Video Game Development
Working in the Industry, Part One:
Game Development
So the title of this feature sounds a bit pretentious, doesn't it? You always thought that making videogames takes a lot of experienced programmers and artists, a big structure, lots of money, blood and sweat. Well, it may be true for the blood and the sweat but the main point behind a great game
is a great IDEA. Keep reading...
There are 2 different kinds of gamesplayers: those who just play games andthose who look into each and any detail, asking themselves, "Why did the programmers use this kind of AI?" or "Why did the artists choose this particular style of graphics for the background?" If you fall in the first category, chances are you'll never get a job in a development team. Maybe you could end up as marketing manager for a videogame company (which means great money and a highly-enjoyable life) but you won't be making games of your own.
It takes talented people to create a great videogame: you need to have a bunch of skillful programmers and artists and guys who know videogames inside-out. Still, the best programmers and artists may (and usually don't) not know what makes a game a great title. That's where experienced players are needed: people who know games because they've been playing them for years with a discerning eye. I'm talking about those guys who can tell a good game from a bad title after playing for 5 minutes or who can find entertaining and innovative features even in genuinely awful releases. Or, even better, those who can find faults and annoying bits in the most celebrated best-sellers. For example - Tomb Raider is a very good game, but the cameras don't always work well. Gran Turismo is a wonderful racing title but it lacks the arcade-style gameplay which made Sega Rally the wonderful experience it still is after 3 years. If you've spotted the afore-mentioned elements then there's room for you in this business.
The videogames industry needs people who know games: while it's relatively easy to find a good programmer or an artist (universities "produce" them in large quantities) it's much more difficult to have a talented player. Please remember that a good game designer is a good player with a great knowledge of all games' genres and a critic eye for even the smallest details but he also needs to be able to put his ideas on paper and to co-operate with the technical staff. You may have the best idea ever for a game but unless you know how to properly put it down on paper and how to tell the developers how to implement all the features you figured for your creation you'll never be a game designer.
Also, don't forget that artists are always willing to trade gameplay for more polygons and higher quality graphics while programmers may decide to show off their technical skills creating a high-level AI which your arcade-style game does not require: actually, in some occasions a complex AI is detrimental to the gameplay itself. Think of what would have been of Pac-Man if all the ghosts always acted in such a way as to surround you: your yellow dot-gobbler would be killed in no time and you'd walk away from the cabinet screaming in frustration. Diplomacy - remember this word as you'll need to practice this fine art...
The following step is to make sure that the idea works on the screen as well as it does on paper: balancing all the elements of the game is something that takes years to master. You probably thought of your game as a great adventure title but during the development it turns out to have too many action elements and too few puzzles to solve. Or maybe the strategic elements in your sports title are turning it into a simulation-style game which the publisher does not want. Once you've lost countless night tweaking the game structure, you'll be spending just as many making sure the control system is right. Are the character/s on screen responding to the user's inputs in the right way? Are the controls too loose or are they too tight maybe? Finally, the control system is right too.
Don't think it's over -- now comes another hard task: balancing the learning curve of the game and its difficulty level. Don't make the game too difficult or the players will find it frustrating but don't make it too easy or they'll just rent it and it won't sell as well as it deserves. Designing games is a harder job than you think and it takes as many skills (and experience) as in programming or in creating graphics.
So don't worry if you're not a programmer or don't have the skills of a professional illustrator. There is still room in this industry for "professional" players, people with fresh ideas who can create the next Mario, Tetris or FIFA. All you need is to be original and persistant in your effort to put your foot in the door. Start putting your ideas on paper, work on them an awful lot of time and send your CV to any company advertising for a position as games designer. Don't forget to keep studying, though: a medium/high grade education is preferred and it is absolutely necessary to express your ideas clearly both in written form and verbally. In case you have better skills with a joypad than with a pen, don't kill your dreams of joining the games-biz: you can still try and make a living out of game-testing! More info will follow soon.
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