Game Development Process

Of course there’s no single way of making a game, especially when you take into account the difference between the size of a small mobile game and a highly anticipated console game which was created by a very big team (up to even hundreds of people nowadays). The development process itself can, roughly, be divided into several stages.

Pre-production
All games start with an idea and the passion to make this idea become reality. The goal of this phase is to get an as solid as possible insight that this idea can turn into a quality game. Often this is done by creating a playable proof of concept (prototype) in which the initial game design ideas are being tested before going into production mode.

In this phase development studios often need to seek funding and approval for their ideas by game publishers. Experience and vision are as essential as time and money in the pre-production process. Potential problems and risks tackled in this phase can save up a lot of money for later on into process. Especially because the development team is not yet scaled up.

So basically, get these things together:
• Idea
• Define game play / console (documenting your Game Design Documents)
• Concept art
• Funding
• Team

Production
You’ve made it through the pre-production phase! The game now has to go from a prototype to a finished game that works flawless on the desired hardware platform(s). Milestones are set and the full-size team needs to be brought on board and start to work as a team! Programmers are coding to simulate life-like physics and the AI behavior of characters in the game, artists are creating the visual appearance of the game, designers are creating levels and missions and a lot of other people can be involved in creating the game! Have a look at our article about the game development team for more insight information about possible roles in the game industry.

Post-production
Finally… the game is created, successfully tested and ready to go to post-production! Marketing and distribution are key to success in this phase. Selling in foreign countries means extra work in the shape of translation of text and adapting to legal regulations. Also ratings from magazines and game review sites and large-scale online and offline marketing campaigns can be important aspects of the post-production phase.

Aftermath…
Now people can buy and play your game… time to make a sequel, expansions or bring another fantastic idea to life?