The Game Development ProcessThe Game Development Process

Typical Development CycleTypical Development Cycle

Idea

Proposal

Design

Evaluation

Coding

Testing

Release

The Game Development ProcessThe Game Development Process

The Game Idea

The Game Proposal

The Game Design

The Game DesignThe Game Design

The Game Design BibleStoryGameplayInterface

The Art Bible The Software Bible

EvaluationEvaluation

Game Design

Evaluation

Development

DevelopmentDevelopment

Coding andDebugging

Testing

Release

Typical Development CycleTypical Development Cycle

Idea

Proposal

Design

Evaluation

Coding

Testing

Release

Waterfall Development CycleWaterfall Development Cycle

Idea

Proposal

Design

Evaluation

Coding

Testing

Release

Spiral Development CycleSpiral Development Cycle

Start

Design Coding and Art

TestingEvaluation

Release

Evolutionary PrototypingEvolutionary Prototyping

Proposal

Design and initial prototype

Refine PrototypeUntil Acceptable

Release

Design to ScheduleDesign to ScheduleIdea

Proposal

Design

Evaluation

High Priority Code

Med High Priority Code

Med Priority Code

Low Priority Code

Med Low Priority Code

Run out of time and money

Release

Game Development DocumentsGame Development Documents Concept Document Game Spec Design Document Story Bible Script Art Bible Storyboards Technical Design Document Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents Test Plan

Concept Document or Pitch Document or Proposal

Concept Document or Pitch Document or Proposal

To sell the gameTo create a framework for design

Generally 10 pages or less.Concept artCan be written by committee, but needs leadershipActs as a springboard

Game Spec – Concept Doc?Game Spec – Concept Doc? Overview Players Look and Feel Interface Start Up Objectives

Entities Features Rules Gameplay Level Design Technical Requirements Marketing

Design DocumentDesign Document

Highly Detailed Can be quite large (100+ pages) Should contain all elements not addressed in

other documents Is a living document!!!!!!!!

A Design Document ConstructA Design Document Construct Table of Contents Introduction/Overview Game Mechanics Artificial Intelligence Game Elements Story Overview Game Progression System Menus

Story BibleStory Bible

Story outline is in design document, the story bible fleshes out the story.

Plot and Story Flow Detailed Story Flow Detailed Characterizations Backstory Generally Prose instead of bullets

ScriptScript

The Dialog that occurs in the game. Tree structure that controls dialog

Art BibleArt Bible

Concept sketches Resources for artist Look and feel Art styles Technical guidelines Generally created by lead artist, not designer.

StoryboardsStoryboards

May be part of art bible or standalone. Puts game flow in a visual context Useful to entire team, not just artist

Technical Design DocumentTechnical Design Document

Sister specification to Art Bible and Game Design Document

Discusses how functionality will be implemented. Generally constructed by the lead programmer. May include overall code structure, major

classes, rendering architecture, AI design, etc. May contain pseudocode

Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents

Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents

Documents necessary for management of project.

Generally responsibility of Producer.

Nature of DocumentationNature of Documentation

Must be living documents. Allows communication and direction across the

team Can be a trap if misused.