Post on 23-Dec-2015
The Game Development ProcessThe Game Development Process
Typical Development CycleTypical Development Cycle
Idea
Proposal
Design
Evaluation
Coding
Testing
Release
The Game Development ProcessThe Game Development Process
The Game Idea
The Game Proposal
The Game Design
The Game DesignThe Game Design
The Game Design BibleStoryGameplayInterface
The Art Bible The Software Bible
EvaluationEvaluation
Game Design
Evaluation
Development
DevelopmentDevelopment
Coding andDebugging
Testing
Release
Typical Development CycleTypical Development Cycle
Idea
Proposal
Design
Evaluation
Coding
Testing
Release
Waterfall Development CycleWaterfall Development Cycle
Idea
Proposal
Design
Evaluation
Coding
Testing
Release
Spiral Development CycleSpiral Development Cycle
Start
Design Coding and Art
TestingEvaluation
Release
Evolutionary PrototypingEvolutionary Prototyping
Proposal
Design and initial prototype
Refine PrototypeUntil Acceptable
Release
Design to ScheduleDesign to ScheduleIdea
Proposal
Design
Evaluation
High Priority Code
Med High Priority Code
Med Priority Code
Low Priority Code
Med Low Priority Code
Run out of time and money
Release
Game Development DocumentsGame Development Documents Concept Document Game Spec Design Document Story Bible Script Art Bible Storyboards Technical Design Document Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents Test Plan
Concept Document or Pitch Document or Proposal
Concept Document or Pitch Document or Proposal
To sell the gameTo create a framework for design
Generally 10 pages or less.Concept artCan be written by committee, but needs leadershipActs as a springboard
Game Spec – Concept Doc?Game Spec – Concept Doc? Overview Players Look and Feel Interface Start Up Objectives
Entities Features Rules Gameplay Level Design Technical Requirements Marketing
Design DocumentDesign Document
Highly Detailed Can be quite large (100+ pages) Should contain all elements not addressed in
other documents Is a living document!!!!!!!!
A Design Document ConstructA Design Document Construct Table of Contents Introduction/Overview Game Mechanics Artificial Intelligence Game Elements Story Overview Game Progression System Menus
Story BibleStory Bible
Story outline is in design document, the story bible fleshes out the story.
Plot and Story Flow Detailed Story Flow Detailed Characterizations Backstory Generally Prose instead of bullets
ScriptScript
The Dialog that occurs in the game. Tree structure that controls dialog
Art BibleArt Bible
Concept sketches Resources for artist Look and feel Art styles Technical guidelines Generally created by lead artist, not designer.
StoryboardsStoryboards
May be part of art bible or standalone. Puts game flow in a visual context Useful to entire team, not just artist
Technical Design DocumentTechnical Design Document
Sister specification to Art Bible and Game Design Document
Discusses how functionality will be implemented. Generally constructed by the lead programmer. May include overall code structure, major
classes, rendering architecture, AI design, etc. May contain pseudocode
Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents
Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents
Documents necessary for management of project.
Generally responsibility of Producer.
Nature of DocumentationNature of Documentation
Must be living documents. Allows communication and direction across the
team Can be a trap if misused.