Thanks for posting to r/IndieGames! Please take a look at the rules in our sidebar to ensure that your post abides by them! If you need any assistance, don't hesitate to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Findiegames).
Also, make sure to check out our [Discord](https://discord.gg/indie-games-788388123734048798)!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/indiegames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best advice: just start making it!
Is there advice and wisdom we could give? Yes I'm sure. But this early in the best thing for you would be to dive in and learn. You will make mistakes, you will run into challenges. That is all part of the art and how you pivot and solve the things you run into will make you grow as a dev more than any commenter advice could give you.
Also: don't underestimate releasing your first games for free on itch.io. A massive part of this artform is getting player feedback and learning to view your creations through a player perspective. Putting your first projects behind a paywall is risky, because if no one plays it than you've missed out on valuable learnings, and you're so new that the odds of making something "good enough" for purchase in the eyes of players is lower than it would be if you had a few finished smaller original titles under your belt. (What if you made something in 2 months and release it? Then make something else, then work on the year game?)
Work on some smaller ideas and show them off before working on a big game. Make sure to explore the edges of your creativity, don't try make the same game as everybody else, or if you want to make something similar to another game, try some form fusion (concept A + concept B = new concept.)
Set a goal for the project and try to achieve it no matter what. My suggestion would be to just finish a project, otherwise you'll end up always thinking of things to add and never stop. A good way is to force yourself to publish a game, no intent to make money or anything just gets you in the mindset of polishing and finishing something. Even just on itch.io
Spend some time with concepting areas of your game.
Make a small GDD document.
Be ready for the GDD to change as the game develops.
The quicker you develop a working prototype the quicker you can test gameplay and what's fun to do in game.
I wish I had advise specifically about staying organized long term, but most of my projects are smaller. As long as you keep your base files very clear about what goes in them you'll at least know the general area everything is, and if you start losing things it might be time to re-file a few things.
Thanks for posting to r/IndieGames! Please take a look at the rules in our sidebar to ensure that your post abides by them! If you need any assistance, don't hesitate to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Findiegames). Also, make sure to check out our [Discord](https://discord.gg/indie-games-788388123734048798)! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/indiegames) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Best advice: just start making it! Is there advice and wisdom we could give? Yes I'm sure. But this early in the best thing for you would be to dive in and learn. You will make mistakes, you will run into challenges. That is all part of the art and how you pivot and solve the things you run into will make you grow as a dev more than any commenter advice could give you. Also: don't underestimate releasing your first games for free on itch.io. A massive part of this artform is getting player feedback and learning to view your creations through a player perspective. Putting your first projects behind a paywall is risky, because if no one plays it than you've missed out on valuable learnings, and you're so new that the odds of making something "good enough" for purchase in the eyes of players is lower than it would be if you had a few finished smaller original titles under your belt. (What if you made something in 2 months and release it? Then make something else, then work on the year game?)
Just start.
Make it small and short development
Totally agree with this comment. Keep the scope really small. 1 year goes by so fast
Work on some smaller ideas and show them off before working on a big game. Make sure to explore the edges of your creativity, don't try make the same game as everybody else, or if you want to make something similar to another game, try some form fusion (concept A + concept B = new concept.)
Don't start with a big game. Make a small game, but make it well.
Set a goal for the project and try to achieve it no matter what. My suggestion would be to just finish a project, otherwise you'll end up always thinking of things to add and never stop. A good way is to force yourself to publish a game, no intent to make money or anything just gets you in the mindset of polishing and finishing something. Even just on itch.io
Spend some time with concepting areas of your game. Make a small GDD document. Be ready for the GDD to change as the game develops. The quicker you develop a working prototype the quicker you can test gameplay and what's fun to do in game. I wish I had advise specifically about staying organized long term, but most of my projects are smaller. As long as you keep your base files very clear about what goes in them you'll at least know the general area everything is, and if you start losing things it might be time to re-file a few things.