[Type the document title]
What Is Game Development?
G
ame development refers to the process of creating
a video or computer game, from the initial
conception of the idea all the way to the quality
assurance and testing stage, after which the game will be
ready for mass production and distribution. Given the
complexity of today's video games, game development is
usually accomplished by large teams of people.
There are many ways in which you could work as part of
a game development team. For example, you could work
as a programmer, writing scripts and codes that bring
characters to life and allow the game to run on computers
or video game consoles.
Alternatively, you could work as a game designer. In that
case, you would come up with ideas for the game, create
characters and storylines, and design level layouts. Other
career options in game development include sound design,
art and animation, project management and production.
Game Development : The Game Definition
Document
T
he next step after the Mindmap planning process
is to create a Game Definition Document (GDD).
It’s a blueprint for building a game, covering off
the core ideas, mechanics, assets needed etc.
It needs to be an evolving document, but really helps
cement the bigger picture and requirements as to whats
involved in creating the game. It’s also very useful if you
are going to outsource the development or graphics in the
game. A subject of a later post.
An overview of the core game play mechanics in the
game.
Environment
The world, environment, you could detail backgrounds,
locations etc, whatever is relevant to the game
3rd
party
Library
Support
Any 3rd party technologies or libraries that are
supported, e.g. Game Center
The game objectives, i.e., why are you doing it, how do
you win
Characters
Character design details
Assumptions
Fun
Effects
List any in game effects, dust, particle trails, etc
Objectives
What makes this game fun.
Animations
List of animations required in game, character, ambient
etc.
Story
What is the story to the game, why are we playing it.
Perspective
References
References to similar games, videos or
What perspective is the game, 2d, isometric, 3d, etc etc
Camera
Game Screens Required
List of pages / sections within the game
The Camera is the view into the game world, how does the
camera work, does it follow the main character, can you
control it ( e.g. with a mouse look around )
InGame Display ( HUD )
In game GUI Items, e.g. Score, Timer, Lives etc
World
Game Dimensions
Game dimensions
What is the game world, the terrain, environment
Obstacles
Items in the game that are obstacles to the play.
Levels
Controls
Description of game levels.
What are the controls in the game, mouse, keyboard,
thought
Sounds
Music and sound effects listing
Characters
Who are the characters in the game, the player and
NPC’s.
I use Google Docs to create my GDD’s, they allow
collaborative editing if there is more then one person
involved, are easily shareable, and support inline
commenting for handling feedback.
Pickups
In game pickups and their effects.
My GDD is broken down into the following sections.
Micro transactions and how they work in game
Overview
Design
An overview of the game project, the elevator pitch of the
project. If you were to describe the game in 1 or 2 catchy
sentences then do it here.
An overview of the design of the game. The overall
aesthetic and creative direction.
Scoring
Description of scoring mechanics and achievements
Specifications
In App Purchasing
DeploymentTargets
Where is the game being deployed, e.g. app store,
Facebook, web etc
Deliverables
How is the game to be delivered, app, swf, exe. Single file,
multi file….
Technology
Technology Requirements
Game Play
1
Any assumptions, e.g. graphics provided etc. Useful if
this document is going to a developer so they know what
to expect.
First Step to Game Development
Y
ou've learned a language. Skills are at the ready.
Now it's time to finally create that game! After
years of playing games and discussing graphics,
design, and mechanics, the time to put the game that has
been dreamt about on the big screen is now. That Final
Fantasy 7 remake is the first game that needs to be made.
The idea of making it an online multiplayer is also a
priority. Why? It would make the game better of course.
Plus, everyone wants that feature anyway. Now the
googling begins. What engine was it made from? What
graphics does it need? Did it use DirectX or OpenGL or
even Unity? Every new question produces two more
questions. It gets to the point that the tasks and goal can
be overwhelming. But with ambition the goal can be met!
Right? Unfortunately as many beginners come to find
out, the complexity of a game can tamper ambition and
in some cases completely put out the flame. However, this
article will help you prevent that and also build up your
game programming skills.
But first let's address some issues that a vast majority of
beginners run into.
Many beginners ask what language they should be using.
The answer is this: any language. Yes, that's right: C,
C++, D, Java, Python, Lua, Scheme, or F#. And that's
the short list. The language is just a tool. Using one
language or the other does not matter. Don't worry about
what the professionals are using. As a beginner, the only
priority and goal is having the tools to create and
complete the game. The second priority is to improve
your code and skill. We'll get into that a bit later.
Remember there is no "which language is better?" or
"which language is best?". The only question anyone with
experience will ask is: "How much experience do you have
with the language?". At this stage in the game
development journey, familiarity and skill with whatever
language you are using is more important than the
language itself. This is an universal truth.
[Type the document title]
W
ith your language of choice in hand, now is the
time to choose how you will make the game.
The choice normally is among a game
development library, game engine, or a game maker.
Which should you choose? If you are prototyping or are
