VIDEO GAME DESIGN PROCESS CASE STUDY OF CHALLENGERS OF KHALEA Eero Antero Lamminmäki University of Tampere Faculty of Communication Sciences Human-Technology Interaction Master’s Thesis March 2017 UNIVERSITY OF TAMPERE, Faculty of Communication Sciences Human-Technology Interaction LAMMINMÄKI, EERO: Video Game Development Process, Case Study of Challengers of Khalea Master’s Thesis, 95 pages March 2017 ________________________________________________________________________________________ The gaming industry has continued to grow at a large rate in the last ten years and the amount of games we get to digital stores like Steam daily is probably few times bigger than what it was a decade ago. The increasing amount of games that are on the market and the increasing demand for video games has created more requirements for understanding how video games are made and how we can make them better. Understanding the process of video game development is one way to better answer these questions and even though the process has been brought forward by game professionals and industry workers, the process still requires more research due to its erratic nature that comes from the changing industry and demands set by technology and games themselves. In this thesis, I will examine the game development process and there are two major questions that I seek answers to. Firstly, what kind of process video game development is and secondly what problems can we find when comparing the case study process to the process explained in the literature. The results of this study showed that video game development is a very extensive process varying from conceptualization to engine selection, resourcing, prototyping, testing and iterating. The literature also showed that by combining the information and professional talks, the process can be understood and defined better from a company’s perspective. The results also show that video game development has a lot of different areas of problems that arise due to multiple professional fields colliding together. They also showed that despite the problems, lot of companies are able to overcome them and still achieve great results. Keywords: Video games, games, development, process, game industry, design, art, iteration, prototypes Foreword The process of completing this thesis was faster than what I expected that I could achieve, but over the years I have come to understand better how much I can achieve if I truly put my mind into it. The last two years have been extraordinary in a way that just a few years ago, I was taking my first steps into game development and I have not regretted a moment. Continuing in the game industry has taught me many things, what I did wrong and how to further avoid those mistakes and to better understand them. This thesis was first and foremost a learning experience for me in order to better understand the game development process, its difficulties and how to be a better game designer and to understand production and the people who work in the gaming industry. It was secondly providing something for others, which they can hopefully use to better understand this process and hopefully also create a spark to examine the literature even further, and finally if I dream hard enough, to make someone better at their work. This thesis has been a great journey and another step to working in the gaming industry. I want to thank Dreamloop Games for first of all giving me an opportunity to work for them as a game designer and secondly allowing me to write this thesis. Everyone whom I interviewed took their time to sit down with me and talk about their work and even when the time was at the essence they did not fall back on their promises. I would have wanted to have even more interviews, but unfortunately master’s thesis does have its own restrictions. I also want to thank my supervisor Markku Turunen who took his time to read my early texts and provided me with feedback that has helped me greatly to enhance my work, and Jaakko Hakulinen for also providing me valuable feedback. Finally, I want to thank Nancy Smith who worked with me when I was studying in Canada. She was the first person ever to tell me that I could be anything I wanted to be, making me believe in myself and my abilities for the first time. “I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.” – Billy Joel Tampereella 11.3.2017 Eero Lamminmäki Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 2. Game Development Process .................................................................... 4 2.1. Pre-Production .......................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.1. Conceptualization .............................................................................................................................. 4 2.1.1.1. Selecting a genre .................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.1.1. Target Group .......................................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.1.2. Description and the captivation ................................................................................................................. 7 2.1.1.3. Ideation .................................................................................................................................................. 8 2.1.2. Resourcing ......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.3. Selecting your engine ........................................................................................................................ 10 2.1.4. Game Design Document ................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.4.1 What GDD is and types of documentation ..................................................................................................... 13 2.1.4.2. Inside the modern Game design document .................................................................................................. 15 2.1.5. What is your role? ............................................................................................................................. 19 2.1.6. Prototyping ....................................................................................................................................... 20 2.1.6. Ending the pre-production .................................................................................................................. 24 2.2. Production ............................................................................................................................................... 25 2.2.1. Moving from theory to a physical product ............................................................................................ 25 2.2.2 The Core of Production ...................................................................................................................... 25 2.2.2.1. Iteration .................................................................................................................................................... 26 2.2.2.2. Playtesting ................................................................................................................................................ 30 2.2.3. Development Methods....................................................................................................................... 32 2.2.4. Ending production ............................................................................................................................. 35 2.3. Post-production ....................................................................................................................................... 36 2.3.1. What is post-production? ................................................................................................................... 36 2.3.2. Testing (QA) ..................................................................................................................................... 36 2.3.3. Marketing ......................................................................................................................................... 38 2.3.4. Post-release ..................................................................................................................................... 39 2.3.5. Post-mortems ................................................................................................................................... 39 3. Case Study, Development Process of Challengers of Khalea .................. 42 3.1. Project Glory ........................................................................................................................................... 42 3.1.1. A Project called Glory ........................................................................................................................ 42 3.1.1.1. Choosing the Engine for Glory .................................................................................................................... 45 3.1.1.2. Additions to the team ................................................................................................................................