Impossible

mission:

estimating

(game)

development

Pietro Polsinelli

@ppolsinelli

for Better Software 2016

You: 1. Form a group

2. Pick a game

3. Analyze its development

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I will provide additional “lenses” for your game’ analysis. Marketing is on the side.

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Before the practice

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In ancient times (2010) I decided to explore game development as a

profession

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I was doing web based apps. I thought for games I just had to add

animations

copy

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Six years later and about 10 games completed, I know I was a FOOL.

“That’s not easy

to do, man!”

“Y’all just be

acting like that

s**t is regular.”

Kanye West revelation.

http://kotaku.com/kanye-west-is-really-proud-of-his-new-video-

game-1758599572 8

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Exploring (video) game development has been an amazing learning

experience.

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The best of my life. And I’m 48, with 34 years in programming.

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One of the many dimensions is game mechanics.

Does your solution have a “mechanic”? http://www.lizengland.com/blog/2014/04/the-door-

problem/

Themes that interact with the game loop. 13

Depth dimension – have some depth, maybe not at

all ...

Raph Koster “Teaching to Fish”

http://www.raphkoster.com/games/presentations/teaching-to-fish/

Koster Game Grammars

http://www.raphkoster.com/2015/09/09/paxdev-game-

grammar-talk/

Games are about complexity, because

they are about people.

You may be making systems that are playing with NP hard problems.

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I believe this learning

exploration in complexity is

common to many if not all

development domains. So this

could be an experience useful to

all.

NON GAMEDEV GOAL

- Concept and concept art

- Find the core mechanics

- Narrative / progression

Evaluate how to develop them.

List the screens.

GOAL

EXAMPLE

GAMES 20

Kardashian Hollywood 21

Clash Royale 22

Bioshock Infinite 23

NBA Jam 24

Hotline Miami https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotline_Miami

Firewatch 26

Plants vs. Zombies 27

Flick Kick Football 28

MotorSport Manager 29

Game Dev Story 30

Sunless Sea

80 Days

Prison Architect

Dishonored

Space Team

Pac Man

Hearthstone

You Must Build A Boat

Monument Valley

Kingdom

And more ...

Some

sources

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Piked units defeat cavalry

Cavalry defeats artillery

Artillery defeats piked units

See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TacticalRockPaperScissors

http://bit.ly/agdArtInt

http://gameinternals.com/post/2072558330/

understanding-pac-man-ghost-behavior

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Wikipedia

definition of

profiles 42

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 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.

People you will need: Designer

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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.

2D artists may produce concept art, sprites, textures, environmental

backdrops or terrain images, and user interface.

3D artists may produce models or meshes, animation, 3D environment,

and cinematics.

Artists sometimes occupy both roles.

People you will need: Artist

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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.

Individual programming disciplines roles include:

Physics – the programming of the game engine, including simulating physics, collision, object movement, etc.;

AI – producing computer agents using game AI techniques, such as scripting, planning, rule-based decisions, etc.

Graphics – the managing of graphical content utilization and memory considerations; the production of graphics engine,

integration of models, textures to work along the physics engine.

Sound – integration of music, speech, effect sounds into the proper locations and times.

Gameplay – implementation of various games rules and features (sometimes called a generalist);

Scripting – development and maintenance of high-level command system for various in-game tasks, such as AI, level

editor triggers, etc.

UI – production of user interface elements, like option menus, HUDs, help and feedback systems, etc.

Input processing – processing and compatibility correlation of various input devices, such as keyboard, mouse,

gamepad, etc.

Network communications – the managing of data inputs and outputs for local and internet gameplay.

Game tools – the production of tools to accompany the development of the game, especially for designers and scripters.

People you will need: Programmer –

99% of the effort 45

Level designer

Sound Engineer

Tester

People you may need...

Dimensions

Game feel card

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Scenarios / backgrounds

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UI quality card

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Balancing card

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Animations card

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Audio card

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AI card

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Haptic card

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Main narrative / progression

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Character stories

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Non standard controls card

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Probabilities & chance card

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Deploy on stores / consoles

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Math behind card

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Time limits, timer & tempo cards

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Mod & customization card

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Use cards for ... (Dominions)

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Puzzles and mysteries

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Magic circle logic and coherence

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Game play timeline, short loops and 4 hours

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1D (Kingdom), 1D x n (PlantsVsZomb), 2D,

Parallaxed, 2D with 3D anim, 2.5D (fix side camera, movement in 2D graphic in 3D), Isometric (graphic iso,

movement in 3D), 3D

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Game analytics and game updates

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Icons, palette and

(color) coding

From http://danielsolisblog.blogspot.it

/2015/01/a-quick-guide-to-color-coding-in.html

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Genre and inclusiveness card

(Spelltower game design) 71

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https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Motivation_and_emotion/Book/2011/Flow From By Wesley Fryer – http://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/304317777/sizes/o/in/photostream/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17236204

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Use social mechanics

Dimensions ...

NOW DRAW A

LINE:

TOWARDS A

PROTOTYPE 76

After the practice

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FINALE

MORALE 78

How to deal with complexity? The burocratization of work or ... prototypes, short narratives and conversations.

A lot of work... “the game design document”

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My twitter stream is mostly dedicated to

game design

@ppolsinelli

A blog on game design

designagame.eu

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