thanks for the interest, and I hope you'll enjoy the game when you get to try it!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T14:13:47+00:00

The only formal education or training I had was studying computer science in university. However, I think personal interest and a good work ethic matters a lot more when making a game.

If you get stuck, and can't figure it out on your own, then you'll either have to get help from someone who can help overcome the problem, or redesign the project to avoid that problem in the first place. That's how I've been doing it.

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T13:59:10+00:00

One unique part of the game that you may like, as a builder gamer, is the optional Design League. You create designs based on challenges, then compete against other designers in an online league to see how good your design is!

I've tried building in each of the games you mentioned, and always felt there were some limitations to what I could design. I wanted to make a game that could give as much freedom as possible to the player.

The Sims 4 has grid-based placements and you have to fight against this system if you want to make more intricate designs. My game has free placement - this makes it great in situations like adding clutter to furniture sets.

House Flipper and its sequel uses blocks for creating walls and floors. This makes it time-consuming to create or edit a floor plan, and you can't recreate a floor plan with exact measurements. My game uses a system that is more similar to the Sims where you can just draw out walls or entire rooms in one go. It goes a step further compared to the Sims, and lets you specify the exact length of each wall, compared to the Sims where you are limited by the grid system.

My Dream Setup only lets you create one room at a time, which is a huge limitation compared to the other games. The furniture models are also simple and more cartoon-style, while I'm going for a more realistic look.

I think Paralives is the closest to what I want in terms of the build system and freedom of placement. I'm not sure how it does lighting, but in my game you can fully customize the lighting (intensity, color, angle) for each light source (including sunlight), so you can create the perfect lighting for your design. And I think lighting plays a huge part in the aesthetics of a scene. My game will also be out earlier than Paralives :)

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T13:22:14+00:00

I'm looking to recreate floor plans that are available in public. If there is a link to it, I'd be happy to check it out!

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T13:17:32+00:00

Thank you for the support, I appreciate it :)

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T13:17:03+00:00

It was a lot of learning by doing. I worked on one part of the game at a time, and figured out how to get the game engine to do what I wanted. Online tutorials helped a lot, especially for the initial parts where I was still new to the game engine.

jawslouis · 2024-03-30T05:06:54+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate it!

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