| Make your own Dizzy Game : Part 3 |
You've finished creating your game? Read
on...
Once you've made your fangame...
There are a few things you may want to consider doing now ...
Congratulating yourself
Lots of fan games get started, few get finished. You deserve a pat on the back :-)
Distributing / Installing
The game's project file / raw code won't be much use to most people. You'll need
to get the game into an executable format. All games creation programs and compilers
should be able to do this.
You may also want to think of how people will install the game. If your game is a
single executable file then people can just download it and run it. However, for
more complex sets of files you may wish to use a specific install program. Some
games creation programs will have the facility to make these built in. There are
also a number of installer creators out there. Install Maker from Clickteam is one example.
If your files are large (especially if you're distributing over the internet), or you
want to offer a number of files for download, then you may wish to compress them.
This will allow you to combine your files into a single zipped (compressed) file.
It will also reduce file sizes. If you're using an installer, this may automatically
compress your files anyway. Winzip
is one example of a compression program and there are a number of others (Windows XP has
built-in compression utilities).
One further thing to consider is whether your game needs a help file.
Telling everyone about it
Presumably you've made a fan game for other people to enjoy as well as yourself:
- Tell the owners of the Dizzy websites about your game and
hopefully they'll mention it and offer it for download on their sites. Offer them
screenshots and other material (such as walkthroughs - see below) if they're interested.
- Mention it on the Community forums (in your
signature perhaps?). No spamming please.
- Ask interested friends if they'd like a copy.
- You might want to make a website to promote your game if you haven't already.
- Mention the game in your e-mail signature.
Releasing materials
Other than the game itself, what do you want to give the general public?
- Will you release hints, tips or a walkthrough for your game?
- Is it worth letting others benefit from your work by offering them use of graphics,
sounds or the game engine?
Patches & new versions
Hopefully you've tested your game (and got other people to test it too). However,
even the most well-tested game can throw up bugs and compatibility problems after its
release.
If you find problems that want fixing you could release an updated version. One
other option would be to release a patch for your game. There are a number of
programs available which will help you create patches. Clickteam's Patch Maker is
one example.
Try and fix as many problems as possible with one patch / new release. It'll be
annoying (and confusing) if players have to download masses of different patches.
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