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Video game development process: step by step

Creating a game is a long and laborious process, consisting of a multitude of stages and requiring both technical and creative efforts: even a so-so project by today’s standards demands colossal energies. So before you start picking holes in another ‘second-rate’ FPS or RPG, let’s embark on an exciting journey into the game dev realm and study video game development process from within.

Mentioned below is a breakdown of the most crucial game development stages (the items are structured in accordance with the life cycle of the project):

1. Designing

1.1. Objective: idea, genre, setting

1.2. Resources: coding, engine

2. Game creation

2.1. Game mechanics

2.2. Level design

2.3. Graphics: art, 2D, 3D modeling, animation

2.4. Interfaces creation

2.5. Plot: scripts, events, dialogues, narration and cinematics creation.

2.6. Sound: sound effects, music, voices creation.

3. Editing

3.1. Polishing: compilation (a-version), bug fixing (b-version).

3.2. Sales: initiating advertising and localization, developing sales strategy.

3.3. Support: patches and add-ons releasing

The article covers each stage indicated below; let’s proceed to the start line.

Objective

The holy grail of any game dev affair is to set the goal before diving into the world of issues and challenges. What kind of result are you looking to get? If you want your game to rock the market, you must aim precisely. The concept development as well the essential objectives are defined by the head of the team.

The genreThe unique formula for smelting the top-caliber game has not been invented yet. Therefore, some teams think over every tiny detail in the game from the outset, others subject their brainchildren to experiments throughout the entire course of development. In this case, excessive precision is hardly required, but at least, the direction and the core principles are needed to be specified. Though it is recommended to select the genre before writing the first line of the code, since it largely defines the game development direction.

The team oftentimes starts from picking up game gameplay elements: some components may promise high popularity (destruction, competition, strong characters, caring), some features bring up picky and meticulous, though avid fans (tactics, control, avoidance), while other elements may guarantee the strong competitive edge (learning, logic, travel, economics).

The selected genre can be slightly adjusted on the fly, but its essence should remain unchanged. By selecting the genre you lay the foundation for the entire game. Radical genre changes may contribute to significant structure adjustment, meaning that the building a project from scratch would be a more reasonable idea.

Setting

Setting the genres in a computer games is more complicated than in movies or books. Game genres determine only the basic steps that the players will make in the game; thus they are only responsible to answer the question ‘what?’. The questions ‘where and when’ fall under jurisdiction of another major aspect – game setting.

Setting defines the game story, theme or its affiliation with particular virtual world. The environment of computer games gave birth to the most popular settings: fantasy, science fiction (sci-fi), the Second World War, Middle Ages, steampunk, post-nuclear world, anime, comics and etc.

Creating a game in a trendy setting is likely to catch the fancy of players, making them feel cozy and comfortable in the familiar world. Some games are created in their own unique settings, or in unusual combinations of standard themes. Such games are considered to be less popular, but, nevertheless, they have their audience of more devoted players who cannot stand the monotony and stereotypes. Of course, exceptions are possible.

Video game development process: the resources

Once the goal is figured out, the resources (tools and materials) to produce the game are needed to be selected. This is where an unusual phenomenon of computer world rests: the material, and the tool of the game project is the same entity – the program code. Game code represents the building material: digital images, 3D models, sounds and texts are merged in ecstasy of zillions of ones and zeros.

Program code

For now, let’s analyze the code as a game building tool exclusively. The code is a skeleton that accommodates the results of all the subsequent development stages; the stage involves tones of development effort. First of all the team chooses the programming language that goes with the concept perfectly. Next comes the painstaking code writing designed to operate the two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects, images and sounds.

Game engine

Fortunately, nowadays messing around with low-level software is no longer needed, one can take advantage of the software modules (game engines), which already have the basic functions that can bind together the graphics, sound, objects and their motion set in place. Thus the choice of programming language is replaced with another dilemma: which game engine to make use of.

Game mechanics: the left hemisphere of game dev process

The most important part of any creative game is game mechanics. This component is hidden from the eyes of an average gamer; however, it makes the game in 50% of cases.

The more varied and interesting gaming experience is, the longer the player stays in the game. Consider the MineCraft example. Primitive graphics, but limitless gaming experience – the game keeps on gaining momentum.

Game mechanics, in essence, is a set of rules that guides the things in a game realm. What action happens if a player’s take this bonus? A decent project operates with zillions of IFs, defining the pace and style, which are, perhaps, the most essential aspects of a successful game. Artificial intelligence, physics and controls development are the integral game dev stages of virtually any modern game.



Level design as an inalienable video game development process

Now when the rules of the game are implemented, a platform that sets the rules in place is needed to be developed. The virtual spaces – levels or locations, are built by level designers. Some years ago the games were predominantly split into several levels, but due to the rapid surge of performance, the games begin to offer one seamless world (e.g. GTA or Skyrim). Each location implies the creation of objects, walls, platforms, scenery backgrounds and so on. Just look closer even at a so-so shooter and try to calculate the number of items, details and objects used – you will almost certainly be impressed.

…To be continued