Gaming Development

[jonh_sabugs]

I am willing to start an indie project on a game I have been imagining for a while. In fact, I have worked on a few modules and stubs, and am now considering putting it in motion with a small development group.

So, have you been involved in game development in any way (even from simple idea contributions)?

I would like to hear the experiences from other people here who were involved in gaming development in the past, from larger projects to small ones. Suggestions, which pitfalls to avoid, ideas from both technical point of view and, why not, from in-game perspective.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Developed a simple game on my own once, betatested another.

First, always start by planning out the core elements of the game mechanics and the engine features you will need to support them.
Second, NEVER fix problems / add features with a "whatever works" approach. This eventually leads to compound kludges which may turn out to be showstoppers later on and are even harder/more time-consuming to fix than the original problem.
Third, no engine survives first meeting with the players/testers. The real development only begins in alpha and continues over most of the beta, no matter how much work you put in before.