DISCOVERY It's the first step in turning an idea into a game. The discovery stage determines the scope of a game and what is required to bring it to
DISCOVERY
It’s the first step in turning an idea into a game. The discovery stage determines the scope of a game and what is required to bring it to a release date.
The discovery stage normally lasts a month or two, depending on the scale of the project, the resources required, and the funding available. The team comprises of only a few persons at this time — the Core Team. A Solution Architect, Game Designer, and Art Director are normally part of the Core Team.
The discovery stage is an important part of the game development process, and it usually entails a wide range of actions, which are detailed below:
Creating a game design document. Designers construct a single document that contains all of the game’s rules and descriptions, such as:
- Description of the game mechanics
Flow of users UX graphs
Design of personalization
Design of the metagame
Definition of an artistic style. Art Director and crew collaborate with Game Designers and Stakeholders on the product’s visual style, developing the aesthetics, appearance, and feel.
Visual style of the game
- Background/environment, characters, and some iconography are some of the concepts.
Models in three dimensions (characters, maybe some props like weapons)
Animations in three dimensions (if we have time)
Concepts/prototypes for visual effects (how particle effects might look like)
Graphics specifications
Budget for polygons (based on target devices)
Resolution of texture
prerequisites for animation (animation skeleton requirements like number of bones, naming convention, folder structure)
PRODUCTION: THE MOST EXPENSIVE STAGE OF THE GAME DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN TERMS OF LABOR.
The true development begins at this point. Members of the team polish the storey, establish the game mechanics, as well as the game’s balance, tempo, and gameplay. They also design all assets (characters, creatures, objects, and environments), establish game rules, construct levels and scenes, and write the programming.
Each aspect of the game, from the fun and gameplay to the characters, environment, items, level of difficulty, sceneries, and more, must be carefully considered. Because early concepts don’t usually translate well in practise, game testing and improvement continue long after the game is released.
Let’s take a look at some of the principles of game creation, as well as some of the most important video game development positions, keeping in mind that small teams often play many responsibilities. A larger studio, on the other hand, will have more team members that specialise in a specific component of production.
TESTING
For quality assurance, every feature and mechanic in the game must be tested. A game that hasn’t been thoroughly tested isn’t even ready for an Alpha launch. During this stage, a QA tester might ask the following questions:
- Do you have any incorrect zones or levels?
Is everything on the screen rendering?
Is it possible for my character to pass through a specific wall?
Is it possible that my character will be trapped at this point indefinitely?
Is the speech between the characters monotonous?
Playtesters come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some of them put themselves through stress tests by crashing the game by running into walls hundreds of times. Other play-testers assess the game’s “fun factor” to determine whether it is too difficult or too simple and pleasant.
The game should be ready for Alpha or Beta release after numerous iterations of testing, depending on how refined the in-game elements are. The players have their first hands-on experience with the game at this phase.
RELEASE
The release date is approaching, and there is a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. The months running up to a deadline are usually devoted debugging faults discovered during the testing stage.
Aside from bug fixes, developers focus on the game as much as possible before it goes live. Perhaps that rock has deeper depth. Maybe the character’s attire might have more texture, or those trees could finally sway in the breeze. These small adjustments can have a big impact on how immersive a video game is.
It’s time to publish and distribute the game after it’s free of bugs.