not a programmer, then a game maker would probably be
the best choice. Game makers (ex: Game Maker, RPG
Maker, ENIGMA) are able to create games (which I list
later on) similar to the games of the 8-bit and 16-bit era.
Game makers do some of the heavy lifting for you (ex:
loading/handling image formats, input handling,
integrating physics) and allow you to focus on the game
itself. Most, if not all, game makers have a language
specific to them to handle more advanced techniques and
situations. The language more often than not is similar to
C/C++/Javascript. Game engines such as Unreal, Crysis,
and Unity handle all manner of games (ex: 2D, 3D,
offline, online) and therefore are far more complex and in
some cases complete overkill for the type of games a
beginner should be making. Game engines should be used
when you as a game developer have several games under
your belt and fully understand the mechanics of making a
game. For most beginner game developers, especially
those who are programmers, choosing a game
development library is a good choice. It puts those
programming skills to the test and allows discovery of
more things about the language. Like the language, the
library doesn't matter. Whether it's SDL, SFML,
PyGame (for Python only), or Allegro, the library is just
another tool to create and complete the game. Game dev
libraries have more or less the same features. So
whichever you pick will be fine to get the job done.
Finally after gathering our tools: language and game dev
library or game maker software, we are ready to answer
the most important question of all. "What game should I
make?" For this question, the answer has to be
approachable, doable, and for the most part understood.
This is why the game that should be made should be 2D.
Everyone understands 2D games. 2D games can be fancy
but at its core they are basic with very few "moving
parts".
Believe it or not, the previous question has a definitive
answer. And that answer is Pong. Now you may wonder,
"why?". Well, Pong is one of the simplest games known.
The graphics are simple and the mechanics are simple.
There's no guesswork on how Pong should work.
Therefore it's the best candidate for the first game to be
made. Each new game that is presented in this article is
meant to show something new and/or build upon what
the last game taught you. The skills that are learned from
each game become cumulative and not specific to just one
game. So each game is a step up in terms of difficulty, but
nothing a little brainpower and some brute force can't
solve.
Now I'll list some well-known games that will definitely
help your game development skills and allow you to have
actual complete games under your belt. I'll quickly point
out some things that will be learned for each game. These
games are:
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What Education Do I Need for a Career in This Field?
T
he educational route you choose depends on which
game development job you're interested in
pursuing. If you'd like to be a game designer, you
could consider enrolling in a bachelor's degree program in
game development or game design.
Game development and game design programs are not
substantially different. If you choose to enroll in either of
these programs, you'll likely learn computer
programming, design basics, storytelling and computer
graphics. Additionally, many programs require you to
complete a game development project, where you'd work
with other students to develop a game.
Pong = Simple: input, physics, collision
detection, sound; scoring
Worm = Placement of random powerups,
handling of screen boundaries, worm data
structure
Breakout = Lessons of pong, powerups, maps
(brick arrangements)
Missile Command = targeting; simple enemy ai,
movement, and sound
Space Invaders = simple movement for player
and enemy, very similar to breakout with the
exception that the enemy constantly moves
downward, simple sound
Asteroids = asteroids (enemies) and player can
move in all directions, asteroids appear and move
randomly, simple sound
Tetris = block design, clearing the lines, scoring,
simple animation
Pac Man = simple animation, input, collision
detection, maps (level design), ai
Ikari Warriors = top down view, enemy ai,
powerups, scoring, collision detection, maps
(level design), input, sound, boss ai
Super Mario Bros = lessons of Ikari Warriors
(except with side-view instead of top-down view),
acceleration, jumping, platforms
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Desktop / Computer based Game Development
Mobile Game Development
Interactive TV Games Development
Open TV Game Development
Single Player Game
Multi Player Game
Game
Development
Company
If you'd like to pursue a career as a game programmer,
you could major in computer science with a concentration
in game design or development. You'll take many of the
same courses as students who choose to major in game
design or game development.
However, as a computer science major, you could expect
to take more math and computer science courses. For
example, you might have to take courses in subjects such
as discrete mathematics and computer architecture,
which are generally not required of game design or game
development majors.
Types
The list shows games in terms of difficulty from least to
greatest as far as programming them goes. There are
games that others may suggest but these 10 games will
definitely round out what you need to know in 2D game
development. If you can make and complete these games,
then games like Sonic, Metroid, or even Zelda become
that much easier. Those games are just variations or
extensions of what you have already learned.
of
Game
Development
Our specialized Game Development teams focus on
developing, porting and game testing across various
platforms like Internet, PC, multi-user, interactive
television,
mobile
phones,
and
PDA’s.
Our Game Development Team specializes in delivering
high-quality games, which includes graphic design,
character development, programming, mathematics,
complex level design and game testing across various
platform.

