10-15-2013, 09:38 PM
I find original projects to be more fulfilling than giving tribute as a fan, but if you're feeling inspired by an existing work, have good ideas or simply a strong urge to work on something related to it, then that's totally fine! Like puggsoy mentioned, fan games are much more manageable, so it just kind of depends on your experience level and which areas you want to improve the most. Otherwise, your choice can be based on whichever interests you the most, and whichever you think you will stay motivated to work on for the longest period of time. If you get overwhelmed or bored and quit really fast, you probably won't get much out of it.
If you don't have a whole lot of skill and experience in game-making, you should probably manage your expectations. I think it's best to have fun and invest in skill-building for the future*, rather than expecting some great product to come from it. There are a lot of fan games out there, so it can be hard to get attention unless you have some kind of hook and some competency. Likewise, your original game might not get any attention either. Of course, you can always share with some friends if you want to have fun that way. But until you're really skilled (and maybe not even then), you probably shouldn't even consider things like "it might be a hit game!" in your decision. I know it's fun to fantasize about, but that sort of thing is just going to throw off your priorities in a pro-con assessment.
*Skill-building doesn't mean you have to be super serious about what you're doing. Taking it too seriously is a great way to burn yourself out, believe me.
If you don't have a whole lot of skill and experience in game-making, you should probably manage your expectations. I think it's best to have fun and invest in skill-building for the future*, rather than expecting some great product to come from it. There are a lot of fan games out there, so it can be hard to get attention unless you have some kind of hook and some competency. Likewise, your original game might not get any attention either. Of course, you can always share with some friends if you want to have fun that way. But until you're really skilled (and maybe not even then), you probably shouldn't even consider things like "it might be a hit game!" in your decision. I know it's fun to fantasize about, but that sort of thing is just going to throw off your priorities in a pro-con assessment.
*Skill-building doesn't mean you have to be super serious about what you're doing. Taking it too seriously is a great way to burn yourself out, believe me.
![[Image: sxv5uJR.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/cqpCy.gif)