Post on 14-May-2015
description
GAME DEVELOPMENTSession 6
David Mullich
Survey of the Video Game Industry
The Los Angeles Film School
Developers
A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games
A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of platforms
Game Developer (Business)
Owned and run by a game publisher
An independently owned company that may work for different publishers
A company that develops video games is also called a Game Studio.
Game Studios may be:
Game Developer (Individual)
One or more individuals working freelance
A game developer may also be:
When applied to an individual, the term “game developer” may also refer specifically to a game programmer. Game programmers are also called:• Coders• Engineers
Development Teams
The lone, “auteur” game developer is a myth.*
*Unless you’re Notch.
Are you Notch?
No, you are not.
Organization
Developer Departments
Design Art/Animation Programming Audio (Music/Sound) Project Management Quality Assurance Business Development
Design Department
Controls UI Setting/Story/Dialog Game balance Level layouts Scoring System tweaking Tutorials Character/enemy design Playtesting
Level Designer
Day in the Life: Video Game Designer
Art Department
3D modeling Characters Objects Levels
Environments 2D
Textures HUD
Cinematics Animations Rigging UV mapping Motion capturing
Game Artist
Working in Games: Leader Artist (4:51)
Programming Department
Graphics Art pipeline Physics Networking AI Audio Gameplay Integration Optimization Scripting Interpreters Tools Test managers
Programmers
Extra Credits, Season 4, Episode 01 - So You Want To Be a Developer (Part 1) (6:57)
Programmers
Extra Credits, Season 4, Episode 02 - So You Want To Be a Developer (Part 2) (5:45)
Do I Need To Know Math?
Yes! Mathematics is not just for programmers!
Geometry is maths too. As are statistics. And probability. And proportion. And even project management and budgeting. Maths is everywhere and it isn’t hard. Especially when it’s applied. So let’s debunk that myth right here.
Audio Department
Composing Conducting Recording Tweaking Synching
Game Audio
What is Game Audio and Sound Design? (4:51)
Project Management
The manager of a development team might be called:
Development Director Director Team Leader Project Manager Producer
What Does A Project Manager Do?
Gantt Chart – MS Project
What Does A Project Manager Do?
The Producer
Extra Credits, Season 3, Episode 11 - So You Want To Be A Producer (8:46)
Business Development
Responsible for finding sales and growth opportunitiesFinding new clientsKeeping existing clientsMaintaining client satisfaction
Specialist Vs. Generalist
The industry has places for both, but in different contexts.
Which one are you?
Hint: If you don’t know, you are not a specialist.
PRODUCTION PHASES
Production Phases
Concept Pre-Production Production Post Production
Concept Phase
Concept Document Project Plan & Budget Contract
Pre-Production
Game Design Document (GDD): A document describing the game vision and how the game will work.
Technical Design Document (TDD): A document describing how the game will be created
Prototype/First Playable: An early playable version of the game
Detailed Schedule and Budget
Who Is Busy During Pre-Production? Busiest: Designer Very Busy: Producer, Lead
Programmer, Lead or Conceptual Artist
Somewhat Busy: Other Programmers, Artists
Not Busy: Audio, Testers
The Pre-Production Problem
Extra Credits, Season 3, Episode 01 - The Pre Production Problem (8:03)
The Pre-Production Problem
What can you do about the problem of the rest of the team being idle while only a few members are doing preproduction?
If possible, do preproduction on the next project while the rest of the team is finishing up the current project.
Production
Team ramps up (adds more people) to create:All the game features (Alpha code)All the game assets (art and audio)All the game levels
Production Pipeline (Overview)
Production Pipeline (Details)
Managing Resources
StarCraftMineralsVespene gas
Game DevelopmentPeopleMoneyTime
The Quality Triangle
Tradeoffs:As any single element
increases, Quality increases
As any single element decreases, Quality decreases
Builds
Daily builds Individual builds (such as for a
demonstration) Major builds (milestones) Lock down
Who Is Busy During Production? Busiest: Programmers, Artists Very Busy: Producer, Designers Somewhat Busy: Audio A Little Busy: Testers
Post-Production
The game is (nearly) finished and ready for:Quality Assurance TestingLocalizationPorting
Localization Issues
Translation Art asset changes Music changes Content changes UI changes Ratings
Translation
Dialog (vocals & subtitles)TRANSLATE WELL! No more “All your base,” please
String length Labels imbedded in art assets Messages/Commands (loading, game over) Fonts GUI buttons
US
Art assets
Germany
Content Changes
History and even geography may need to be “rewritten” for a given region.
China & Taiwan
Regional Preferences
Cameras and gameplay may need to be adjusted for some regions.