2
Online / Web based Game Development
GameZ3 is one of the world's top-notch Game
Developer having technology expertise on
various platforms. It has a team of qualified
experts not only in software development but in
gaming development as well, which is a
culmination of years of extensive knowledge and
experience in all aspects of game development
operations. With rapidly changing developments
in gaming applications and hardware technology,
we are staying abreast with the industry and
constantly seeking new products and services for
the clients.
*A video game developer is a software developer (a
business or an individual) which creates video games. A
developer may specialize in a certain video game console
(such as Nintendo's Wii U, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's
PlayStation 3), or may develop for a number of systems
(including personal computers).[citation needed]
Video-game developers specialize in certain types of
games (such as role-playing video games or first-person
shooters). Some focus on porting games from one system
to another, or translating games from one language to
another. Less commonly, some do other kinds of softwaredevelopment work in addition to games.
[Type the document title]
Most video game publishers maintain development
studios (such as Electronic Arts's EA Canada, Square
Enix's studios, Activision's Radical Entertainment,
Nintendo EAD and Sony's Polyphony Digital and
Naughty Dog). However, since publishing is still their
primary activity they are generally described as
"publishers" rather than "developers". Developers may be
private as well (such as Bungie, the company which
developed the Halo series exclusive to Microsoft's Xbox).
Types
First-party developer
I
n the video game industry, a first-party developer is
part of a company which manufactures a video game
console and develops exclusively for it. First-party
developers may use the name of the company itself (such
as Nintendo), have a specific division name (such as
Sony's Polyphony Digital) or have been an independent
studio before being acquired by the console manufacturer
(such as Rare or Naughty Dog).[1]
However, a first-party game is a title which needs only to
have been published by the manufacturer of the console
(regardless of who owns the IP of the game). Examples of
externally produced first-party games are the Gears of
War, Heavy Rain,Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank series.
Second-party developer
S
econd party developer is a colloquial term used by
gaming enthusiasts and media often used to
describe two different types of game development
studios:
1.
2.
3.
Independently-owned
studios
who
take
development contracts from the platform holders
and what they produce will usually be exclusive
to that platform.
Studios who are partially or wholly owned by the
platform holder (also known as a subsidiary) and
what they produce will usually be exclusive to
that platform.
In reality, the resulting game is first party (since it is
funded by the platform holder who usually owns the
resulting IP), but the term helps to distinguish
independent studios from those directly owned by the
platform holder. These studios may have exclusive
publishing agreements (or other business relationships)
with the platform holder, while maintaining
independence. Examples are Insomniac Games (which
previously developed games solely for Sony's PlayStation
platforms as an independent studio) and Game Freak,
(which primarily develops the Nintendo-exclusive
Pokémon game series).
continue operating much as they did before acquisition,
the primary differences being exclusivity and financial
details. Publishers tend to be more forgiving of their own
development teams going over budget (or missing
deadlines) than third-party developers.
A developer may not be the primary entity creating a
piece of software, usually providing an external software
tool which helps organize (or use) information for the
primary software product. Such tools may be a database,
Voice over IP, or add-in interface software; this is also
Third-party developers
T
hird-party developers are usually called upon by a
video game publisher to develop a title for one (or
more) systems. Both publisher and developer have
considerable input in the game's design and content.
However, the publisher's wishes generally override those
of the developer.
known as middleware. A good example of this is
