1. Game Development Timeline
Mohammad Zikky, M.T

2. Outline
Game Timeline
Team Sizes
Game Design Documents

3. Classic Waterfall Model in Design Process

4. Game Production Timeline
Inspiration (1 month)
Results in game treatment/concept paper
Conceptualization (3-5 months)
Results in design summary/design document
Story boards and prototype
Technical Architecture (2 months)
Determine the technical details
Results in master technical specification/production document
Tool Building (4 months)
Assembly (12 months)
Levels (4 months)
Review, Testing, … (3 months)
Total (about 2 years)

5. Game Development Timeline (1 of 5)
Inspiration
getting the global idea of the game
duration: 1 month (for a professional game)
people: lead designer, team discussion
result: treatment document, decision to continue
Conceptualization
preparing the "complete" design of the game
duration: 3 months
people: designer + prototype programmers/artists
result: complete design document
Concept  Define game concept, define core game features, find/assign developer, & estimate budget & due date

6. Prototypes
Build prototypes as proof of concept
Can take 2-3 months (or more)
Typically done a few months after project start
In particular, used to test game play
Throw prototype away afterwards
Don't expect it to evolve into game!
Game Design Document & Technical Design Document = "The Bibles"
Production budget & detailed schedule
Working prototype, with game mechanics
Focus test
Pitch to Publisher

7. The Pitch Process: Presentation
Key pitch presentation content:
Concept overview & genre profile
Unique selling points
What makes it stand out from its competitors
Proposed technology & target platform/s
Team biographies & heritage
Outline marketing information, including potential licensing opportunities

8. The Pitch Process: Prototype
Key game prototype features:
Core gameplay mechanic
Game engine / technological proficiency
Artistic / styling guide
Demonstration of control / camera system
Example gameplay goals

9. The Pitch Process: Schedule and Budged
Schedule & budget must:
Be detailed and transparent
Allow for contingency scenarios
Have several sets of outcomes for different size publishers
Be realistic

10. The Deal: Choosing a Publisher Research
Publishers screen Developers
But Developers should also research prospective Publishers:
Are they financially stable?
Do they have appropriate reach for target?
Do they market / PR their games well?
Is there a history of non-payment of milestones or royalties?
Have they produced many titles?
Sometimes you take what you can get!

11. The Deal: IP (Intellectual Property ) Rights
Intellectual Property Rights include:
Game name
Logos
Unique game mechanics & storyline
Unique characters, objects & settings
Game Source Code including artwork & associated assets
Unique sounds and music
Developers may not have much power
And it probably doesn't matter as many games don’t succeed, anyway

12. The Deal: Payment Negotiation
Current approximate development costs:
$10+ million for multi-platform
$5 million for PlayStation 2 only
$1 million for a quality single platform
Royalties
Percentage payments of profits made after recoup of development costs
Developer royalties range 0% ("work for hire") to 40%
Other considerations:
Rising-rate royalty: more units sold = higher percentage
Clear royalty definition of 'wholesale price' (i.e., including cost of goods etc.)
Right to audit publishers books
Currency/exchange rate/VAT figures

13. Moving Project Forward
Most Publishers have a "Green-Light Process"
Used to determine which projects go forward
Developers submit to committee at five, mostly independent stages:
Concept
Assessment
Prototype
First Playable
Alpha
At each stage, committee:
Decides whether or not to continue funding
Developers then get next "lump" of money
Evaluates market potential
Adjusts unit forecasts accordingly
Then, additional stages:
Beta
Gold Master

14. Game Development Timeline (3 of 5)
Blueprint
separate the project into different tiers
duration: 2 months
people: lead designer, software planner
result: several mini-specifications
Architecture
creating a technical design that specifies tools and technology used
people: project leader, software planner, lead architect
result: full technical specification

15. Game Development Timeline (4 of 5)
Tool building
create a number of (preferably reusable) tools, like 3D graphics engine, level builder, or unit builder
duration: 4 months
people: project leader and 4 (tool) programmers
result: set of functional tools (maybe not yet feature complete)
Assembly
create the game based on the design document using the tools; update design document and tools as required (consulting the lead designer)
duration: 12 months
people: project leader, 4 programmers, 4 artists
result: the complete game software and toolset

