I've tried making more than a few fangames and even indie games, but I've never knew when I should actually show them. I thought maybe it'd be best a demo playable before making a topic, but then... when's a demo ready? I mean I have shown screenies and gifs of my games before, but I don't know what makes a game ready for a topic. Making a topic about a game for feedback, positive or critical, definitely helps guide you making the game and even gives you a lot of motivation to actually finish it. Of course, being the confused person I am, I never knew when to truly show the game; Maybe just after the first stage is completed, or when the story is being implemented, something like that? [size=75]Then whenever I get another idea, I end up dropping the old game quick since I'm pretty sure nobody would remember it anyway.[/size] [b]tl;dr[/b] Fangame or not, what do you think is a good time to start a topic about your project?

Hmm. I thought the same way until after I read this. For community activity reasons, I'd say to make a topic as soon as you have anything visual to show, whether or not it's just a proof of concept, prototype, or a full game. Sure, there would be lots of topics that die out quickly, but there's also an increase in the average community interest. So go make a topic.

An interesting question! I tend to begin discussing my game projects relatively early in the development process, since I'm pretty good about finishing what I start. I can also understand if you want to wait until you're ready to release a demo, though - or even wait until the game is finished.

I think having at least one full level finished is a good time to make the game its very own topic!

When you want to, really. But making it too early can give you the feeling that the game is good enough to get praised, so you don't actually feel like finishing the game after that because you feel like it is good enough. Of course, if you don't get praised, it is a very good opportunity to fix the problems.

ASAP is generally the best idea, especially for indie games. However, OOT2D strategically chose to not show anything at all until they were a good bit through the first area. Not only because they were trying to prove that they wouldn't quit just like everybody else, but also to avoid a takedown.

Do what people on TIGSource do. Start showing off your game when you've solidified the concept and presentable work has begun on art, programming, etc. Basically, you want to be far enough in development where you can post a few sentences or gifs of what you're working on. Even if a game isn't finished, at least we'll have a fun devlog to read through and learn from!

As soon as a considerable amount of effort has gone into it and you can show a GIF/video without half of it being placeholders.

A lot of indie games have the problem of being announced too early. Just look at something like Fez with its infamous five year long development schedule. You need to announce these things around one to two years before completion, I reckon. Just long enough to keep people interested until release day.

[quote="Vertette"]A lot of indie games have the problem of being announced too early. Just look at something like Fez with its infamous five year long development schedule. You need to announce these things around one to two years before completion, I reckon. Just long enough to keep people interested until release day.[/quote] This is true. Another thing I would say is: don't make your first game such a big, long game. FEZ took so long because Phil Fish was incapable of making it lol. He had to reinvent the game, and I'm sure himself, many times before he could finish it. As he said after he finished FEZ: "Start small, then go smaller."

EDIT2: Throwing most of what I said out the window, I thought it might be thoughtful to add this video to this post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBPYCmjDNkM I think it's when there is enough concrete content to show off to get feedback from. When you're showing off stuff just to show off, you and those looking will not benefit from it. On a positive note, if you're looking to grow from criticism and feedback, that is when you show off your work. That's just one way to look at it. This is how I've experienced it: I've showed off stuff just to show off stuff in development and got [i]nowhere[/i]. This was a big problem for me, and I wondered why. I realized that, what I had first believed to be a development showcase to keep me working from start to end on a project, it was instead me actually looking for approval... And the wrong kind of approval, one of "acceptance" of others. Could it me being emotionally dependent on approval? Who knows, but that's not what I'm trying to find out or even say right now. When I stopped looking for other's approval and stood up for myself, my development style changed drastically. I would recommend doing something until you are happy with it, then begin to show your work. This is when you are most vulnerable, and it is the best chance to grow. Edit: [b]When you are happy with your work, this is when you should show it off. This is when you are most vulnerable [i]because you are at your best[/i], and this is the best chance to grow from feedback and criticism.[/b] Take it with a grain of salt.

I usually wait until I've got something concrete to show before I say anything. Sometimes I'm not feeling a new idea once I have a working prototype and end it there. No point in getting anyone's hopes up.

[quote="HylianDev"][quote="Vertette"]A lot of indie games have the problem of being announced too early. Just look at something like Fez with its infamous five year long development schedule. You need to announce these things around one to two years before completion, I reckon. Just long enough to keep people interested until release day.[/quote] This is true. Another thing I would say is: don't make your first game such a big, long game. FEZ took so long because Phil Fish was incapable of making it lol. He had to reinvent the game, and I'm sure himself, many times before he could finish it. As he said after he finished FEZ: "Start small, then go smaller."[/quote] I definitely feel this, I've ran into a lot of brick walls making very ambitious projects, so every time I tried making a new project, I've always made it smaller than the last, at least until I can say I finished a game before. So what I'm getting out of this, it'd probably be best to start showing a game once the core gameplay concepts are put together, and making screenshots or gifs showing how the game is generally supposed to look and play is possible. I mean you can't just have a bunch of squares running around in Placeholder Land, so even if it may not be the final design, a level or something that clearly shows what the game is supposed to be should be shown. Edit: I guess basically, it has to look like what you want it to be. It has to in a state where you're happy with what you made and want to show people the work you've done, and you're prepared to see what people say. Seems I've rarely gotten to that point with any games I've made, but I really wanna change that.

You should show your game when you have a significant amount of stuff to show. Ideally, at least a few levels designed, some nicely chosen/made graphics and music included, a general idea of the storyline, etc. That way, people know you're serious about the whole thing. Too many people announce a game or project and then do nothing with it. It's also wise to make sure your game is done within a reasonable amount of time after you announce it (maybe a few years at most if you don't want to lose interest). Otherwise you'll end up with a game whose hype has basically evaporated by the time its release date comes round.