Production Research:

Video Game Production:

In this section, I will be researching how to develop a computer game, and the jobs/roles behind creating video games.

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Video Game Production Process:

Phase 1: Concept

 

The genesis of all games that you see available on store shelves is a simple concept or idea. If it's an original concept, it's typically derived from a source within the company, albeit there are times that ideas from individuals outside the company will be used. In either case, the original concept is just a simple idea for what the game can be about.

 

A simple game concept could be to make a futuristic 3D street racing game with hovercrafts. It can also be something as simple as making an action/adventure game where you're controlling a ninja. 

 

The game concept can also start as simply wanting to make a follow-up or sequel to an existing title, a game based on an existing non-gaming characters, stories or franchises (from other mediums such as television, comic books, board games, movies, folklore, or history) 

 

The game could be one that's meant to simulate some real world experience, such as the case with sports, flight, or driving simulations.

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Phase 2: Pre-Production

The next step that needs to be done in the game development process is the pre-production phase. This is where a team, which includes a varied number of producers, designers, programmers, artists and writers, will work on things such as:

 

• Writing the storyline

• Creating storyboards

• Putting together a comprehensive design document detailing the game's goals

• Level designs

• Gameplay mechanics

• Overall blueprint of the game

 

The freedom that the pre-production team has in each of these areas is often limited to the type of game being made. 

 

When a game's being created on a completely original concept, the story writers, artists and designers have free reign to craft whatever their imaginative minds desire. The story and characters are only limited by the imaginations of the people on the team.

 

When the game being developed is based on a licensed franchise or a simulation of a real world event, the creative freedom is often limited to what's acceptable within the realm of the franchise or real world event in question.

 

Regardless of the creative freedom allowed by the game concept, if game being developed is of a genre that necessitates a storyline, creating one is the first step. The storyline is a vastly important process as it defines; main characters, plot, setting and overall theme. 

 

The plot can be as simple as coming up with the names of a cast of characters that are entering some fighting tournament or it can be a much more substantial undertaking that can include a full screenplay and tens of thousands words of dialog.

 

Once the storyline is completed, the next step is to piece together a storyboard for the game. This is a visual representation of storyline that includes sketches, concept art, and text to explain what happens in each section or scene of the game. 

 

The storyboards may be also done for scripted elements within the action portions of the gameplay and more often for the cinematic CG rendered or real time cut-scenes that are often used to further along the story of the game in question.

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The third prominent aspect of the pre-production phase, is the piecing together of a comprehensive design document for the game. In addition to including the storyline and storyboards, the design document will also incorporate the designers overall blueprint, which includes: 

 

• How the game will be played

• What each menu or screen in the game will look like

• What the controls for the character or characters are

• What the game's goal is

• Rules for how you win/lose in the game

• Maps of the different worlds or levels within the game

 

This is where the designers, as well as software engineers, must decide things such as:

 

• What exactly happens on screen when a specific button or key or direction on an input device is pressed

• What exactly is in each world

• What can and cannot be interacted with

• What scripted events occur

• How the NPC (non-player controlled) characters react to what the player-controlled character does in the game 

 

These must be mapped out in enough detail for the programmers and artists to be able to know what needs to be coded and created.

 

The parties involved must also take into consideration the technical limitations of the platform that the game is being created on and, in the case of consoles, what standards that the hardware manufacturer may require to be followed in order to be approved for release on the system.

 

Phase 3: Production

After the pre-production phase is complete and the game's overall blueprint has been finalized, the development of the game enters the production phase and now larger group of producers, designers, artists and programmers are brought into the mix.

 

The producer or producers main job for them is to:

 

• Create the schedules to be followed by the engineers and artists 

• Making sure the schedules are adhered to

• Ensure that the high-concept goals of the design are followed throughout the course of development

 

Producers will work with the design, art and programming teams to make sure everyone is working together as a well-oiled machine and that everyone's on the same page. Those in production will also work with dealing with any licenses that the game uses and in making sure the company's marketing department knows what it needs to know about the title.

 

Whilst the design document is typically completed by this phase, the game's designers still play a big role here as it's their job to make sure that the details of the designs are being properly implemented by the artists and programmers. In cases where holes in the design are found, they must be able to come up with solutions and/or new designs for what comes up.

