Studio Structure
Game Development Timeline
Prototype - shows how a game plays
Market Reports - Research Games Mark - Shows if game is viable
Funding or Capital - Allows checks to be paid
Game Engine - Choose which engine (Affects cost and dev time)
Timeline - Explains costs and timing to funders
Marketing plan
Other tools - scripts, etc…
Concept Art - Show ideas of the games
Pre-production
Concept Work
Should it be made?
Production
Team
Game Design Document - Explains the dev process (Same as Project Management Document)
Development
Testing
Post-Production
Testing
Reviews
Marketing
Fixes
Developers and Publishers
Game Retailers (EB Games)
Console Manufacturers (XBox and Playstation) - Developer, publish and distribute
Companies and Brands (LEGO)
Game Developers - Makes the games
Game Publisher - Distributes the games
7 Major Game Development Skills
Concept Art Skill
Game & Narrative Design
Game design is the most important aspect of a game.
Coding & Learn Game’s engine features
3D Modeling
Animation Skills
Music and Sound Management
Marketing & Market analysis
The Game Designer
Decide how the player will play the game
Decide what the game consists of
Plan the elements of the game
Game designers may influence every part of the game, but don’t need to be experts in all fields
Is NOT an entry-level position (needs a lot of experience)
Art, game programming, and what makes a game fun to play?
Works at Concept level
The Level Designer
Is a cinematographer, director and set designer wrapped into one person
Sometimes the same as Game Designer
Works in Engine
Creates Environments
Skills Required
Knowledge of an engine
Architecture
Scripting
3D Modeling
Traditional game design (history of game), like Chess
Storytelling through art
Develop levels on own
Game Programming
Lead Programmer
Oversees the programming team
Responsible for the technical specifications of game the
Assures that deliveries are on time and within budget
Gameplay Engineer (Game programmer)
Design the actual code of the game
Develop specifications for all aspects
Implement game mechanics
Software (Tools) Engineer
Work on nongame development
Create tools for the internal team to use
User Interface Programmers
Make the interface controls for a game
Audio Programmers
Integrate audio into the game
Graphics Programmers
Optimize how a game is displayed
Maximize performance
May specialize in rendering, shaders, effects, etc…
Network Programmers
Develop the network infrastructure for online games
Have to focus on security and best practices
AI Programmers
Create code to respond to player’s actions
Develop solutions for choice-making
Develop solutions for pathfinding
Develop solutions for enemy strategy systems
Game Programming Skills
Develop the skills useful to application developers
Attention to detail
Game are complicated
Consoles have limited resources
Modular, decoupled and optimized coding practices are needed
Game Engine
Be familiar with Unity, Unreal, Cryengine, etc..
Get good at reading documentation
Work to use existing APIs (don’t reinvent the wheel)
Specialty Knowledge
Game engines have limits
Networking, physics and advanced math are useful
Languages