Your Dream Game
Every gamer seems to have one in their head. Of course, we are talking about the dream game. You know, that ultimate game that will knock the gaming world on it's collective ear. In this tutorial we will talk about what it will take to organize your dream game into a coherent, workable design. We will probe the possibilities and pitfalls you may encounter in this first step to realizing your dream game. Let's get started...
Where Do Game Ideas Come From
Ideas for games come from virtually anywhere and everywhere. You can get ideas from other games, your dreams, TV, movies, your friends and acquaintances or even just random chat on the Usenet or IRC. For an aspiring game designer/programmer it is best to always keep pencil and paper handy to quickly jot down your ideas when they strike. Many professional designers keep design notebooks and carry them around. Although most ideas probably aren't original it's good to strive for at least some original aspects in your games. The market is full to overflowing with "me too" titles as it is so try hard not to add to this list.
If you are working with a team of people then another way to develop ideas is to hold brainstorming sessions. This concept is used by most professional teams all throughout the development of a game. Initially the idea of brainstorming is to have the whole team sit down together for hours and throw out ideas for new games. As each new idea is introduced the group will then discuss it for awhile to try and determine it's merits or shortcomings. Eventually the team will have to come to some decision on what idea sounds the best to pursue.
If you are going to have brainstorming sessions is best to establish a strong leader to keep things on track. Without a strong leader these sessions can degrade into fruitless arguments, accomplishing nothing. Once an idea is accepted by the group further brainstorming session can be held to flesh-out the details. Brainstorming techniques can be used all throughout the development process to resolve various problems and issues that may arise.
Can You Do It
The biggest mistakes beginners and experienced game developers alike make is to design games that are either way too ambitious, not technically feasible or that are beyond their level of skill. These mistakes happen so often in both the beginner and professional ranks that it's commonplace. Let's discuss each and how to try to avoid them.
Too Ambitious
This is probably the most common of the common mistakes made in game design. More commercial games than you can count have had features cut from the original design because time had run out. There has been quite a few cases where the project was so far behind that it was simply canceled completely.
How to avoid this mistake? Well, for a beginner it is best to start small and simple. Don't try to do your super dream game the first time out. If you do, most likely you will get discouraged when the project overwhelms your lack of experience. Start with a small, simple game. Something that you feel will be easily attainable. This way you will not only build experience but you will also build confidence. It will also give you a real good idea of how much work and time it will take to do your dream game.
Another thing to avoid is designing a game that has way too much content. Many beginners envision massive environments with everything but the kitchen sink in them. Sure you could eventually make such a game but it would take many years or a vast team of people. Try to keep your game's scope within realistic limits.
Not Technically Feasible
Another common mistake is to overestimate the capabilities of your technology. In many ways current technology still has lots of limits. This is especially true in polygonal-based 3D games. For example: Although 3D modeling programs are capable of producing very life-like, highly detailed scenes you would never be able to approach that high of detail in a real-time 3D game today. The polygon count would be so high that it would bring any 3D engine to it's knees.
There will be many trade-offs you will have to make when doing real-time 3D games. The only way to avoid designing a game that is impossible to implement is to familiarize yourself with limits of your chosen engine. Even if you make your own 3D engine you will still be confined by current technology limitations. Experience will be your guide in deciding what is possible and what is not. Again, it is best to start out small and gain experience.
Once you feel you have a doable game design the ultimate test of it's feasibility will be by doing a Proof of Concept. Doing a Proof of Concept is discussed later on in this design section.
Beyond Your Skill Level
The final common mistake is to attempt things that you are simply not ready for. You need to build your skills through doing small, simple projects first. No professional game developer ever started out by making a worldclass game. Not even the guys at id Software started out by making Wolfenstein 3D. They first made several simple, side-scroller games such as Commander Keen.
Just as with any other worthwhile endeavor, you can't start at the top. Work your way up to your dream game by doing smaller projects each of which being increasingly more complex. Eventually you will hone your skills to a point where you can make killer games. Just be patient and work at it. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither are great game developers.
Getting It On Paper
Once you have a firm idea for the game you want to do you need to flesh it out on paper. In the professional game development world this is called the game design document. Most all commercial game projects have a game design document. This document acts as a road map for the course of development and helps you to focus your design.
A design document can be virtually anything that describes your planned game. It can be long or short and can contain any desired level of detail you want. There is no standard form for this document although if you wish to shop your game project to a publisher some of them have certain expectations on what should be included in the document.