The US doesn’t like “grinding,” which is highly popular in Asia
US stories are often simplified and glorify Americans, Japanese stories tend to be esoteric
Japan doesn’t like “searching” for items Asia prefers linearity, the US prefers open-ended First Person mode tends to cause negative physical
reactions in Japan
Western Vs. Asian Views On Gameplay
Extra Credits, Season 2, Episode 17 - The Myth Of The Gun (5:53)
Who Is Busy During Post-Production? Busiest: Programmers, Testers Very Busy: Producer Somewhat Busy: Designer A Little Busy: Artists, Audio
DEVELOPENT METHODOLOGIES
Development Methodologies
Waterfall: A sequential process in which development is seen as flowing downwards (like a waterfall) through pre-determined stages
Agile: An iterative process in which the project is re-evaluated at the end of each cycle
Scrum
A flexible holistic strategy where a development team works together to reach a common goal
The word “scrum” is a rugby term, referring to the manner of restarting after a minor infraction
Stakeholder
A person, group, organization, or system who affects or can be affected by an organization's actions. They have a vested interest in the project.
Stakeholders may have different levels of involvement in a project. Some may be merely contribute, while others are more committed.
Stakeholders in a Game Project
Committed (Pigs)• Development Team• Producer• Quality Assurance
Contributors (Chickens)• Sales• Marketing• Finance• Customer
Roles
Project Owner: Represents the stakeholders and is the voice of the customer. S/he is accountable for delivering value
Team: Responsible for delivering a shippable project in incremental steps
Scrum Master: Enforces the rules of Scrum. Responsible for removing obstacles to the team. Acts as a buffer between the team and distracting influences.
Project Backlog
An ordered list of requirements for the product: features, bug fixes, non-functional requirements (such as documentation)
The items are ordered by the Product Owner based on considerations like risk, business value, etc.
The features added to the backlog are commonly written in a story format. (“As a user, I would like to…”)
Scrum Elements
Sprint: The basic unit of development in Scrum. The sprint is a “timeboxed” effort – normally between one week and one month.
Sprint Backlog: The list of tasks to be accomplished during that sprint.
Sprint Planning Meeting: At the beginning of every sprint, a planning meeting is held to decide what work is to be done and prepare the sprint backlog.
Daily Scrum (Daily Standup)
A timeboxed meeting (usually set to 15 minutes) of the development team. It should be held at the same time and location every day. Each team member answers three questions: What have you done since yesterday? What are you doing today? Are there any obstacles?
End of Sprint
Sprint Review Meeting: Completed work is reviewed with the stakeholders (“the demo”)
Sprint Retrospective: The team members discuss improvements to the process
Scrum
Scrum Methodology an Agile Movie (6:12)
Hybrid
An approach in which Scrum Sprints occur between Waterfall Milestones
Many game studios use a Hybrid methodology rather than a pure Agile approach
Naughty Dog
G4 Icons Episode #34: Naughty Dog (22:42)
GAME TESTING
Testing vs. Playing
At home, you play games to have fun. You get to choose what to play, when to play, and how to play it.
Testing games can still be fun, but you have fewer choices about what, when and how to play. Everything you do when you play has a purpose.
Purposes of Game Testing
Find defects in the code or design Demonstrate which parts of the
game are working properly
Two Types of Testing
Gameplay Testing“It’s too hard.”“The hats should be blue.”“Why can’t we have bigger guns?”
Bug Testing“Game crashes when I do this…”“Quest giver doesn’t reward me after I turn quest
in.”“Barbie says ‘Ima kill you!’”
In Other Words
Gameplay Testing is subjective and opinion based
Bug Testing is objective and fact based
QA Tools
Test Kit (PC, console, etc.) Headphones Video/audio capture Test Plan Bug Database
Test Plan
Written by Lead Tester (or Project Manager)
Exercises every feature and asset in the game
Used as the basis of check sheets
Writing a Bug Report
Bug # Summary (Headline) Location or Component Description Expected Result / Actual Result (when bug is not
obvious) Steps to reproduce Reproduction Rate Severity Priority
Bug Severities
A = (Blocker / Critical) Fatal flaw. No-ship issue.Crashes, freezes
B = (Major / Normal) Serious flaw. Can’t finish game, features don’t work
C = (Minor / Trivial) Minor flaw.Glitches in artwork, typos, minor annoyances
The Judger
Step-by-step or checklist-based testing Conventional game-playing Repetitive testing Factual accuracy of game Concerned about game contents Requires a very structured, ordered,
predictable environment
The Perceiver
Open-ended or outline-based testing Unconventional game-playing Testing variety Realistic experience of game Concerned about game context Like a laid-back approach
The QA Process
QA Team tests build QA Team reports defects Development Team fixes defects QA Team tests new build QA Team verifies or rejects fixes QA Team tests for new defects
Bug Resolution
Bug MeetingProductionQAMarketing
Every Open Bug is ReviewedMust FixAs Is / ISVPatch
Retesting
Very important Random spot checking of old test plan
items
Finally, Remember That…
All players are aligned “Chaotic Evil”
They will gleefully and willfully break everything.
Once you embrace this, it’s surprisingly easy to reduce your gameplay bug count during Beta. Especially if you’ve let them do this to your precious baby before Alpha. Or even better at the end of each Sprint.
Careers in QA
EA QA (Games Tester) Career Paths (9:46)