Notes: The game design process

The game design process

The conceptual or visualization stage

In this phase, the general idea for the game is developed, along with a plan for the actual game creation.

The concept documents will describe your idea for the game itself. Naturally, publishers tend to back projects they think will sell, and will rely heavily on market analysis to determine what kind of games they think will (and won't) sell... The document should clearly indicate what is unique about the game, and innovation is encouraged, but as an extension of a proven style or genre -- a fledgling game developer will be hard pressed to sell a completely new/untried concept.

If you're serious about a career in game development, consider joining the IGDA (International Game Developers Association). There is a free user account option at igda.org, then take a look at their recommended game submission guidelines.

The project plan will describe the composition of the development team, timelines and milestones for the game development, budgets, and financial expectations. This plan is often included as part of any signed contract between the developers and the publisher, so the developers may find themselves legally obligated to stick to the plan unless they can get the publisher to agree to changes.
An experienced team (experienced in the kind of game this project involves) that has worked together successfully in the past is a key factor in finding successful backing for a new project.
The concept documents and project plan can then be used to pitch the game to a publisher or other investors for financing and support. With luck, a publisher will agree to finance the project - at least through the pre-production phase. Games are risky investments, and publishers are notoriously skeptical about new projects.
For more discussion of pitching the game to the publisher, see this page .

The pre-production or specification stage
- This usually involves a relatively small team, working to prove the feasibility of the game (ensuring any particularly new or distinctive features are indeed practical and playable). A prototype of a single playable scenario is often produced as part of this exercise.
- A complete game design document is the end goal of this phase - detailing very carefully the game that will (hopefully) be built in the next phase.
- Once this phase is complete, the publisher or investors will make the big decision: build the game or kill the project. The next phase is far more expensive, and hence far more risky, so experienced publishers will often kill a dubious project at this point.
  An interesting related exercise is this game survival test, meant to evaluate a project's chances of success.
The production or implementation stage
- This is the meat of the game development process, and is discussed more thoroughly in the implementation lecture notes.
- In brief, this will involve the creation of all the game assets: artwork (sound, graphics, animation), documentation and user guidance (user guides, tutorials, installation and trouble shooting guides, etc), the actual code for the game (and any supporting tools).
- It will also involve all the management associated with keeping the project on time, on budget, and in line with the project plan.
- Ultimately, this phase should take the project through one or more playable builds, and at least to the alpha testing stage (where the game is feature complete).
The QA or testing stage
- This is the refinement stage, during which (theoretically) no new features are added, but the existing features are refined for improved playability and to eliminate defects.
- During this process extensive playtesting takes place. The goal of playtesting is to identify potential issues for review and refinement. This will be discussed in much greater detail in the QA notes.
- This phase takes the project through beta testing and ultimately leads to the master release - the final product ready for shipping.
The maintenance or revision stage
- This could include patches or upgrades (for one-time releases) or could be the bulk of the game life cycle involving steady changes to (or expansion of) the game content (e.g. for pay-to-play games)
- For subsequent versions of a game, one would generally return to the conceptual phase and repeat the cycle in development of the next version.