Speedtree developed by Interactive Data Visualization
Inc.
The business arrangement between the developer and
publisher is governed by a contract, which specifies a list
of milestones intended to be delivered over a period of
time. By updating its milestones, the publisher verifies
that work is progressing quickly enough to meet its
deadline and can direct the developer if the game is not
meeting expectations. When each milestone is completed
(and accepted), the publisher pays the developer an
advance on royalties. Successful developers may maintain
several teams working on different games for different
publishers. Generally, however, third-party developers
tend to be small, close-knit team. Third-party game
development is a volatile sector, since small developers
may be dependent on income from a single publisher; one
canceled game may be devastating to a small developer.
Because of this, many small development companies are
short-lived.
In addition, accessories like headsets may be known as
third-party headsets; the company manufacturing the
headset may be different from the console company. For
example, Turtle Beach is a third-party headset
manufacturer for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[2]
Have your engine’s source code in your source control
system so you can modify it and the changes will
propagate.
QA:
Unit testing is very important (specially for math
libraries and core functions).
Regression testing is important too.
QA team is different from playtesting. QA test QA,
playtesters test fun.
No QA guys in multidisciplinary teams.
Art:
Conceptual art should be delivered as soon as possible
before programming start (at least a month ahead).
Work on iterations.
Artists hate naming conventions.
Game development facts and tips
Last month I had the pleasure of finding a new friend in
the gamedev community: Ian Masters, a senior game
programmer at Sidhe Interactive, creators of the Speed
Racer game for Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 2.
While he was in town I managed to compile a list of game
development facts and tips. Here they are:
Programming:
A common exit strategy for a successful video-game
developer is to sell the company to a publisher, becoming
an in-house developer. In-house development teams tend
to have more freedom in the design and content of a game
compared to third-party developers. One reason is that
since the developers are employees of the publisher, their
interests are aligned with those of the publisher; the
publisher may spend less effort ensuring that the
developer's decisions do not enrich the developer at the
publisher's expense.
Everybody creates their own internal technology to build
games. They modify engines and create frameworks for
internal use.
The technical director is the responsable of selecting
technology like the game engine.
Developing a game engine from scratch could take years
and it’s not recommended.
The most used languages in game development are : C++,
Lua and Python.
In recent years, larger publishers have acquired several
third-party developers. While these development teams
are now technically "in-house", they often continue to
operate in an autonomous manner (with their own culture
and work practices). For example, Activisionacquired
Raven (1997); Neversoft (1999); Z-Axis (2001); Treyarch
(2001); Luxoflux (2002); Shaba (2002); Infinity Ward
(2003) and Vicarious Visions (2005). All these developers
It’s common to have a prototyping
Use source control (SVN, mercurial, etc.)
Have all your projects into a solution, prefer that to link
against static libraries (including third party code).
3
It’s not easy to convince the artists to follow naming
conventions (normally you need a producer to talk to
them).
Having a lead artist who follows naming conventions is
crucial.
Try to integrate audio as soon as possible. Audio is not a
luxury.
Post effects are often decided between the post effects
coder and the art director.
Camera effects are often decided between the camera
scripters and the designers.
Have metrics with the export tools (poly counts, texture
sizes, bone count, etc)
Should present a visual target.
Design:
They can’t account for everything.
Design document should be as detailed as possible.
Design document should be a live document.
They define tunable properties.
[Type the document title]
Normally use XML files for tunable properties (exported
from spreadsheets for extra awesomeness).


