What it takes to create a game
We guys play games like hell be it FPS,RPG,RTS,SPOTS.When a games comes in the market we are the one who grabs these games first.So I thought of creating a article on game development for us.I will try to cover all aspect of game development in this article in short.
Introduction
The process of animation is an integral part of game development.But the latter one requires much more than that.After the conceptualization,other parameters are sorted out such as business strategy,Game Design Document(GDD),Technical Design Document(TDD),then an alpha release of the game followed by beta release and finally the testing.During the game development stages,most of the game companies use two teams:the graphics team takes care of the entire looks of the games,ie characters,environment,textures,lighting and so on.The technical team is responsible for developing the fuctionality of the game and integrating the graphics,movements and stages across different platforms.
Game Design Document(GDD)
A GDD decides the art of the game.In this process the designers brainstorm over the concept.This document decides the level of a game,difficulty level,scoring systems,physical appearence of characters,complexity,and the sequels intended.In simple word the GDD decides what the game must look like in the end.
Technical Design Document(TDD)
A TDD deals with the technicalities of the game,it is reffered in parallel with GDD to keep the artists and the technicians on the same page.A TDD is where the game development cycle parts ways with the animation cycle.In a sense that technical aspects such as human inveracity and compatiblity are prioritized.The TDD covers all the information related to game under development such as memory allocation,resource utilization,temporary storage,different categories of devices in case of mobile games,the platform(PC,PSP,Xbox etc) no which game is going to work and so on.Decisions are also made regarding servers,downloading resources,planing the micro transactions and unlocking resources in the game.In TDD they also make the decision of which engine they are going to use.
Game Engine
There are different types of game engines available for different types of game;an simple example of this is a side scrolling engine used for game such as Mario.The game engine is the code that works as the basic DNA of the game.It is the actionscript code or the C++ code that drives the game and everything else is built around it.The decision regarding the game engine is very crucial as it also controls the way the characters,textures,maps etc is displayed in a game.The Engine also controls the movement of a character in a game or the attributes of the racing car.So basically the game engine lays down the coding standards for the game and then they break down into Java,Symbian,C++ and other platforms on which game will run.Most of the game company develop their own engines and tweak it accordingly to the requirement of the game.
Production Stage
After the TDD is frozen and all technical requirements of the game are in place,the art team and technical teams initiate the production stage where the art for the game is developed and the coding for integrating the character, textures, maps and stages of the game nto the engine begins.As I have said earlier the coding for the game will be developed again depending on the type of the game and the engine used.For example for making flash game they use actionscripting or lingo scripting
VC++ or C++ for PC gaming and J2ME or java for mobile gaming.They also built code to detect the platform and load the required resources accordingly.For example there are different mobile phones having different screen and memory sizes.
VC++ or C++ for PC gaming and J2ME or java for mobile gaming.They also built code to detect the platform and load the required resources accordingly.For example there are different mobile phones having different screen and memory sizes.
Alpha Build
Alpha build of Stalker
Alpha build of Stalker
After the code and graphics are integrated into the engine they get the alpha build of the game which is send to the clients to see if all thier requirements are met.Sounds are usually not integrated with the games in the alpha build.
Beta Build
When the client give their feedback on the game and the required changes are made,the sounds are added to the game and we get the beta build of the game.Do note that there are mant iteration that go between these stages are there are several challenges that are encountered during game development process.
Testing
It is the most important stage of the game development as a lot of time,efforts and investment goes into making a game and a bug can ruin it.There are two types of testing:Frontline Testing and Deployment Testing.
In frontline testing the game is tested for things like the playability of the game,its difficulty,aand checking the integration of sound with the game.After the bugs are found and fixed it is send for second testing.In deployment testing,the game goes through checklists and certifications and then goes for the porting stage.
Porting
Porting a game basically involves taking your game code for one platform and rewriting a part, so that it works on other platform.Most common differences between different platforms occur in the way they handle sounds,netwoking,display configuration,file and data management.So a programer trying to port games must be aware of both platforms thoroughly.
After the porting stage the device is ready to be launched in the market on different platforms like PC,Consoles,Mobile,Online.At this stage the marketing team steps up and plans the stratagies for the launch of the game.
After this stage we guys purchase these games(many download the ahem version) and enjoy it to the core playing day and night.
Ready to Launch
After the porting stage the device is ready to be launched in the market on different platforms like PC,Consoles,Mobile,Online.At this stage the marketing team steps up and plans the stratagies for the launch of the game.
After this stage we guys purchase these games(many download the ahem version) and enjoy it to the core playing day and night.