 

The artists during the production phase will be working on building all of the animations and art which you'll see in the game. Programs such as “Maya” and 3D Studio Max will often be used to model all of the game's environments, objects, characters and menus. The art team will take care of creating all of the texture maps that are added to the 3D objects to give them more life and character as well as taking care of animating any characters or objects that move in the game. 

 

In the cases where motion-captured data is used to help create a more life-like movement, there'll be a motion capture team that works with the artists to collect data and solve it to work with the skeletons of the game characters, so that the movement of the in-game characters reflect what was motion-captured of the real-life actor.

 

At this time, the programming gurus are working on coding the game's library, engine, and artificial intelligence (AI). The library more often than not is something that has already been created for the company for use with all its games. The library is constantly updated and tweaked in order to meet any new goals or expectations for the development of newer titles. 

 

Many times the library team will be required to write its own custom programming code, often based in the C programming language, which will be the base of all the company's games. There is also a set of programmers responsible for creating the game's 2D or 3D engine, which generates all of the polygons, textures, lighting, and special effects that you see in the game, often using what's been delivered by the art staff.

The AI is another important element of the game's software code and it's generally written by an individual AI programmer or a team of AI programmers. The programmers work on all of the physics, collisions, interactions, and movement of every character and object in the game. They will write the routines that define what happens when a character interacts with other characters or with objects, and how the controllable characters respond to the game player's input on the control device. They write the logic that make the characters and objects all act as per designed in the design document.

 

Once all of the base elements have been implemented by both the artists and programmers, the production team will then work on trying to optimize all aspects of the game to get it to run well on the hardware being developed for. Decisions will have to be made as whether to reduce polygon counts on objects/characters or add new lighting or special effects in order to get the game running at a frame rate that's deemed acceptable by the development team. 

 

In some cases, based on which company the team is working for, they will do whatever they can in order to keep the game running at a constant 60 frames per second by sacrificing visual effects, polygonal counts, or just by optimizing the models, textures, and AI codes to the fullest. Others are willing to sacrifice a consistent frame rate to throw in as much eye candy as they can muster.

 

Phase 4: Post-Production

The final stage of the game's development is the post-production stage. This begins when the game is considered "feature complete"; all of the code has been written and art has been completed. This is when an alpha version of the game is created and is supplied to the game's test department to bang away at, finding bugs and major flaws in the game that need to be changed.

 

One all of the bugs and major flaws are identified and addressed, a beta version of the game is then produced and once again sent to the test department to be picked through with a fine tooth comb. This is where the hardcore testing is done and every single bug regardless of how major or minor is documented and attempted to be fixed. This is also the stage where the testers must make sure that the game abides by all of the standards that are determined by the manufacturer of different consoles that must be followed in order for the game to be approved for release.

 

Once all of the bugs have been fixed and all of the standards have been determined to be met, a final version of the game is made and, in the case of the consoles, is sent to the console maker to get tested and approved for release on the system in question. If bugs are found or approval is not met, the production team will fix all of the problems in question, put it through their own test department again to ensure that everything was fixed and nothing new was broken, and then once again submit it for approval.

 

All that's left to do once the game is approved by the console manufacturer or just "finished" by the developer in the case of PC games, is for the game to be manufactured and then distributed to stores where you can go out and buy them.

 

Game Development Team Job Roles:

Game Designer - creates gameplay, rules and structure of the game. They design the game and come up with the ideas of how the game will function.

 

Artist - Creates the artwork, textures for models etc. Focuses on the graphics of the game, and the art style. 3d Artist may create the models and textures for a 3d game.

 

Animator - Animates the characters, objects and scenery of the game, 2d or 3d. The animator will animate 3d models provided by a 3d designer.

 

Programmer - Realizes the vision of the game designer by integrating art, sound assets, models etc. into a playable game. Lead programmers will lead the other members of a team who focus on particular levels or tech in the game.

 

Level Designer - The level designer creates and designs levels for the game, whether that be for 2d or 3d games, such as platformers or open-world RPGs.

 

Sound Engineer - The sound engineer is the person responsible for creating/designing sound effects and sound programming, including voice editing, audio merging and sound effects in the game.

 

Tester - As the video game is developed, testers will verify that the programming is free of bugs and that the game is playable and enjoyable. They do this through playing levels, and also using automation tools to repeat the same task and see what happens for testing purposes.

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