Basic Guide for Video Games production

Transcription

1 Basic Guide for Video Games production

2 intro A video game is more than the sum of its pieces; a game has a synergy that, after the game is complete, makes it something unique. Creating this synergy takes a lot of technical know-how, as well as a sense of design and art. Basically, you need to be a Leonardo da Vinci and an Albert Einstein all in one. press start A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but it now implies any type of display device that can produce two- or three-dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use. Video games have gone on to become an art form and industry. In this guide we will cover terms and starting process of making vieo game concept.

3 terms overview Platforms The term platform refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. The term system is also commonly used. In common use a PC game refers to a form of media that involves a player interacting with an IBM PC compatible personal computer connected to a video monitor. A console game is played on a specialized electronic device that connects to a common television set or composite video monitor. A handheld gaming device is a self-contained electronic device that is portable and can be held in a user s hands. Arcade game generally refers to a game played on an even more specialized type of electronic device that is typically designed to play only one game and is encased in a special cabinet. These distinctions are not always clear and there may be games that bridge one or more platforms. In addition to personal computers, there are multiple other devices which have the ability to play games but are not dedicated video game machines, such as mobile phones, PDAs and graphing calculators. The web browser has also established itself as platform in its own right while providing a cross-platform environment for video games designed to be played on a wide spectrum of hardware from personal computers to smartphones to name a few. This in turn has generated new terms to qualify classes of web browser based games. These games may be identified based on the website that they appear, such as with Facebook games. Others are named based on the programming platform used to develop them, such as Java and Flash games. Genres A video game, like most other forms of media, may be categorized into genres based on many factors such as method of game play, types of goals, art style, interactivity and more. Because genres are dependent on content for definition, genres have changed and evolved as newer styles of video games have come into existence. Ever advancing technology and production values related to video game development have fostered more lifelike and complex games which have in turn introduced or enhanced genre possibilities (e.g., virtual pets), pushed the boundaries of existing video gaming or in some cases add new possibilities in play (such as that seen with titles specifically designed for devices like Sony s EyeToy). Some genres represent combinations of others, such as massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or, more commonly, MMORPGs. It is also common to see higher level genre terms that are collective in nature across all other genres such as with action, music/rhythm or horror-themed video games. Educational games On 23 September 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama launched a campaign called Educate to Innovate aimed at improving the technological, mathematical, scientific and engineering abilities of American students. This campaign states that it plans to harness the power of interactive games to help achieve the goal of students excelling in these departments.this campaign has stemmed into many new opportunities for the video game realm and has contributed to many new competitions. Some of these competitions include the Stem National Video Game Competition and the Imagine Cup. Both of these examples are events that bring a focus to relevant and important current issues that are able to be

4 addressed in the sense of video games to educate and spread knowledge in a new form of media. uses games to entice the user to learn about information pertaining to the Nobel prize achievements while engaging in a fun to play video game.there are many different types and styles of educational games all the way from counting to spelling to games for kids and games for adults. Some other games do not have any particular targeted audience in mind and intended to simply educate or inform whoever views or plays the game. Development Video game development is the process of creating a video game. Developers use various tools to create video games, here an editor to fine tune the virtual camera system. Development is undertaken by a game developer, which may range from one person to a large business. Traditional commercial PC and console games are normally funded by a publisher and take several years to develop. Indie games can take less time and can be produced cheaply by individuals and small developers. The indie game industry has seen a rise in recent years with the growth of new online distribution systems and the mobile game market. Development team Developers can range in size from small groups making casual games to housing hundreds of employees and producing several large titles. The development team consists of several members. Some members of the team may handle more than one role; similarly more than one task may be handled by the same member. Team size can vary from 20 to 100 or more members, depending on the game s scope. The most represented are artists, followed by programmers, then designers, and finally, audio specialists, with two to three producers in management. Designer A game designer is a person who designs gameplay, conceiving and designing the rules and structure of a game. Development teams usually have a lead designer who coordinates the work of other designers. They are the main visionary of the game. One of the roles of a designer is being a

