Game development life cycle

GAME DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLEPrepared by Sarah Alazab

Index

I. IntroductionII. Game Development Life CycleIII. ConclusionIV. References

I. Introduction

Many researchers described GDLC according to different software development models.

Based on all these models, the most important phases are The idea Proposal Design phases [2]

II. Game Development Life Cycle

Developing the

Story

Developing the Script

Feasibility Study

Promotional Demo

Designing

Layout Designing

Modeling

Texturing

Animation

High, Module and

Low Level Design

Coding

Testing

Debugging

Integration

Game Testing

A. DEVELOPING THE STORY

A core theme with a well defined story line Target a specific age group Story starts with an idea then develops further Characters, situations, events and places, relationships are

determined Conflict and resolution scenarios are added

The translation of a story into a game is a mere conflict resolution.

B. DEVELOPING THE SCRIPT

The story is refined to obtain a tight script that ensures a seamless flow between levels.

Script writing needs a great deal of imagination and creativity. The key is to capture the imagination of the audience. Characters and backdrops are created and decided during this phase.

The better the script the better will be the game.

C. FEASIBIBLITY STUDY

Assess the feasibility of a game. Helps to freeze the requirements, the scope, profitability and other

conclusions of the proposed game [4].

The areas to be analyzed in the feasibility study are: Requirements Pricing Technical, organizational, cultural and legal issues Schedule of the project

C. FEASIBIBLITY STUDY

In this phase project leaders, project design and development personnel and research group will be working together to create a game as a complete product [5].

Programmers analyze and explain the programming limitations to the project managers.

The outcome of the feasibility study is the feasibility study report, which contains : Management summary Technical specification [4] The findings and recommendation

D. PROMOTIONAL DEMO

Promotional demo is needed to attract the potential customers. Plan the promotional demo for the game and execute it. A basic trial version or trailer since the game is not

implemented yet.

E. DESIGNING

Character design

Figure-2: Character designs

E. DESIGNING

Figure -3 Background design-1

Figure -4 Sets and Props Designs

• Background design

• Sets and Props design

F. LAYOUT DESIGNING

Layout for the entire game and for all the levels. The layout represents the various sets and passage ways with hurdles Every type of game have certain constraints. Covering all is quite

challenging [9].

Figure-5: Layout Design

G. MODELING

Character modeling, sets modeling and props modeling. Models have to provide enough data so the finer details can be

rendered in an effective manner. Advanced techniques like the use of normal mapping[10].

Figure- 6 Props Modeling

H. TEXTURING

Texturing is a technique for adding detail, providing surface texture or color so that a realistic look can be given to the characters, sets and props. It is very common in almost all the 3D applications. An example of textured design is given in figure-3.

Figure-7: Textured model

I. ANIMATION

Characters animation represent the sequence of actions in the game.

Frame by Frame AnimationKey frames are snapshots of an image at a single point in time. Key frame animation is the cycling of key frames to give the illusion of movement.

Figure-8 Frame by Frame Animation-1

I. ANIMATION

Motion Capture Animation

Capture and record movement of the characters or objects enacted by humans or trained animals with either optical or magnetic sensors placed on them.

These movements are later applied to the models.

Requires expensive camera/magnetic systems and very specific hardware and software.

I. ANIMATION

Mesh Animation

Mesh methodology (supports the deformations of Muscles & Joints. e.g., facials, biceps, skin movement on rib-joints for animals, etc).

J. HIGH AND LOW LEVEL DESIGN

The high level design identifies all the elements in an abstract way hiding most details

Shows relationships between modules in the form of data flow, flow charts, data structures etc.

• In module design high level design is segregated into various modules.

J. HIGH AND LOW LEVEL DESIGN

The low level design details the high level design (i.e) the logic behind each of the module is defined.

K. CODING

Coding for making the gaming interactive Coding for implementing the interface design 2D Game Engines like GameMaker, Multimedia Fusion 2,

Construct, Flixel, FlashPunk and Stencyl.

Figure:10 Design interfaceFigure:9 GameMaker IDE

K. CODING

3D Game Engines are Unity , UDK , XNA , BlitzMax , jMonkeyEngine and Torque to name a few[11].

Figure:11 Unity Game Engine Figure:12 Unreal Development Kit

L. TESTING AND DEBUGGING

This phase is carried out at the module level before integrating all the modules. Testing is to be done to make each and every module in the game to be free from errors and bugs.

Most of the Games designing tools come with built in testing and debugging tools.

M. INTEGRATION

After testing, all the modules are integrated to get the final product. It is very similar to assembling the various parts of a product to get a complete product.

N. GAME TESTING

The game is tested for the complete flow from the beginning to the end

Identify bugs and fix them Since it is a complex task which involves twists and turns, it is

tested thoroughly to meet the expectations of the users.

Examples of software’s for testing are: Game Tester 1.1 SeeTest eggPlant

III. CONCLUSION

This paper gives an outline of the phases involved in the game development process and briefly discusses each of them

Following these phases can benefit all the team included in the game development to proceed in their game development process without worrying about any defects and shortcomings.

IV . REFERENCES [1] http://game.ezinemark.com/the-life-cycle-of-a-game-7d2d85a67203.html [1] http://www.docstoc.com/docs/39557145/The-Game-Development Process_ PowerPoint_---The-Game-Development. [2] http://www.rpgrevolution.com/tutorial/developing-a-game-storygame writing_3.html [3] http://www.ogcio.gov.hk/en/infrastructure/methodology/software_life_cycle/ [4] http://www.techbaba.com/q/196feasibility+study+software+development+life+cycle.aspx [5] http://www.cgmwonline.com/character-design-for-games.html [6] Petri Lankoski, Character-Driven Game Design: Characters, Conflict, and Game play more [7] http://www.creativeskillset.org/games/careers/article_4724_1.asp [8] http://www.raphkoster.com/2009/03/10/some-zone-design-lessons/ [9] James Dargie, Modeling Techniques: Movies vs. Games [10] http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-big-list-of-game-making-tools/ [11] http://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker/windows [12] http://www.clickteam.com/website/world/multimedia-fusion-2 [13] ww.flixel.org [14] http://www.stencyl.com/ [15] http://www.unrealengine.com/udk/ [16] http://www.blitzbasic.com/Products/blitzmax.php [17] http://jmonkeyengine.com/engine/ [18] http://experitest.com/web-test-automation-seetest/gaming-test-automation/ [19] http://www.testplant.com/solutions/media-and-gaming/ [20] http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/ags/ [21] http://stratagus.com/ [22] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.drodin.stratagus&hl=en

Thank you