1. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages1 Objective to look at the stages in commercial game development, team size, and how to design game levels Animation and Games Development 24242-515, Semester 1, 2014-2015 0. 4. Game Development Stages

2. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages2 1. Game Development Stages 2. Development Team Size 3. Different Level Flow Models 4. Designing a Level Outline

3. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages3 1. Game Dev. Stages 1.Inspiration 2. Conceptualization 3. Protyping 4. Pitching to a Publisher 5. Reaching a Deal 6. Implementation 7. Alpha Stage 8. Beta Stage 9. Gold Master 10. Post-mortem

4. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages4 1.1. Inspiration Come up with a game idea people involved: the lead designer results: a treatment/design/overview document, the decision to continue (or stop) A treatment document template: http://digitalworlds.wetpaint.com/page/ Example+Blank+Design+Document

5. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages5 Write a game concept document: define the core game features find/assign developers estimate budget and due date o people involved : the designer, programmers, artists o A concept document template: o http://digitalworlds.wetpaint.com/page/ Example+Blank+Concept+Document 1.2. Conceptualization

6. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages6 o Build a first prototype as a proof of the concept allocate about 2-3 months o Must be finished enough so that it can be used to test the gameplay o include at least one level, and a GUI o Throw this prototype implementation away after testing it won't be good enough for the final game! The Pancake Principle (Fred Brooks) o “Plan to throw one away, you will anyway.” 1.3. Prototyping

7. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages7 What should be in the presentation: o game overview and genre profile o unique selling points what makes your game stand out from its competitors? o proposed technology and target platform/s o prototype details o schedule and budget o team information 1.4. Pitching to a Publisher

8. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages8 The game overview should include: o core gameplay mechanics o how the game is structured into levels o gameplay goals/rewards o artistic / styling guide (e.g. artwork examples) o do not put coding here o overview it in the "proposed technogy" section The schedule and budget info. must: o be detailed (e.g. use Gantt charts) o be realistic

9. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages9 The publishers look at you (the developers), but you should also research the prospective publishers: o are they financially stable? o are they appropriate for your kind of game? o do they market / promote their games well? o is there a history of non-payment? o have they produced many titles? Sometimes you take what you can get! 1.5. Reaching a Deal

10. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages10 If a project is accepted, then the developers will have to submit their work in three stages : o Alpha Stage o Beta Stage o Gold Master At each stage, the publisher decides whether or not to continue the funding.

11. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages11 o Create the game based on the treatment and concept documents and prototype o update the documents and tools as required o Duration: 12 months o People involved: the project leader, programming team, artists o Outcome: the alpha stage (and toolset) 1.6. Implementation

12. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages12 At the Alpha stage, a game should: o have all the required features of the design sufficiently implemented so user testing can be carried out o be tested by "real" users to find and remove any gameplay flaws o still contain basic, placeholder assets o simplified audio, models, backgrounds 1.7. Alpha Stage

13. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages13 At the Beta stage, a game should: o contain all the final content (assets) o be tested thoroughly for bugs and good gameplay o be shown to external reviewers o demo versions released o game polishing based on feedback 1.8. Beta Stage

14. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages14 At the Gold Master stage, a game should: o be sent to the platform controllers (where applicable) so they can carry out a TRC (Technical Requirements Checklist) test o e.g. Apple for inclusion in its App store o be sent to the press for review o be sent for production 1.9. Gold Master Stage

15. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages15 What went right, what went wrong? Analysis of production, source code Archive all assets Analysis of marketing Start on the sequel! 1.10. Post-Mortem

16. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages16 Team size depends on the genre action/adventure/online games require large teams mobile and casual games need less people Programming is often a smaller part of a project than the art/audio/model content creation. 2. Development Team Size

17. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages17 Sublogic’s JET (an early flight simulator) o Sublogic later made scenery for Microsoft's flight simulator 3 Programmers 1 Part-Time Artist 1 Tester 2.1. Dev. Team 1988 Total: 5

18. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages18 Interplay's Descent o Used 3-D polygon engine, not 2-D sprites 6 Programmers 1 Artist 2 Level Designers 1 Sound Designer Off-site Musicians 2.2. Dev. Team 1995 Total: 11

19. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages19 THQ’s AlterEcho 1 Executive Producer 1 Producer 4 Programmers 2 Game Designers 1 Writer 3 Level Designers 2.3. Dev. Team 2002 3 Character Modelers and Animators 1 2D and Texture Artist 1 Audio Designer 1 Cinematic Animator 1 QA Lead and Testers Total: 19+

20. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages20 2K’s Bioshock Boston: o Programmer: 1 o Artists and Animators: 15, plus 2 borrowed from Firaxis o Designers: 6 in-house, 1 contract o Audio Developers: 2 in-house, 7 contract o Producers: 3 in-house, 2 contract o Testers: 13 contract, plus 8 on-site testers Australia: o Programmers: 12 o Artists And Animators: 10 o Designers: 5 o Audio Developer: 1 o Producers: 2 o Testers: 1 in-house, 7 contract Shanghai: o Artists And Animators: 12 o Designers: 3 ~90 developers, 30 contractors, 8 on-site testers 2.4. Dev. Team 2007

21. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages21 Star Wars online (~2003) Development team: 44 people o 50% Artists o 25% Designers o 25% Programmers 3 Producers "Live" Team (starting at Beta, 6 months before the finish) o 8 Developers o 50-60 Customer support and 1000 volunteers (to deal with 200,000 planned users) 2.5. Dev Team for Online Game

22. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages22 A game consists of levels. There are various standard level models: Linear Bottlenecks Branching Open Hubs and Spokes 3. Different Level Flow Models

23. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages23 Simple; often used in puzzle and casual games but can is used in action games, such as Half-life Challenge is to make the game an interesting experience o use good graphics, interesting story 3.1. Linear StartEnd

24. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages24 Each bottleneck offers the player choices o gives the player a feeling of control o e.g. choose stairs or elevator At some point, the different paths converge o means that the designer does not have to implement too much content o e.g. the "End" scene is always the same 3.2. Bottlenecks StartEnd Bottle- Neck A Bottle- Neck B

25. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages25 The branch-points really lead to different endings The designer has to think up (and implement) many different interesting paths o time-consuming, resource-hungry 3.3. Branching Start Branch End AEnd BEnd C

26. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages26 Player has to carry out several tasks, in no particular order. o the final outcome (the "End") depends upon the tasks completed o e.g. GTA Sometimes called a sandbox level 3.4. Open End Start Objective

27. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages27 A hub level has other levels branching off from it Gives the player a feeling of control, and can help the developer limit the number of levels Have the player unlock a few spoke levels at a time o the player can not enter a level until it is unlocked o e.g. a "bank vault" level 3.5. Hub and Spokes Start Level A Level C Level B Level D hub spoke

28. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages28 4. Designing a Level There are various level designing techniques that may be useful: Brainstorming Cell Diagram Paper Design Layers

29. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages29 Involves all the designers, each contributing ideas o ideas should be written up on a board so all the developers can contribute and change them o Ideas should consist of levels and the branching between them. 4.1. Brainstorming

30. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages30 A drawing of the gameplay in a level. Consists of levels, with user interactions with the game as the links (arrows) e.g. opening a door between rooms 4.2. Cell Diagram

31. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages31 4.3. Paper Design Draw the level on graph paper shows the assets needed in a level helps position game elements in 2D Use with cell diagrams to show level changes. 31

32. 242-515 AGD: 4. Game Dev Stages32 Divide each level into layers Basic geometry Gameplay elements Decoration Good o Can build basic versions, and extend later o Get early feedback o Partial assets can be used Bad o May have to re-implement o Only get overall feedback at end o Working with partial assets 4.4. Layers level 3 level 2 level 1