Freshly Squeezed Progress Report: How Is this Backlog So Huge?

Last time, I reported that I was grappling with big questions regarding the scope of a Major Update(tm) for my strategic leaf-raking business simulation game, Toytles: Leaf Raking.

I started by putting together everything I currently would like to see in a Major Update(tm) and would worry about what to cut or streamline later.

For my last few projects, I have found that I tend to have close to 100 high-level tasks.

But those were new projects, built from scratch, and with my part-time efforts, they can take me sometimes a year to develop.

A Major Update(tm) to an existing game shouldn’t be so bad, right?

So why do I already have 70 tasks identified? It’s almost like I might as well create an entirely new project!

Many of these tasks are actually quite big, with some unknowns that I will need to identify and break out into their own tasks.

For instance, if I want to create a better looking town, it isn’t enough to just redraw the background, streets, and sidewalks. I would also need to redraw the houses in the neighborhood, including their yards, and the trees.

And of course the general store will need a facelift.

And that’s just what I can think of offhand.

I’ve also been giving considerable thought to the general art direction as well as audio. I originally thought I would try to preserve the slapdash nature of the art while making it a bit more appealing, but now I am considering really focusing on the “toy” part of Toytles.

What if the game looked like it was a bunch of toys being played with by a kid with an active imagination? The houses would need to look like toy houses, with decals and painted blocks. The characters should look like action figures talking to each other with perhaps barks that sound like a kid is mimicking all of the voices.

Which of course might also impact the scope. But I’m taking my time with figuring this all out before I commit to development.

Thanks for reading, and stay curious!

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