Task 14: Elements of game design, part five: planning and concepting

Planning is something everyone should do before they start
on something whether it be writing a story or making a game. I think planning
needs to be grafted well in order for something to be realised. For instance game
directors often plan and process ideas among the team before they even start
creating the storyboards. Planning a game can lead to ideas being seen and judging
what needs to be cut out and what needs to go into the final product.

Planning also allows a fundamental foundation in which the
director and the team can base the game off. The game designer is usually the
one who takes some sort of lead in creating the game. Game designer usually produces initial game documents,
that contains the concept, gameplay, feature list, setting and story, target
audience, requirements and schedule, staff and budget estimates. Different
companies have different procedures regarding game design and development.

When niche developers want to make a game they need plan and
concept their ideas and make the appealing as they can. They need to sell their
product to publishers; if they agree then the publisher will fund the project
hoping it can get a return in terms of profit. However that is not always the
case as even the big developers lose money when it comes to profit. I have
noticed that most commercial games do not make profit, no matter how much
effort is being put in to it, if the game does not grasp the attention of the
audience then it just will not sell.

Back in the days when gaming was just a fraction of what it
is today it only took one person to make a game; he was responsible for programming,
graphical design. sound effects etc. It only took about 6 weeks to create a
game, but know it can take years to create a game employing over a 100 staff.

I do try and plan my work before I start any of my work; I find
that it does help with the flow of something that is being created. I think it gives
an incentive in which I can base my ideas of. I do need incorporate it more within
my work, as I would like to integrate it more with my 3d work and visual design
stuff.

While researching I found couple of links one of which is a
video which shows how a programmer creates a Technical Design Document in which
he shows the things expected in the game;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJrXXcHyJNA

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?PlanningGame

Year Two, semester one

Task13: Reflection on year one, and ambition for year two

I have finally completed the first year it was a hectic year but I leant a lot of
important aspects, ranging from; overcoming my weaknesses and gaining new found
talents. It almost feels like I levelled up. “Your new abilities are the use of
efficiently unwrapping textures in 3d max and a better understanding of colour
theory” lol. Those are the things that I feel like I now have better
understanding of.

Thereare still a few things I need to work on especially my Photoshop skills. I
would like to develop these skills during the second year. I do feel a lot more
confident using Photoshop however there are still issues I need to figure out.
One way I would like to overcome these issues are by watching as many tutorials
as I can. One artist I have been told about is Feng Zhu who specialises in
concept art drawing, great guy to learn the basic and advanced Photoshop
techniques. Here is the link to his YouTube page; http://www.youtube.com/user/FZDSCHOOL

I know now how hard I need to work in the second year compared to the previous year.
During the first year I literally worked my ass off, I did not have much free
time I was always behind in work trying to catch up with previous work (it was
like a game of tag). However when I actually finished the year and it was time
for the final assessment I was pretty confident that I would get a decent mark,
but I was disappointed. I got marks that were below what I was expecting.

Then it occurred to me that I worked so much that I gave my free time to do more
work, but it still was not enough. So when the letter came to my house saying
that I passed I was happy but then I thought I need to work so much harder than
last year. If I do get any free time in the second year I would not waste my time
by playing video games or even watching TV, I will try to learn new things to
make my life easier within the course. This is my target.

I realised after the result it’s not about how much work you do it’s about the
quality that goes in to all your work. That is something I need to bring in to
the second year.

BRING IT ON YEAR 2 !!!!