There are co-designers (scripters).



Production:
Producer’s work is to assure work is being done and cycles
are running smoothly.
Wikis are awesome.

You can manage a whole project documentation using
exclusively a wiki.
Procedures, knowledge and project management all fit
into a wiki.



Recommendations:
Scrum meetings in the mornings.
Put scrum plans on the wiki.
Create tickets on Trac or a similar tool.



Keep things visible and transparent.
Read a lot. Be proactive and an active learner and
problem solver.
Try to work as close as possible with artists, programmers
and designers.



You need a published title to get into the industry. To get
that title you need to be in the industry. Indie titles are a
good way to break into it.

Prototype as soon as possible.

Programming:


Everybody creates their own internal technology
to build games. They modify engines and create
frameworks for internal use.
The technical director is the responsable of
selecting technology like the game engine.





Unit testing is very important (specially for math
libraries and core functions).
Regression testing is important too.
QA team is different from playtesting. QA test
QA, playtesters test fun.
No QA guys in multidisciplinary teams.








Conceptual art should be delivered as soon as
possible before programming start (at least a
month ahead).
Work on iterations.
Artists hate naming conventions.
It’s not easy to convince the artists to follow
naming conventions (normally you need a
producer to talk to them).
Having a lead artist who follows naming
conventions is crucial.
Try to integrate audio as soon as possible. Audio
is not a luxury.
Post effects are often decided between the post
effects coder and the art director.
Camera effects are often decided between the
camera scripters and the designers.
Have metrics with the export tools (poly counts,
texture sizes, bone count, etc)
Should present a visual target.





Scrum is the way to go.
Use Scrum properly.
Scrum meetings in the mornings.
Put scrum plans on the wiki.
Create tickets on Trac or a similar tool.
Keep things visible and transparent.
Read a lot. Be proactive and an active learner
and problem solver.
Try to work as close as possible with artists,
programmers and designers.
You need a published title to get into the
industry. To get that title you need to be in the
industry. Indie titles are a good way to break
into it.
Prototype as soon as possible.
Types of Game Development Programming Languages
Worth Knowing
S
top. Slow down. Picking the right programming
software is not the first step; math class is. Nearly
every function or loop in programming revolves
around advanced math, which is why anyone who wishes
to become a programmer will need to take nearly every
math class that their college has. Have you already put in
those years of dedication, or are willing to? Great. Here
are some possible paths you might take after that long
learning journey.
Design:


Producer’s work is to assure work is being done
and cycles are running smoothly.
Wikis are awesome.
You can manage a whole project documentation
using exclusively a wiki.
Procedures, knowledge and project management
all fit into a wiki.
Multidisciplinary teams are a great way to work.
Have a list of features that need to be tested on
the prototype.
Recommendations:
Art:

Normally use XML files for tunable properties
(exported
from spreadsheets
for
extra
awesomeness).
There are co-designers (scripters).
Production:


Have a list of features that need to be tested on the
prototype.
Use Scrum properly.

QA:
Multidisciplinary teams are a great way to work.
Scrum is the way to go.

