Team-Fly® Game Development and Production
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Y L F M A E T Team-Fly® Game Development and Production Erik Bethke Wordware Publishing, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bethke, Erik. Game development and production / by Erik Bethke. p. cm. ISBN 1-55622-951-8 1. Computer games--Design. 2. Computer games--Programming. 3. Project management. I. Title. QA76.76.C672 B47 2002 794.8'1526--dc21 2002153470 CIP © 2003, Wordware Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved 2320 Los Rios Boulevard Plano, Texas 75074 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from Wordware Publishing, Inc. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 1-55622-951-8 10987654321 0301 Product names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies. All inquiries for volume purchases of this book should be addressed to Wordware Publishing, Inc., at the above address. Telephone inquiries may be made by calling: (972) 423-0090 Contents Foreword ...............................xvii Preface ................................xix Acknowledgments ..........................xxi Part I—Introduction to Game Development Chapter 1 What Does This Book Cover? ............3 How to Make a Game..........................3 First Have a Plan ............................3 Organize Your Team Effectively ....................4 Game Development Is Software Development ............4 Where to Turn for Outside Help....................4 How to Ship a Game ..........................5 Post-Release ..............................5 Success and the Long Race ......................5 How to Use This Book .........................6 Chapter 2 Why Make Games? ..................7 To Share a Dream............................7 Games Teach ..............................7 Game Genres Satisfy Different Appetites ..............8 Gambling, Puzzle, and Parlor Games................8 Military and Sports Simulations..................10 Role-Playing Games ........................12 Youth Making Games .........................13 On Money ...............................13 Why Make Games? ..........................14 Chapter 3 What Makes Game Development Hard? ......15 The Importance of Planning .....................15 Very Few Titles Are Profitable ....................15 500,000 Units to Break Even? ..................16 Employee Compensation and Royalties .............17 What Are the Financial Expectations for Your Game? .......17 The Scope of the Game Must Match Financial Parameters ...17 Why Your Game Should Profit ....................18 Feature Storm ...........................18 If the Game Is Worth Making, Make It Excellent ........19 iii iv Contents Excellence in Spades .........................19 Game Making Is a Long Race of Many Game Projects .......20 A Brief History of Software Development..............21 Overly Long Game Projects Are Disastrous ............21 What Late Games Do to the Publisher ..............22 Our Project Plan Behind Starfleet Command ............22 The Vision for Starfleet Command ................23 Constraints Give Much Needed Focus................24 On Bugs Shipped in Starfleet Command...............24 Well-Met Goals Enable Future Successes ..............25 Strong Game Developers Have Strong Foundations ........25 The Tension between Preproduction and Production........25 The Power of the Console ......................26 Why Aren’t All Publishers Using Preproduction?..........27 The Process Is Changing .....................27 A Strong Plan Makes Game Development Easy ..........28 The Gravitational Pull of Feature Creep...............28 Task Visibility for Team Motivation and for Progress Tracking . 29 Use Your Core Competencies and Outsource the Rest .......29 A Pitfall of Success—Fan-Requested Features and Changes....29 The Relentless Pace of Technology .................30 The Art of War and Games ......................32 Chapter 4 Game Project Survival Test .............33 The Game Project Survival Test ...................33 Game Requirements ........................33 Planning...............................33 Project Control ...........................34 Risk Management .........................35 Personnel ..............................35 Calculating Your Project’s Score .................35 What Does My Score Mean? ...................36 Part II—How to Make a Game Chapter 5 What Is a Game Made Of? ..............39 The Extended Development Team..................39 Game Production Parts ........................39 Design Parts ............................39 Where Do Lead Designers Come From? ...........40 How Do You Nail Down the Game Mechanics? ........40 Who Are the Level and Mission Designers?..........40 Story and Dialogue Writers Are Writers for Interactivity...41 Coding Parts ............................41 Lead Programmers and Technical Directors..........42 Game Mechanics Programmer .................43 Contents v 3D Graphics Programmer ...................43 Artificial Intelligence Programmer...............43 User Interface Programmer ..................44 Audio Programmer .......................44 Tools Programmer .......................44 Mission/Level Editor Programmer...............44 Network, Server, or Client Programmer? ...........45 ArtParts..............................45 Art Director ...........................46 Concept Artist..........................46 2D Artist/Interface Designer ..................47 3D Modeler ...........................47 Character Modeler .......................47 Texture Artist ..........................48 Animator/Motion Capture Studio ...............48 Storyboarder...........................49 Audio Parts .............................49 Voice-Overs ...........................49 Sound Effects ..........................49 Music ..............................50 Management Parts .........................50 Line Producer ..........................50 Associate Producer .......................50 Studio Head/Executive Producer................51 Producer .............................51 Quality Assurance Parts .......................52 Publisher QA Parts.........................52 QALead.............................52 Main Team............................53 Multiplayer Team ........................53 Fresh Teams...........................53 Compatibility Team .......................53 Localization Team ........................53 Beta Testing ............................54 Beta Testers ...........................54 Beta Testing Program Manager ................54 Business Parts.............................55 Business Development Parts ...................55 Business Development Executive ...............55 Publisher CEO and President .................55 Studio Heads ..........................55 Lawyers .............................55 Licensing Parts...........................56 Promoting, Buying, and Selling Parts...............56 Sales Executive .........................56 vi Contents Sales Force and Retail Purchasing Agents ...........57 Press Relations Manager ....................57 Trade Shows ...........................57 Other Trade Shows and Events ................58 The Marketing of a Game....................59 Hardcore Fans ..........................59 Manuals and Strategy Guides ...................60 Manual ..............................60 Strategy Guide .........................60 Manufacturing Parts ........................61 Hardware Manufacturer Parts...................61 Console Manufacturers .....................61 Hardware Representatives ...................61 Post-Release Parts ..........................62 Chapter 6 Business Context First ...............65 The Project Triangle .........................65 Implications of the Project Triangle................66 Various Games and the Project Triangle .............67 Questions for You to Answer .....................70 What to Do with These Answers .................70 An Ultra-Low Budget Game ..................70 Fixed Budget, Fixed Deadline .................72 High-Profile/High-Quality Projects ..............73 WalkAway...............................74 Chapter 7 Key Design Elements ................75 Business Context Shapes Design, or Does Design Shape the Business Context? ........................76 Reconcile the Business Context and Game Idea Early .......76 The Effects of a Slipped Game .................77 Methods and the Unified Development Process ..........81 What Is a Development Method? .................81 Why Use the Unified Software Development Process? .....81 Requirements Capture.......................82 Use Cases .............................82 Case Studies ..............................87 Case Study I—Diablo .......................87 Use Cases of Diablo .......................88 Quick Analysis of the Use Cases of Diablo ..........89 Case Study II—Gran Turismo...................90 Use Cases of Gran Turismo...................92 Quick Analysis of the Use Cases of Gran Turismo ......93 The Key Design Elements of Your Game ............94 The Battle of the Counterterrorists Games ...........94 The Key Design Elements of Rainbow Six ..........95 Contents vii Are We Playing a Mission or Planning a Mission?.......95 The Key Design Elements of Counter-Strike .........96 Most Popular Multiplayer Game ................96 Of Intersecting Sets and Elite Forces .............97 Some Straight Questions to Ask Yourself ..............99 What Genre or Genres Does Your Game Feature? ......99 Will the Game Be Single-Player, Multiplayer, or Both? ....99 What Is the Platform?......................99 What Is Your Target Market?