The following is a list of things that may be found in a design document.
1) A general overview of the game
2) The game story
3) Description of characters or units
4) Description of gameplay
5) Screen mockups
6) Description of game levels
7) The target user machine (minimum system requirements)
8) The style, genre and general look-and-feel of the game
9) Description of special effects
10) Description of AI (Artificial Intelligence)
If you are planning to approach publishers with your game project then also include the following:
11) List of team members and skills
12) List of development tools needed
13) A schedule for the entire project
14) A budget for overhead costs (i.e. office space, salaries, equipment, etc)
15) An explanation of standout features (selling points)
Get into as much detail as you feel necessary to guide development and flesh out your plan. Many game developers even keep a journal or development diary. These are all good things and you should do them if you want a professional quality game.
Proof of Concept
Here is where the rubber of your game meets the road of reality. A Proof of Concept is basically a small prototype of your game. What you are doing is proving that your game can be done and also seeing if it will actually be as fun as you hope it will be. This is the acid test for your design. Also having a working prototype will go a long ways in helping you sell a publisher on your game if that is your intent.
Your prototype should consist of a small one or more level playable demo which shows examples of all the major gameplay elements of your game and also any special technical enhancements/effects that are critical to your game design. It doesn't have to be perfect or complete but it does need to work properly in all important aspects.
This is a must do if your game features new technology elements that you need to prove can be done and especially if you are trying to line up a publisher to fund your game development. You need to be sure that everything you plan in your design will work from a technical standpoint before you embark on the long development process. It would not be good to be six months into a game project only to find that a major feature of your game is impossible to do.
A Lone Wolf or a Pack
Back in the early days of game development many games were produced by one or two people. Today most games are produced by teams of people. Why is this? Basically because the amount of content necessary to produce a commercial title is beyond the ability for a single person to produce. Making a commercially successful 3D game today requires artists, modelers, level designers, musicians, game designers and, of course, programmers. Let's discuss these situations and how to cope depending on which may suit you.
The Lone Wolf
So how can you produce a good game if you are by yourself? First, you should be fairly competent programmer and designer. These are the skills that you must have to have any chance at all of going it alone. So let's assume that you have these skills. Now what?
Use a pre-existing game engine. By using a pre-existing engine you will replace the need to have programmers to create an engine thus leaving only the actual game programming to do. Being a competent programmer you should be able to handle this yourself. There are also plenty of examples of game-level programming on the Net that you can refer to for guidance. For example the game sources to Quake II, Shogo, Sin, Blood II and numerous others are available for download. Although you cannot use the sources directly in your game, you can use them as examples of the type of programming you will need to do. Of course these games are probably not written for the same engine as you will be using but at a functional level most all engines are roughly the same.
For art you will need textures and models. There are also plenty of free textures and models available on the Net. At the very worst you could contract out some modeling and texture work to aspiring artists on the Net. Textures and models can also be purchased from various places.
For sound you will need music and sound effects. There are programs available that produce music for people who have no talent for it such as Band in a Box and Acid to name a couple. There are also numerous places you can buy canned music and sound effects to use royalty-free. Finally, music and sounds are also things you could contract out to aspiring musicians.
Finally, this leaves level design. Level design is a practiced art meaning that it is not terrible hard to do but you will need to practice a lot to do it well. Since most all game engines nowadays come with a level editor all you really need to do is practice making levels. The more levels you make the better you will get at it. There are also numerous sites on the Net that specialize in level design.
So, with a lot of work and some creative ways of replacing needed staff the Lone Wolf could create some pretty decent games.
A Pack
The other approach is to gather up a team of people to help you. These people may be friends or acquaintances that have talent in the specific areas you need for your game. If you are going to use a team it is best if one person is designated the leader to make decisions and control the project. If you do not have a strong leader then your project will have a good chance of failing due to lack of direction.
With the advent of the Net another approach is to form a virtual company. This means that your team may be scattered all over the world but they can keep in close contact via the Net. This works out sometimes but many times it fails so be careful in choosing people to participate if you are going this route.
Finally, it is best if you can pay your team for their work. Although many start-ups do not have the funds for salaries, you will attract more talented and dedicated people if you can pay them. If you can't pay them then at least offer equity shares in the game profits if it is published. It is much better to try and finance the project upfront though.
Good Luck!
jitz