Developing a game engine from scratch could
take years and it’s not recommended.
The most used languages in game development
are : C++, Lua and Python.
It’s common to have a prototyping team.
Use source control (SVN, mercurial, etc.)
Have all your projects into a solution, prefer that
to link against static libraries (including third
party code).
Have your engine’s source code in your source
control system so you can modify it and the
changes will propagate.
They can’t account for everything.
Design document should be as detailed as
possible.
Design document should be a live document.
They define tunable properties.
4
First of all, if you’re an aspiring game artist, don’t worry!
Coding isn’t something that will be asked of you, but it
doesn’t hurt to educate yourself about a vital part of your
studio that’s often filled with unsung heroes. Your art will
be seen by everyone, but their work is often taken for
granted. This introduction is for both curious artists as
well as those who aspire to leave their pursuit of art and
instead approach projects from the programmer’s
perspective.
Before getting to which programming languages you can
use, it’s important to first realize that coders have become
just as specialized as artists have over the years. Things
used to be as simple as one graphics engine programmer,
and then came the need for sound programmers and
separate gameplay programmers. Eventually the need for
AI (artificial intelligence) and UI (user interface) coders
arose, as well as scripters for cinematic events and quests,
and also porting programmers who transport a game from
one console to another. In recent years physics and
network programmers have also become popular as games
and their online environments grow more and more
complex.
Just as different studios choose different 3D software
packages from one another for their artists to use, they
also differ in which programming packages to use. In the
past, I’ve said many times that it’s less about which 3D
software you use, and more about knowing the
fundamentals of animation and then learning different
software tools to help you do what you want. The same is
true for programming languages that all have different
syntax approaches to many of the same mathematic
principles of coding.
C++
You can break down every code until it’s nothing more
than binary, and ever since Assembly we’ve been
simplifying it (imagine writing a program in just 1’s and
0’s) by making it more complex (adding program
commands that interact). Modern day games are mostly
created with C/C++, though working with code for a PS3
is obviously different than coding for the hardware in a
Nintendo Wii. C++ has its hand in several programming
markets, and gaming is no different.
Unreal Engine 4
If you’re coding a game in C++ or something similar from
scratch, then you’re going to need to build a robust game
engine from scratch each and every time. It’s not possible
[Type the document title]
for most companies to do this and still expect to release a
game every other year, so it’s somewhat common for
studios to license the current Unreal engine and use their
pre-existing functions and code to expedite the process
XNA Game Studio
Microsoft XNA is a .NET programming package that
allows coders to build the indie game they’ve dreamed up,
and more importantly, it also helps them share their
creations with the world. There are plenty of ways to
create a low budget Windows PC game, but making a
game for a console is something that hasn’t really been an
option in the past. XNA allows you to share your game
on Xbox Live, which is a great opportunity for exposure,
so that as many people can enjoy your game as possible.
DarkBASIC
There’s Panda 3D, Blitz3D, and plenty of others; take
your pick. My personal preference as an artist who only
has primitive programming needs is DarkBasic
Professional, and as someone who’s only taken one coding
class and loved to code TI-83 games back in high school,
it meets most of my needs. If you go this route you may
want to also look into Lua, Python, and AutoIt for
related uses, but it’s not necessary.
years until you feel like you’ve reached your limit. Good
luck!
Gaming and Entertainment
GameMaker
Then there’s GameMaker, which is about as easy as it gets
for an artist to make a game. Tell the program what
sprite image is your character, how it can move and act,
add some sound files, and then build the game world
block by block. It’s not only limited to top down 2D
creations, but it does encourage that style. You’ll still
need a basic understanding of variables and other
fundamentals, but the difference is that you can learn it
all in one night instead of spending countless hours
reading before actually creating anything that’s worth
playing. For the artists out there who are terrified of
coding, start here and work your way up this list over the

Lotto - Chetu's solutions include development of
widely used lotto platforms and then digital
signage solutions that go with them.

Gaming Engine Experience - With products like
Unity, Gamebryo, XNA and others with
Graphics and Animation abilities using Flash
(AS2/3/Flex) 3D Max, Maya to name a few.
Implementations include MMO, RPG and our
Programming spans from .Net, C/C++, Java to
Perl, Python, iPhone & iPad.

Online Casinos - Development and support of
online casinos including:

Games for the casinos like slot, reel, bingo, keno,
blackjack, poker.
Player portal - that enable single sign-on for
players and play across the casino.
Payment engine integration - with platforms like
Skrill, Ayden and others.
Player loyalty applications - Points based credit
and rewards.

Class II and Class III Game Development Experience in assisting customers taking games
through the Certification Process in various
Jurisdictions. Chetu has worked with SAS
Integration, GLI Certification & Testing,
Progressives & Jackpot Development.
Fantasy Sports Development & Custom Websites Applications for Player Tracking and Statistical
Analysis,
League
Management,
Betting
Platforms and Mobile Applications.

