Hypothetically - supposing you realised your game was crap...

[Hernald]

Supposing you were close to completing your first AGS game and looked up for a few minutes to compare it with other people's offerings
- and realized you really should have learned the basics of graphic design first, or at least come up with a coherent story...
Would you go ahead and release it anyway? Would you announce it on the Games Completed thread? Or would you bury it and start again from scratch?
I am interested in both sides of this, and any positions in between - supported by reasoning, obviously.
(And remember, we are considering if this was YOUR game; I'm admitting to nothing!)

[Calin Leafshade]

I'd release it anyway, learn from my mistakes and continue on with the next project.

It's arguable that not releasing it will save your reputation but several of the more successful game makers here had a really bad first game so I dont think that stands up to scrutiny.

[Andail]

Absolutely.
Release it and get feedback. Without constructive criticism, how are you going to improve?

[Tabata]

I do not know if I would be brave enough to publish it in the completed thread and database when I had serious doubts and would be ashamed of one or more aspects that I am unable to change currently.

But no beginner has been lynched so far - as I am aware of    and if you want to go on in game making and learn more about it to improve -  it seems to be the best place to release it here.

Since your hypothetically question was about what I would do:
Personally I am not that brave - so I would probably publish it at least in the critics thread (not in the database)
and ask for feedback over there 

[Radiant]

Or a third option: since you think your game can be improved, why don't you improve it? You can post it in the games in production forum and work on getting better graphics and plot. The way AGS works, you can replace parts of a game (e.g. a background) without affecting other parts (e.g. the script).

[Ali]

I think I once read Yahtzee advising people not to release their first game, just to move on and do something better. As it happens, I didn't release my first game. I nearly finished it, then decided not to complete/release it and I don't feel bad about it.

But you should definitely get feedback of some people, even if you're not going to officially release it. Parts of it may be both better and worse than you think.

[ddq]

Hell, if you can even finish your first game, that's no small accomplishment there.

[Ilyich]

Releasing something is the best way to move on. And for anyone who wishes to improve themselves moving on is quite important. Also, judging from my limited experience with releasing games and my vast experience of not releasing(or even finishing) them - it's much more fulfilling and fun to release them, even when you have strong reservations about their quality (which is always).

So, yeah, release. Unless it's really, really, extraordinarily bad and will ruin the lives of millions. Unless it's another Call of Duty*, basically.

* This sentence is meant for comedic purposes only. I'm sure CoD:Whatever is a perfectly fine game and haven't ruined any lives whatsoever. My lawyer made me write this.

[Squinky]

I would release it.

Like others have stated, you can learn from peoples opinions a good bit. Andail is right about taking the time to improve it, but for me that can end up being a trap. It's really easy to get stuck on reworking a game (I've done it many times, and it is probably why I stopped making games).

So yeah, release it. Get feedback, then tackle a whole new project with the knowledge you gained.

[cat]

I think I once read Yahtzee advising people not to release their first game, just to move on and do something better.

I don't agree. If this was the case, I would have never released Sheep Quest (I do not count the room with a key object made in AGS 2.x to test the engine as a first game).

Has your game been tested by someone already? Every game should be tested before release. So why not post in the Recruitment board and ask for testers? They can give you honest feedback if your game should be released or not.

[Dave Gilbert]

EVERYONE thinks their game is crap when it's finished. Just release it. The feedback will be invaluable.

[Intense Degree]

I would probably release it too, if it is basically finished.

I had a few "first" games that I started over the years but realised they were rubbish half way through and gave up on. The one game I actually did release is rubbish, in that it looks like an idiot child drew it, has little to no story and some quite simple design errors. However, I did actually finish it and no one really looks down on me for releasing it (at least not more than they did already...!).

If you can improve it, then do it, but by the time my game was "ready" I was just mentally finished with it and although I could certainly have done better, I didn't have the motivation to spend more time on something that wasn't that good. However, it did motivate me to do better in future and although I haven't released anything else yet, I do have something else in the fairly early stages which will be much better (if I ever get the time to actually do it) than my first game, although that may not be saying much. I learnt a lot from it. I don't think there are many people who can make a brilliant game on their first try anyway. Better to have something released, even if it isn't great.

[Hernald]

It seems that the majority are in favour of releasing a bad first game as a learning experience, but only after having it play tested.
Incidentally I'm looking for a couple of people to play test my first game; see the recruitment thread: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=47102.0

[Technocrat]

I tend to give up quite early on a lot of projects, so getting all the way to the end. I've also gotten rave reviews of things that, in retrospect, seem to me like they could/should have done with a great deal of improvement. Building the games is in itself a developmental learning experience!

[Stee]

The one game I actually did release is rubbish..

I actually really enjoyed Colin Simpson Leaves Employment, so would hardly call it rubbish.

It seems a lot of people are averse to releasing their first game, but there are 2 points I'd like to make:

1) If your game is crap, and you don't release it, how do you learn from your mistakes? You have a huge resource of players here and a fair few decent game developers who will be able to tell you exactly what works and what doesn't in your game and how to improve. Otherwise, your second game will be crap, and your third and your fourth etc etc

2) By releasing a game, you've already done something about 90% of people on the forum haven't done yet, some of them who've been here years... 

I'd finish your game, ask for feedback from testers in the Recruitment forum (or ask for feedback in critics lounge), repolish, reintroduce to testers / critics and release.

We all start somewhere. My first (and last) AGS Game broke all the rules in the GiP forum, was awful and I never even finished it http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=16295.msg199895#msg199895

Thankfully I lost the source to that tragedy and can move on to my proper first crappy game 

[Baron]

EVERYONE thinks their game is crap when it's finished.

This is surprisingly true: whenever you look at it you see all the mistakes and missed opportunities instead of the good points.  If it were my game I'd putter at it, trying to make improvements, until I couldn't stand the sight of it any more.  That's when you know it's release time.  

[Andail]

I think I once read Yahtzee advising people not to release their first game, just to move on and do something better.

This is just dumb. You've spent countless hours on coding and drawing your game, and it's supposed to just sit and gather dust on your hard drive, because it happens to be your first?

If you're such a perfectionist that you can't stand seeing a game out there with your name on it even though it's not super-polished, then chances are you're never gonna finish a game ever.

[AGA]

If you're such a perfectionist that you can't stand seeing a game out there with your name on it even though it's not super-polished, then chances are you're never gonna finish a game ever.

scotch syndrome, as it's otherwise known.

[CaptainD]

It depends what you want to achieve with it.  If you want to use it as a learning experience, release it.  When you make your second game, you'll see how much you've improved.

If you want to work on this game more, release this as a beta version so that both you and others will be able to see the difference when you've released the updated version.

Reach for perfection, but don't hide in shame if you don't manage to achieve it first time round - no-one does that!  Even in games I really love there's probably something I wish they'd done differently - and the designers too - but that doesn't make them bad games.

If you're going to compare your first games to other peoples' games, perhaps you should restrict this to comparing it to other people's FIRST games - you might be surprised how well yours compared!   

[ratracer]

I totally agree with Dave Gilbert. You may be the last person that could truly appreciate your game. And as ddq wrote it is no mean feat to complete a game. Go for it.

I don't know how much effort you put into it and how relieved you felt when you finally finished it, but, personally, I couldn't believe myself for having been able to complete my own and having something to show the world (yeah, I only made one and fate prevented me from working on a perennial next...).

So, yeah, go for it.