Beauty of small game (20 minutes till Dawn)

20 Minutes Till Dawn is such an amazing example of a small game.

Design and execution is so incredibly small and boring, but it’s incredibly fun.

1. Choose character
2. Choose weapon
3. Survive for 20 minutes.

Killing enemies gives you EXP to level up and on level up you get a bonus to some of your base stats or special power.

That’s. It.

It’s so incredibly simple and it just works.
This is what I like to point at when I am thinking about small games.

Base mechanics could be done over the weekend and then you just keep adding content (meta progression, items, weapons, characters etc…).

I think this can be a very good process for both beginner and veteran developers.

Start very small
Create a smallest protype that communicates what your game is about.

Test and iterate
Play your game, have other people play it and improve based on that feedback until you feel like you have a hit.
(Usually more iterations = better)

Expand on the iterated idea
Add more content, levels, characters and polish.