Examples:
Individual game development for most Game
types - Development of individual Games such as
Reel, Bingo, Poker, Blackjack, Horse Racing,
Pari-mutuel & Keno and also extensive
experience with Player Loyalty Applications. We
have also developed Skill based games.
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Java / Flash
Java and Flash are both great places for beginning coders
to start learning. Java’s perk is how portable it is across
most platforms. Flash’s ActionScript is fairly simple to
learn and use, and meshes will with most artists, but
arguably its biggest perk is how easy it is to share your
game online.
into account the sweepstake specific math (finite)
that goes into them.

For new platforms - We have developed games on
the standard .NET, Java, PHP platforms and in
addition on new platforms like Flash, HTML 5
and mobile (iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile &
Blackberry).

Flash Games - Play for fun flash and social media
games that include isometric engines.

Chetu has developed new Games from a simple
idea or concept or modify existing games in
various capacities. Some of the modules include
RNG Engines, Game Skins, Calculation Engines,
Payout Tables, Device Integration and more.

Sweepstakes games - for internet cafes' that
comply with various local laws. We have
developed these games along with the POS and
kiosk systems. We have developed games keeping
Poker Sample 1 (Video)
Reel Sample 2 (Video)
How Are Computer Games Developed?
By Michael Davidson, eHow Contributor
Computer games go through a lengthy development
process.
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Reel Sample 1 (Interactive)
Promo 1 (Interactive)
Prize
(Interactive)
Prize
&
& Promo 2
Video games have become a multi-billion dollar industry
worldwide. As technology in computers and data storage
became more advanced, computer games became
increasingly complex and gave players more options and
game play value. Nowadays, many games have scripts
and actors just like a TV show or a feature film and the
modern game blends story, characters, action, and game
play control to create a full-fledged interactive and
immersive experience. Developing games takes a lot of
people with various talents.
1.
5
Writers
o Unless a game is based on a sport
franchise or competition, (such as
football or NASCAR,) there needs to be
a story that moves the game forward
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and gets players involved. Video games
have an involved pre-production process
that starts with writers putting a story
together that the game will follow, and
the story includes specific ideas for levels
and how the game play and story will
blend together. Sometimes these stories
are created by the game developers or
they can be based off of other properties,
such as films or graphic novels.
characters to life. Sometimes the
character models will be based off of the
actors that are portraying them, and on
other occasions, the actors only provide
the voices. This gives the game a feeling
of authenticity and increases the
production value for the game player.
Celebrities will frequently get involved
in the game voice-over process,
especially if the game is based off of a
film that they are starring in.
Storyboarding
The Game Engine
o
o
Once the basic story has been created,
graphic designers will design storyboards
in similar fashion to how directors plan
their film shots. A storyboard is an
image that is either drawn or computer
designed that represents a shot in the
game. It is very similar to a panel in a
comic book. This helps guide the game
designers and gets everyone on the same
page regarding how the game will look
and what the programmers need to focus
on in making the game a reality.
Characters, weapons and other major
game components are also drawn so that
they can be programmed into the game.
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o
The game engine is the computer code
that puts everything together and allows
the game to play. The character models,
voices, environments and game play are
all merged by the game engine to create
an interactive experience that should
appear seamless when it is done well.
Game engines are frequently recycled in
other games from the same developer,
where a basic control scheme and
physics engine is applied to a new story
with some upgrades and new characters.
Sports games are common examples of
this where the same engine is used for
years with some minor additions and
roster changes with each new year's
release.
Program Movement
o
Game designers can use the storyboards
and the character models to program a
basic outline of the game so that they
can start to input the animations of how
the characters move and how objects in
the game interact with each other.
Sometimes this is all done in the
computer system and sometimes
designers will use "motion capture,"
which is when human performers are
hooked up to a computer with various
sensors that record them doing
movements that can be mimicked into
the game.
Samples of Game Characters
Actors
o
If a game is story intensive, actors are
frequently employed to bring the
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