#Video game software categories free#

Many people, especially smaller developers, like to use more agile development techniques which are less about process and documentation and more about just building things. This could be due to technical or financial restraints, or simply realizing that things just don’t look, play or work as well as you had initially hoped. It’s a living document which helps everyone understand and get on board with the greater vision of the project.Īs a living document, the GDD is continuously updated and refined throughout production. The Game Design Document (GDD)Ī Game Design Document (GDD) is essentially the game's north star. The information gathered during this stage of pre-production forms the basis of the Game Design Document. More reading: What it's like to be a concept artist. These early visuals help form the language of the game, giving everyone working on the project a visual guide to the overall look and feel.Ĭoncept Art from Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, by CG Spectrum mentor Brian Huang, Blizzard Entertainment. They manage the budget and develop marketing strategies to sell the product.Ī concept artist sets the tone for the project early on by developing artwork and sketches. There may be a producer, programmer/s, a concept artist (or if you’re a one-person operation, you’ll be doing most of it!).Ī video game producer handles the business aspect of the project, particularly the financials. This stage can last anywhere between a week to a year, depending on the project type, resources, and finances available, and typically takes up to 20% of the total production time.Īt this point, the team is quite small.

What staff and resources will it require?.

#Video game software categories free#

How will it be monetized? Will it be sold on a platform, or free to play with in-game purchases?.Which platform will it be published on?.Is there a market for it? What’s the competition like?.In pre-production, you’ll find answers to questions like: You might have a great idea for a type of game, a story you want to bring to life, or you may want to build one that leverages a certain type of technology (e.g. Essentially, pre-production defines what the game is about, why it should be made, and what it’s going to take to make it. Video game development is typically divided into 3 stages: pre-production, production, and post-production. Pipelines must be flexible enough to factor in revisions and course changes. Work must be sent for creative approvals and can often be sent back for revisions. Therefore, the pipeline is not necessarily a linear process. While pipelines vary between projects and studios, the process is fairly similar whether you’re working on a AAA, indie or mobile game.Ī game is continuously evolving, and things which sounded great in theory may not work so well in reality. The pipeline also helps manage the game development timeline and budget, reducing inefficiencies and bottlenecks.

Much like a production line, the game development pipeline helps organize the flow of work so that everyone knows what they need to deliver and when. The game development pipeline is the process of building a video game from concept to completion. Grand Theft Auto V reportedly cost $137M to make and $128M to market (source: The Gamer) What is the game development pipeline? Want to know how video games are made? This article walks through the video game development process, and in particular, the 'pipeline' – an industry term that refers to the process of making a video game from scratch.