16. Game Development Timeline (5 of 5)
Level design
create the levels for the game
duration: 4 months
people: project leader, 3 level designers
result: finished game with all levels, in-game tutorials, manuals
Review
testing the code, the gameplay, and the levels
duration: 3 months (partially overlapping level design)
people: 4 testers
result: the gold master

17. Release Alpha: Beta: Release:
When all the features are in, but not all bugs are out.
Beta:
Development team believes all the bugs are out.
No new features except ones to eliminate huge problems.
Release:
No new features!
Everything is done.

18. Types of Game Design Docs
IMGD 1001
Types of Game Design Docs
Concept Document
Proposal Document
Technical Specification
Game Design Document
Level Designs

19. Concept Document (1 of 2) Used to explore game idea in more detail
IMGD 1001
Concept Document (1 of 2)
Used to explore game idea in more detail
Often used as a proposal within an organization
Developed by designer or visionary
A short sales pitch: 1-3 pages
May have no art, or amateur art
Many ideas never get farther than this

20. Concept Document (2 of 2) Must include: May also include: Intro
IMGD 1001
Concept Document (2 of 2)
Must include:
Intro
Description
Key features
Genre, spin, flavor
Platform(s) / market data
May also include:
Background / License info
Concept art

21. High Concept (1 of 2) The key sentence that describes your game
IMGD 1001
High Concept (1 of 2)
The key sentence that describes your game
MUST get the concept across concisely and quickly
If you can't, it may be too complicated to sell

22. High Concept (2 of 2) Not so good: Better:
IMGD 1001
High Concept (2 of 2)
Not so good:
"MindRover is a game in which players build and program robotic vehicles to compete in a variety of challenges including battles, races, puzzles, and sports."
Better:
"MindRover is like Battlebots ... but with brains."
Still not good enough
Let's see if we can do better! … (next slide)

23. Exercise: High Concept
IMGD 1001
Exercise: High Concept
Pick one of these 4 games
Burnout
Grand Theft Auto
Zelda - Twilight Princess
Dance Dance Revolution
Write a high concept for it
Form groups based on game choice
Agree on one

24. Proposal Document (1 of 2)
IMGD 1001
Proposal Document (1 of 2)
Used to get a deal
Shown to publishers and 3rd parties
Enough detail to show that the proposal is viable: 5-50 pages
Sales oriented
Big picture
Polished!

25. Proposal Document (2 of 2)
IMGD 1001
Proposal Document (2 of 2)
Must include:
Revised concept
Market analysis
Technical analysis
Schedule
Budget
Risks
Cost and revenue projections
Pessimistic, likely, optimistic
Art

26. Technical Specification (1 of 2)
IMGD 1001
Technical Specification (1 of 2)
The 'How' of game design
Contains the architectural vision; technology to be used
Engineering detail
Production detail
Owned by tech director or chief engineer
Can be exhaustive (and exhausting): pages

27. Technical Specification (2 of 2)
IMGD 1001
Technical Specification (2 of 2)
Must include:
Tooling
Art / Music / Sound / Production pipeline
Technology detail
Platform & portability issues
Networking or special tech
Server details
Software engineering info
Major design elements
Key areas of technical risk
Alternatives to risky or expensive sections

28. Game Design Document (1 of 2)
IMGD 1001
Game Design Document (1 of 2)
Functional spec: The 'What' of the design
Describes the player’s experience and interactions in detail
Could be quite long, several hundred pages, but "enough" is the goal.
Artistic feel
Owned by the game designer
A living document
"The Bible"

29. Game Design Document (2 of 2)
IMGD 1001
Game Design Document (2 of 2)
Must haves
Game mechanics
User Interface
Visuals
Audio
Story (if any)
Level Specs

30. References
Hanna, Philip. Java Games Programming. Queen’s University, Belfast, Ireland
Claypool, Mark. Courses in The Game Development Process, Worcester Polytechnic Institute