Multimedia Games Development COM429M2

1. Multimedia Games Development COM429M2 Week 2 Early game development

2. Lecture overview • Initial game concept • Concept development process • Publishers objectives • Game pitch document • Project proposal document • Links for further reading

3. Learning outcomes • Have an overview of the initial stages of a computer game development process • Identify the steps from initial game concept to the production of a project proposal • Understand the structure/content of each document in the early stages of the development process • Generate content to create documents

4. Initial game concept An idea for a game can be based around a single/simple concept including • Characters • Setting • Storyline • Innovative game play • Technology

5. Initial game concept • Concept can be unique • Build on previous work • Publishers conservative, prefer tried and tested formulas • Innovation can be successful Final Fantasy 8 Final Fantasy 7

6. Development process • Initial game concept • Process of refinement and tuning • Decision time (game elements, storyline etc) • Concept art creation • Game pitch document creation • Detailed project proposal creation

7. Publishers objectives Be aware of publishers’ objectives • Publishing strategy, focused or shotgun • Adversity to risk • Time scale/timing constraints • Targeted platform and preferred technologies • Game focus, spin out from film, sequel etc

8. Considerations (Concept) Game type, scope, challenges and art • Identify type of game play (Good game play is essential and should not be compromised due to time or financial constraints) • Determine game scope to estimate costs and timeline/scale for implementation • Consider the technical challenges involved in the game development process to assess the level of risk involved • Create some concept art

9. Pitching your game The pitch document should summarise the objectives of the proposed game • Aids in assessment of title viability/feasibility • Sells the game • Format should be concise and focussed Game Pitch Template

10. Game pitch document format • Introduction, brief outline of the game concept • Player motivation (what does the player do) • Unique selling point (why make this game/back of box pitch) • Target market/rating (Children, adult, niche, mass market, sequel) • Genre • Platform (Wii, Xbox, cross platform) • License (Film/book rights, history) • Cost • Completion date • Team • Languages • Contact details Article on preparing a product pitch

11. Game objectives • What goals are there for this title • Objectives for overall player experience • Game mood e.g. exciting, horror, humor • Achieving mood/objectives • Total player experience (summary of final experience)

12. Competitive analysis Survey of existing titles and competitors (now and future) • Similar titles in the genre • Unique selling point, what will your game do better • Consideration of future technologies/releases and platform developments

13. Project proposal document Project proposal document follows pitch document • Contains more detail • Typically 10 to 20 pages • Includes material from the pitch document and additional support material • For assignment 2 you are required to use template available below. http://scisweb.ulster.ac.uk/~michael/COM429/Documents/Template_assignment2/Assignment2guidelines.doc

14. Content: Title hook Game hook is the unique selling point that will attract players to the game • Includes rationale, who would buy the title and why • Highlight best game features Game hooks can be based on any elements of the game including audiovisuals and storyline

15. Content: Game play mechanics • Describes what the player does in the game. • Lists several game elements that describe the user experience of playing the game. • Includes challenges, actions and activities the players encounter

16. Content: Online elements • Description of online/multiplayer functionality • Scale/scope of multiplayer functionality • Type of multiplayer interaction e.g. cooperative/competitive • Infrastructural considerations, servers and player finder services

17. Content: Technologies used • Identify unique technological requirements for your game (hardware/software/peripherals, custom technology) • Licensing considerations (games engine software)

18. Content: Audio/visual • Discuss special requirements related to art and audio • Focus on those that have an impact on the games unique selling points • Could include motion capture for a character animation or licensed/professionally scored music

19. Content: Storyline/characters Relevance of the storyline to the game e.g. integral part of the title or background filler. The game proposal summary should include • Main plot • Main characters • Challenges facing the characters • Game bosses/villains • The means by which the player overcomes the game challenges

20. Content: Project status • Current level of game development/production • Level of game design and implementation • Availability of a working prototype

21. Content: Cost and timescale • Estimated summary of the projects costs • Timescale for design/implementation and final release • Consideration of the profitability of the title, break even point, level of sales etc

22. Content: Development team • Identify project team • Clarify individual roles • Identify level of experience/previous titles the team worked on together Experienced development teams should greatly increase your chances of getting your project funded and up and running

23. Content: Risk consideration • Include a list of potential problems. • Identify why these factors will impact on the game development • Identify steps to minimise/eliminate risk

24. Content: Concepts Include concept drawings and sketches of elements from the game including • Main characters • Races/classes • Levels/scenes • Interface layout • Design style e.g. photorealistic, cartoon

25. Document summary The proposal summary should reinforce the unique selling points of your title and why you think it would be successful • Highlight unique selling points again • Highlight the development team’s strengths • Show consideration of the publisher’s needs

26. Useful links • Game Pitch Template • The Game Proposal Part Two: The Contents • E3 Report: Pitching Update: How to Give Your Game Idea Legs • Getting Published, Part II: How To Approach Game Publishers • Game Agents, Part 3: A Market-Driven Game Evaluation Methodology

27. Multimedia Games Development COM429M2 Week 2 Early game development