Game Development Process

• Choose the game to develop.
• Select a general concept, a target audience, a general purpose for the game.
• Decide on the intended platform(s). Based on that, choose an IDE/toolkit/API. Get a general idea of what can/cannot be done with those tools.
• Write down the game idea on paper. Use storyboards if necessary. Decide on the game mechanics.
• Test the game on paper if possible.

Verbs vs Actions and Tactics

• A verb is a physical interaction with a controller, piece, die or other real component of the game platform.
• To use a verb is to do something in the real world that translates to a game-world action.
• Verbs are also sometimes called inputs or interactions.
• An action is something the player does in the game world.
• An action involves one or several verbs.
• A tactic is a combination of actions taken for a particular reason.
• Pass the ball to Tom because he isn't flanked.

Game Mechanics

• The set of possible actions together with the consequences of those actions.
• A game's mechanics are the rules and procedures that guide the player and the game response to the player's moves or actions.
• Describe rules the player follows and the rules the game itself follows.
• The player can move the PacMan to collect food.
• A game level remains locked until the player finishes the previous level.

Example: Elder Scrolls

• Concept: epic third-person RPG, centered on an unlikely hero.
• Context, environment: medieval universe, forbidden magic has let some monsters in, hero must save the world.
• Core (features, content): races, abilities, weapons, quests, levels.
• Mechanics: movement, power-ups, fights, NPC interaction.
• Verbs: jump, attacks (hamstring, blast, quick draw), heals, emotes.

Game Development Team

• Designer - deciding on the theme and rules of the game, guiding the development
• Programmer - writing the actual code
• Visual artist - creating the visual entities involved in the game: 3D modeling (creatures , weapons, vehicles, buildings), animation, textures
• Audio artist - creating sound effects and deciding where they are needed and how
• Writer - backstory, dialogs, NPC development
• Producer - project leader, financial support
• Quality assurance specialist - testing the game
• Publisher - marketing and selling the game

Programming the Game

• Gather resources: graphics, objects, animation for those objects, sounds.
• Write the game incrementally. Divide it in frames/levels.
• Test and debug the game. Get other people to play it. Fix problems that might be made clear by testing.
• Distribution and promotion.

Types of Design in Games

• World design - overall theme and backstory.
• System design - rules and underlying mathematics
• Content design - characters, items, puzzles, quests.
• Level design - maps, challenges, order.
• Game writing - dialogs, text, story.
• User interface - how the player interacts with the game, and how they receive feedback from it.

Development Terms

• Pitch - introducing the idea to someone.
• Design document - an ongoing repository for game plans and ideas.
• Milestone - a predetermined point in the game development.
• Alpha version - a working but untested version of the game.
• Beta version - more stable than alpha, not entirely bug free.
• Gold - final version to be released.

Approached to Game Design

• Blue-sky - where few constraints are imposed.
• Slow boil - there is a theme and a setting.
• Mechanic-driven - based on the strength of the game character, like FPS.
• MDA - mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics, like RPGs.
• IP - intellectual property. Pokemon, Spiderman.
• Story - developing the game based on a story, like Myst, Wolves Among Us.

MDA

• Mechanics: the internal rules of the game, hidden, embedded in the code.
• How the game system works: rules and interactions.
• Dynamics: the part of the mechanics that the player can see. Describes the outcome of player's actions.
• Aesthetics: describes the desirable emotional response expected from the player.
• Examples: fantasy (make-believe), narrative (drama), discovery, challenge, sensation, expression, pastime.
• The dynamics work to create the aesthetics experience. Together they create the user experience.