Did you know that most PC or console games take almost 3 to 5 years to complete and launch in the market?
I know it sounds unbelievable and shocking, but it’s a fact and each game has to pass 5 essential stages of game development to get fully ready,
Hello game developers and designers. In this post, we’ll discuss some significant points and factors that lead the game development process so hard and challenging.
So without wasting time, let get find out why the game development process is so hard?
Essential Stages of Game Development Process:
Each game we play on our mobile, PC, or consoles looks simple and easy to develop, but the reality is that they have to pass 5 essential stages of the game development process which makes it so hard and complex.
And If a game is not getting success in any phase, it will not be considered a pro game in the view of developers and unable to launch in the market.
Most game development services are based on these stages. Here are the five essential stages of the game development process: Discovery, Production, Testing, Release, and Post Release. Let’s discuss them one by one.
1. Discovery Stage:
It’s the first phase in turning an idea into a game. The discovery stage determines the scope of a game and how the idea turns into a game in reality.
Moreover, the discovery stage normally lasts a couple of months, depending upon the size of the project, the resources required, and the funding available. The team comprises only a few persons at this time the Core Team.
A Suggested System, Game Designer, Creative team, and director are normally part of the Core Team.
Game Developers conduct a lot of major research on projects during this phase, such as clarifying the learning aims and targets, determining potential assessment needs, and refining the gameplay mechanics and visual style.
While they will continue to adapt during development and depending on input from usability tests, the Discovery establishes the groundwork for this.
Here are the outputs of the discovery phase, it is a crucial first step in the game development process, and it usually entails a lot of activities, which are detailed below.
- Game Design Document Production
- Creation of Conceptional Art
- Determines the technologies and wireframes that will be required during the development phase
- The last phase of this stage is Planning. Determines budget, timeframe, team, and Deliverables of the project.
2. Production Stage:
Members of the team polish the story, and design game mechanics, as well as the game’s balance, tempo, and gameplay. They also design all resources (characters, creatures, objects, and locations), establish gameplay rules, construct levels and scenarios, and write the code.
All elements of the game, from the fun and gameplay to the characters, scenery, items, level of difficulty, sceneries, and more, must be intelligently created. Because initial concepts may not usually translate smoothly in reality, game testing and enhancement continue long after the version is released.
The bottom line is, that the production stage consumes the majority of the time, energy, and resources spent on video game development. This is also one of the most difficult stages in video game production.
3. Testing Stage:
Testing is also an essential stage in the game development process, a game cannot launch officially without passing the quality assurance (QA) test.
For quality assurance, every function and mechanism in the game must be tested. Here are some questions that come in front of the QA tester during the process of testing.
- are there any incorrect zones or levels in game development?
- Is everything on the screen providing high quality?
- Are game characters working correctly and effectively?
- Are there any features that I may use to gain an advantage in the game? And more.
4. Pre Release Stage:
For gaming studios, the pre-launch period is a stressful time. Self-doubt may creep in as you consider how the general public will respond to your first working product.
However, before such an official Beta copy is published, the game will need to be promoted. It seems, how else are people going to find out about it?
Publishers almost always employ a hype trailer that blends cinematic sequences and sample gameplay to attract people’s interest. They may even book a booth at one of the main gaming conventions, such as E3 or PAX, to give attendees a unique look at the game.
5. Release and Launch Stage:
The periods immediately before a game’s expected release date are primarily devoted to squashing massive backlogs of problems many old, some new – discovered during the testing stage. A studio will design a taxonomy of problems to crush for games with a lot of issues. Towards the top of the hierarchy will be “game-crashing” bugs, while at the bottom will be minor bugs.
Developers would often polish the game as much as practicable before it publishes, in addition to fixing bugs. Perhaps that landmass can be made deeper. The character’s velvet cuffs should just be more tactile. Let’s do something with the trees that are waving in the breeze. Even if the adjustments are slight, they can help to make a video game more realistic.
Conclusion:
We have discussed with you all the essential stages and factors that make game development too complex and challenging. But the takeaway is that becoming a game developer is just as difficult as breaking into any other profession, but it comes with more competition and the need to stay new and relevant all of the time. It may, however, be a pleasant and enjoyable career as easy to progress through as anything if you apply yourself and keep your long-term goals in mind.
