BTEC Extended Diploma in Computer Games Design
Unit 1: Pre-Production Techniques for the Creative Media Industries
James Bentley
Pre-Production and Planning for a Computer Game
Types of Production
Hardware
Computer- You will need a computer that can run the software that you will be using and it needs to be able to run the game itself which may be very high spec depending on what game you will be making. You may also need a bigger hard drive if your game takes up lots of memory, this will generally be very expensive. For my game a low end computer could easily run the game as it is very simple and easy to run
Peripherals- If you were developing a game for a Kinect or any other peripheral in mind you would need the peripheral itself first
Dev kits- Dev kits are used to test games on the platform you are making it for since you can’t test on retail versions of consoles due to their security. The game I'm making wouldn't need a dev kits
Software
UDK-“For developing with UE4, we recommend a desktop PC with Windows 7 64-bit or a Mac with Mac OS X 10.9.2 or later, 8 GB RAM and a quad-core Intel or AMD processor, and a DX11 compatible video card. UE4 will run on desktops and laptops below these recommendations, but performance may be limited.”
Unity- Unity Pro costs $1500 or $75 per month, you can get IOS and Android add-ons which cost the same price for each one
Game Maker- GameMaker costs $149.99 for the Professional version but the standard version is free, the master collection is $799.99. You can get certain addons from $199.99 - $299.99 such as android and IOS modules
Maya-£145 every month subscribtion fee
Publishing
Steam Greenlight- this allows people to submit their games and for the community to vote for it to be released there is a one –time fee of £70
ID@Xbox- Once you apply you will have to pay a one-time fee if you are making a universal windows game(Xbox One is free) at which point you simply make the game and send it off for cert testing, it can be for windows, Xbox One or both
PSN- Once you register your company and agree to be a PlayStation partner you can start publishing
IOS- similar to android but an altogether shorter process with less checks needed and arguably worse quality control
Android- The android publishing process is long but free, it involves going through many security and quality checks before publishing.
Funding games
Self-financing- use your own savings to completely or
partially fund your project, difficult and time consuming but avoids debts
Crowd funding- kickstarter and indiegogo are good ways of
getting money to publish a game
Loans- They are much easier but makes big debts
Time Constraints
It is important to get a game out in time as it can affect sales and can be used to motivate the team to work harder. getting a game out just before Christmas is a way to get more sales on a game which has previously led to games being rushed and ending up as terrible games. When making my game I have a short deadline to finish the game but due to the simplicity of my game it should be easy to finish in time
It is important to get a game out in time as it can affect sales and can be used to motivate the team to work harder. getting a game out just before Christmas is a way to get more sales on a game which has previously led to games being rushed and ending up as terrible games. When making my game I have a short deadline to finish the game but due to the simplicity of my game it should be easy to finish in time
Personnel
Depending on the size and budget of the game you may need a
bigger team, this would consist of :
Animators(they are responsible for the
movement in the game)
Assistant producers,( Work with production staff to ensure a timely delivery of the game)
Audio engineers(making music and SFX)
Creative directors(responsible for the look and feel of the game)
External producer(ensure a successful delivery of the game while working externally from the game development team)
Game Designers(Design
the core elements of the game)
Game Programmers (Design and write the code that runs and controls the game)
Games Artists (Creates the visual elements of the game)
Lead Artists (responsible for the overall look of the game)
Lead Programmers (Lead the programmers that create the games code
Level Editors (Create the landscape and architecture of the levels)
Marketing Executives (Promote and raise awareness of the game )
Marketing Managers (Responsible for promoting the product to boost sales)
Product Managers (Help create and implement marketing campaigns to maximize sales)
Project Managers/ Producer (Ensure the successful delivery of the game
Public Relations Officers(Look after the reputation and image of the organization)
QA Testers (Test and debug the game to try and get rid of as many flaws as they can before the game is released)
Technical Artists(Technical Artists act as a bridge between the Artists and the Programmers working on a game)
Teams or crew CVs
The team that is hired for the game must have good qualifications in order to make a good quality game. people with more experience would be higher up in the company as they could lead the other employees to work harder. My game wouldn't need experts to make it as it is fairly simple so anyone with experience will do
Teams or crew CVs
The team that is hired for the game must have good qualifications in order to make a good quality game. people with more experience would be higher up in the company as they could lead the other employees to work harder. My game wouldn't need experts to make it as it is fairly simple so anyone with experience will do
Facilities
Within a games company there would be many facilities to help the team in making the game. Sometimes they are optional but there may be some required facilities to make a game.My game wouldn't require many facilities, just a computer and gamemaker is enough for my game
Materials
The materials needed for a game would include concept art(to demonstrate new ideas), a storyboard/animatic(to present the story to the team) or things such as the assets(sprites,backgrounds,music), audio(examples of the games music and SFX), graphics(what the game looks like). My game needs these materials too as I have created concept art and assets for the game.
The materials needed for a game would include concept art(to demonstrate new ideas), a storyboard/animatic(to present the story to the team) or things such as the assets(sprites,backgrounds,music), audio(examples of the games music and SFX), graphics(what the game looks like). My game needs these materials too as I have created concept art and assets for the game.
Contributors
To help make your game seem more authentic most people will hire professional voice actors or have experts on a certain topic to help recreate things from a certain time period such as using guns from the time the game is set.
Codes of Practice
The codes of practice in the gaming industry are enforced by the Video Standards Council. They are in charge of PEGI ratings which are a way of rating games so that they are played by the right age rating. They are also in charge of how games are supplied. My game would have to be completely my own and if I was to use someone else's work I would need to give them credit and ask for permission to use it.
The codes of practice in the gaming industry are enforced by the Video Standards Council. They are in charge of PEGI ratings which are a way of rating games so that they are played by the right age rating. They are also in charge of how games are supplied. My game would have to be completely my own and if I was to use someone else's work I would need to give them credit and ask for permission to use it.
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