FAQ: I want to start my own project, how long it will take?

[C0pac3t1c]

Wonderful thread

[Jacob_Hacker]

Thank you for this I will post it on http://cplusplus.com


Some sample estimates from my point of view are (which is limited mainly to game programming) these are times I believe it would take me to complete each task. Assuming I worked approx 18 hours per week.

Tic Tac Toe -> hours
Breakout -> weeks
Tetris -> weeks
Space Invaders -> a few months
Shoot em up like R-type -> 6 - 18 months
Pacman type game -> weeks
2D Platform game -> 6 months
Nethack Style RPG game -> months
simple 2D RPG game -> 1 - 2 years
simple 3D RPG game -> more than 2 years
simple Multiplayer 2D RPG -> 1 - 3 years
very simple 3D shooter -> 1 year - 2 years
3D shooter on par with Quake -> 5 years
3D shooter on par with Quake 4 -> 10 years
3D shooter on par with Crysis -> 50 years
MMORPG like World of Warcraft -> 200 years


~RIchard James13

[daasdingo]

very nice;
thank you that gives all these MMORPG-first game
people a bit of an overview

well, we made the same mistake in believing we could do a
very simple 3D-rpg in 1-2 years xD

opengl is a lot more complex than you would expect at first

[vishurockssrivastava]

My theory on this is that the person who is actually doing the project must do it for a good reason and time shouldn't be a constraint. You shouldn't do it just to do it or get it done. Do it because you like to do it.