Game Pre-Production Techniques | Unit 1 | Assignment

Summer Bates

BTEC Extended Diploma in Computer Games Design

Unit 1: Pre-Production Techniques for the Creative Media Industries

Pre-Production and Planning for a Computer Game

Prior to video game production there is a variety of different pre-production elements that need to be considered. Pre-production revolves mainly around finance and timing.

Before starting to develop a game (individually), you will need to see how much money everything is. For example, the equipment and software, do you need a certain PC to be able to test your game? Also consider what type of game you are going to make, e.g. an Indie game, this will also have an effect on the finance. It would be a lot more expensive if you chose to make something other than an Indie game. If you aren’t going to work individually and you decide to employ other people then you will need to consider the wages for everyone, you won’t be getting paid throughout the process of production but you will have to pay other people to work for you. Another piece of equipment that you might need is a Dev Kit, a Dev Kit is a piece of equipment that allows you to test your game on an Xbox or PlayStation. PlayStation Dev Kits cost around $2,500 (£1,600) and Xbox Dev Kits tend to be free but you have to go through a very long process in order to obtain one, you also have a very small chance of actually being given one. You may also have to pay for workspace, eg. Renting out a building so employees can have a safe place to work. 

You will also have to consider what platform you want to publish the game to. Console or PC. Publishing to Xbox costs around $5000 (£3000) and in order to publish to PlayStation you have to pitch your idea to them and they will consider whether or not it should go on the console, you will also have to pay a fee in order to publish it to the PS store. In order to publish to PC you will have to use Steam GreenLight, it costs $100 (£70). If you do decide to employ others, these are the job roles that you might need to be filled:

Animator

Game animators are responsible for the portrayal of movement and behaviour within a game.
Assistant Producer

Assistant producers work with game's production staff to ensure the timely delivery of the product.
Audio Engineer

Games audio engineers create the soundtrack for a game, including music, sound effects, character voices and spoken instructions.

Creative Director

Creative directors are responsible for the overall look and feel of a computer game.
External Producer

External producers ensure the successful delivery of a game, while working externally from the game development team.

Game Designer

Game designers devise what a game consists of and how it plays, defining all the core elements.

Game Programmer

Game programmers design and write the computer code that runs and controls a game.
Games Artist

Game artists create the visual elements of a game, such as characters, scenery, objects, vehicles, surface texture and clothing.

Lead Artist

Lead artists are responsible for the overall look of the game.

Lead Programmer

Lead programmers lead the programming team responsible for creating all the game's computer code.

Level Editor

Level editors define and create interactive architecture for a segment of a game, including the landscape, buildings and objects.

Marketing Executive

Marketing executives promote their employer's products or services or raise people's awareness of a message.

Marketing Manager

People working in marketing are responsible for promoting products and services to increase consumer awareness and boost sales.

Product Manager

Product or brand managers help create and implement marketing campaigns to maximise the sales of games.
Project Manager/Producer

Ensure the successful delivery of a game.
Public Relations Office

Look after an organisation's image and reputation.

QA Tester

QA testers test, tune and debug a game and suggest refinements that ensure its quality and play-ability, assuring quality in a game and finding all its flaws before it goes public.

Technical Artist

Technical artists act as a bridge between the artists and programmers working on a game.

If you are going to have a team of people developing a game for you, then you will need a lot of money to pay them.

You will need to decide on what needs to be done first and what needs to be done last. You have to make sure you know what the main priorities are.

The production of my game will need deadlines in order to complete it.

The software that I will need to be able to develop my game is GameMaker, this is because it is one of the easiest ways to make a 2D game. GameMaker costs around $155 (£100). I will also need to pay $100 (£70) if I wanted to publish the game to Steam GreenLight. I will not need to pay others to work for me as this is an individual project.

Is your game going to be story-based? If it is then you will need to produce a storyboard and some concept art before even starting the development, this will give you a clear image of what is going to happen and how it’s going to happen.

Before you start production, you will need to set up a plan. Having a plan will allow you to see what needs to be done and when, and how long it should take to complete. You can set deadlines, this will allow you to finish the product on time and perhaps even faster than you initially intended. Having deadlines will force you to complete a certain task so that you can start on the next, this will keep you organised and you won’t rush when it actually comes to the development. Also try and set a date for when the game is released, this will encourage you to work hard on the game in order to complete the production in time.