How to Develop a Video Game

The development process of a video game has to go through a number of phases before it is ready to be played. As part of the development team there will be the design stage where the idea for the video game takes shape and starts coming to life. Then as the game develops it moves into its final stage before production. This is where testers come in and try to break the game before it goes live for quality assurance processes – then they fix whatever doesn’t pass the test. It can take months to develop a game properly and all the areas are important within the development process. Step 1: Think up ideas for the storyline of the game The first step in the development process is to think up and create the storyline for the game. Any decent game nowadays requires good game design. This is where the ideas for the storyline take shape. A game simply will not work or be successful when produced if the story is poor and full of holes – just like a movie. Video games vary between puzzles, educational and popular action stories. The story will incorporate the characters that are needed and what role each of them will play in the game itself. Step 2: Create the Characters Once you have decided the story that the video game will take and the characters that will interact with those playing the game, then you need to create those characters. There are two different kinds of characters when it comes to designing a video game. The first is the non-playing types and the others are the ones that are controlled by the player. There are some games that have just one primary character that the player controls. Then there are some games that feature numerous primary characters that the player can select from. These characters all need to move. This is achieved by giving them motion. Each character will have a range of motions that he or she can perform. This range can be developed by fixing motion sensors to an actor and then transferring to a computer. Step 3: Create the game environment The next step is to create the environment in which the characters will move about it in. This part is thought about in the design and then brought to life here. In many ways the creation of the scenery and environment is the same process as creating the characters. The big difference is for some games the environment or back drop does not move. Attention to detail is a must for this step in order to make the game look more realistic. Step 4: Code and test the game Finally, the development team will code the video game behind the scenes before handing over to the games testers for final testing and approval. Any problems found during this stage are handed back to the developers to fix and then this area is re-tested again until it works correctly. This is perhaps the most important element in the development of any game as the testers are the last line of defense before the game goes live.