5 writer, often employed part-time to conceive game s narrative, dialogue, commentary, cutscene narrative, journals, video game packaging content, hint system, etc. In larger projects, there are often separate designers for various parts of the game, such as, game mechanics, user interface, characters, dialogue, etc. Artist A game artist is a visual artist who creates video game art. The art production is usually overseen by an art director or art lead, making sure their vision is followed. The art director manages the art team, scheduling and coordinating within the development team. The artist s job may be 2D oriented or 3D oriented. Programmer A game programmer is a software engineer who primarily develops video games or related software (such as game development tools). The game s codebase development is handled by programmers. There are usually one to several lead programmers, who implement the game s starting codebase and overview future development and programmer allocation on individual modules. Game design document A game design document (often abbreviated GDD) is a highly descriptive living design document of the design for a video game. A GDD is created and edited by the development team and it is primarily used in the video game industry to organize efforts within a development team. The document is created by the development team as result of collaboration between their designers, artists and programmers as a guiding vision which is used throughout the game development process. The basic sequence of game design is as follows Come up with an idea for a game Create storyboards and rough sketches of your game world the main characters and the action List the details of your game and take into consideration everything about the game universe Finally put these concepts all together into a design document something like a movie script that contains everything about your game

6 Developing an idea Storyboarding Before you write a game, you need an idea a story, something to start with. Brainstorm and come up with an idea for a game; the idea should be loosely based on something that has at least a fleeting resemblance to a story. Then you need to come up with the goals of the game. Ask yourself questions such as What will the player do? and How will the player do it? One of the best ways to see a game is to storyboard it to create a sequence of drawings that show the levels of the game or the different scenes and goals. Each storyboard should include a paragraph or two to describe what is going on. Example from training course Maybe you re wondering, Where do I get ideas for games? Well, you can t tap into any magical formulas, but you can look in a few places: ddother games: Don t copy another game, of course, but improving and taking a new perspective within the game is fine. ddmovies and videos: Watch as many sci-fi movies as possible and see if you can come up with a game based on some of their ideas and content. Of course, you need to get permission from the filmmaker if you use any characters or story lines from those movies. ddreal-life games: You can take a game such as hockey and make a computer version of it, or make a futuristic version of it. dddreams and nightmares: This technique is a gold mine; in your mind, you can try anything out. Go to sleep thinking about games, demons, monsters, or whatever, and hopefully, you will have a killer dream that gives you an idea for a game. After you have your game ideas, then you need to outline the story.

7 Gamification Considering the details Gamification is the use of game thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users in solving problems. Gamification has been studied and applied in several domains, with some of the main purposes being to engage (improve user engagement,physical exercise, return on investment, flow,data quality, timeliness), teach (in classrooms, the public or at work), entertain (enjoyment,fan loyalty), measure (for recruiting and employee evaluation), and to improve the perceived ease of use of information systems. A review of research on gamification shows that most studies on gamification find positive effects from gamification. Gamification techniques strive to leverage people s natural desires for socializing, learning, mastery, competition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism, or closure. After you create storyboards, you write the details of the game design. This stage is where the process gets complex. You have to think of every possible detail and write something about it because when you make your game, you are a god well, at least a demigod. If you don t program a specific detail, it s not going to happen. You need to figure out all the rules and the structure of the game. For example, here s a list of questions to consider: ddwhat can the game character do? Can he or she fly, swim, and teleport? ddhow many different enemies will the hero fight? ddwhat kind(s) of weapons are available? ddhow does the player get rejuvenated? ddcan more than one player play at once? If so, what are the ramifications of this? ddwill the game s perspective be a side view, top view, or firstperson and full 3-D view? ddwhat kind of sound track? Rock, rap, techno? ddwhat is the personality of the main character? These examples are just some of the details you need to think about. The key here is to create the characters, rules, laws, and goals of your game universe in as much detail as possible. That s necessary because you re going to generate the artificial universe they all exist in. The more detail you include, the better the game will be.

8 Constructing a game design document After you have all the storyboards and details of the game written down, create a design document. The goal of the document is to record all your ideas in a format that resembles a movie script. Creating the document is a housekeeping step, but it gives you another chance to change your mind, see if some rule or event is totally stupid, or add another game element. Don t misunderstand. Changing and adding to your design is acceptable, but make sure all the elements work well together. If players aren t distracted by inconsistencies in your game s universe, they can be fully involved with the characters and situations. The result of developing the design document is that your imaginary world becomes more vivid in your mind. When you start talking to yourself about the stuff that is happening in your game, when your imaginary world is so thick with texture and so alive with detail that you can see it, then writing a game around it is much easier, because you aren t making things up as you go. Having a clear picture of a game s world is one of the most important issues in game design. The universe you create must be coherent; it must be well thought out enough to hang together about as well as the universe we live in (or better). If your game universe is coherent, the players will lose themselves in it; they will experience a suspension of disbelief and really have fun. On the other hand, if you come up with a half-baked idea and then wing it as you go, your game ends up looking thrown together, which doesn t invite belief. Without thought or planning, you won t pull the players into your world, and they won t play your game! After you have a design document in hand, you re in a far better position to create a solid game. As you work on the game, you won t be tempted to impulsively add elements that are inappropriate or out of place in your game s world.