Lifecycle of my Game

Game Design Cycle-

My game concept would begin with the documentation that i created on all the aspects of the game (gameplay, storyline ETC) and then the development of the game would begin. After the initial programming, the game would be tested to see how it plays (in it's basic looking form).

Changes would then be implemented in it's Alpha stage, work would begin on the script (if not already 100% complete) to be performed by voice actors and bugs/glitch in the code would be fixed that could effect the actual running of the game. Beta stage would then ensue, where the game would come together. The game would be tested for small glitches and should now be fully functional and close to how it would look graphically and feel gameplay-wise. When all development is finished (Gold Mater stage) the game would then be submitted for publishing and then advertisement would increase- with appearances at top games' conferences to gain publicity.

The game would then hit the shelves of retail stores and be sold online. It would also be ideal for the game to be downloaded digitally via Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Wii store. Advertising would also continue during this phase.

The life-cycle of the game would not end with it's release. Online multiplayer and features means that updates via patches and downloadable content would increase the popularity and shelf-life of the game. There must also be continued support for online players (such as customer services and a team dedicated to the development of downloadable content). The whole development of the project would only truly come full-circle when a sequel is planned and confirmed to be developed, as online features would slowly cease to be updated on the game as it's sequel would also feature online support.

Identifying and Managing Potential Risks

When a game is released there is always a risk that it won't sell as well as predicted, and so product management, sales research and advertisement are all key aspects to minimising risks financially. Due to the fact that alot of Publisher's invest alot of money into games they have claim to a large percentage of the profit made from sales, and so if a game fails to sell as well as predicted then the game developer will fail to secure enough money to break even with the cost of development. There is a risk that a game publisher will also cancel their involvement with the production if they believe that the game will not be successful, which doesn't bode well for the development.

Tiga

TIGA is an association that was set up to support the gaming industry in the UK that is a link between developers in the industry and the governtment (which promotes successful decisions and laws). It also ensures that there are faces to represent the development of video games within the media industry. There have been a recent decline in internationally successful games being released from the UK, the TIGA website claims that "Between July 2008 and July 2009 the headcount at British video games studios fell by 4 per cent, and 15 per cent (44) of British video games development studios, publishing and service companies went out of business", which is the reason why TIGA is so patriotic in that it supports growth within the UK games industry, and it's goal is for it to flourish.

BBFC and PEGI classification of Games

There are certain companies whose job it is to classify games that are released, in order to restrict these games, from certain audiences, that may be unnappropriate for certain age groups ETC. Two of such companies are the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) and PEGI (Pan European Game Information). Although the BBFC specialises in the classification of films, it also deals with video games and has the same principal as PEGI- categorising games into age groups to give parents a clearer idea of the type of content that their children are exposed to. Although PEGI is the standard governing body for classification of games some titles are still rated by BBFC. The age groups that games are classified into are as follows: 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18. It is important that the games are put into the certain age ratings correctly because certain themes such as violence, fear, sex, drug abuse and racism all need to be taken into account and restrcited to older, mature audiences.

There must also be consideration towards disabled people- it would be ideal for someone with a hearing problem to still be able to negotiate the game with his/her disability not effecting their experience. Many games have subtitles nowadays and aren't truly impeded by a lack of sound. Another example is the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games- it would be unfair to disregard left handed people, as the game is displayed on the screen in coordination with the buttons on the guitar (and therefore the player's fingers). To overcome this the developers have included a special option to flip the guitar buttons on-screen to accomodate left-handed people.

Original IP VS Licensed IP

There is alot of success to be had in creating an original game idea, but there is also a wide market in using already licensed ideas and sculpting them into a game of the same themes. A completely new game concept is called an original IP (Intellectual property), whereas a Lisenced IP is an idea taken from another type of media, for exampe- many movies or books are turned into games that follow the same stories, characters and events. Examples of game/movie tie-ins can be found with almost all action movies, for example- Spiderman, The Matrix and Batman have all had games created around them. Both original IP and licensed IP have their successful moments, but games that are based around a movie (and vice-versa) are generally less successful than an original game or movie concept. This is often to do with the fact that the release dates are set in stone. In order to be promoted and released alongside the accompanying there is a strict deadline for development, and so there is a tendancy to rush the game, compromising in quality. Due to the success of certain games it is common to find that original IP games turn into franchises with multiple sequels.

Trends

Many trends are becoming popular within the games industry, and are set to evolve even further in the future. Gaming on computers was previously the most dominant aspect of the industry (in the early stages of gaming) but console gaming has recently become hugely popular, with many households having at least one gaming console. The Telegraph's digital and media correspondant, Urmee Khan, says "The research, which surveyed 2,023 people online, highlighted that 39 per cent... had played on a games console in the past six months, compared with 51 per cent of 14-to-25-year-olds." This comment clearly shows that there are still are large amount of adults playing games, whereas the amount of 14 to 25 year olds is extremely high. A popular new aspect to the gaming industry is social networking. Social networking websites (such as Facebook and Myspace) are very popular in modern society and have recently incorporated games into their sites, which are also tipped to become a large aspect of the industry- due to the fact that you can connect with friends and family while playing simple, casual games. Online console gaming is also at an all time high, with the popularity of a game such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 where record amounts of people play against each other with online multiplayer.

Motion controllers are set become the next trend that developers are investing in. The Nintendo Wii has become a revolution with it's simplistic motion controller and accessible games, and both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 are investing in this new technology (with Project Natal and PS Move respectively).

Bibliography: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/4161928/Videogame-sales-hit-record-high-thanks-to-Nintendo-Wii.html, Urmee Khan, Published: 6:51PM GMT 07 Jan 2009

Retail and Online Business

With the increasing use of the internet, people are turning to this massive resource to purchase their games for numerous reasons. Price is generally much cheaper when bought online when compared to typical store prices, and the products are delivered straight to the purchaser's door. Alongside the reduced RRP, some games even come with bonus DLC (downloadable content) or a free gift when ordered from a website. The appeal of buying cheaper, second-hand games has decreased slightly with the risk of a faulty/damaged product being bought over the internet, and with the popularity of buying online, the trade of second-hand games in stores is slowly decreasing. The amount of stores selling video games is slowly decreasing due to the popularity and expansion of the larger retail stores such as GAME and Gamestation, whcich are still as popular as ever.

Alpha, Beta and Gold Master

There are many stages to the development of a games, the main 3 of which are called Alpha, Beta and Gold Master. The 3 Milestones are as follows:

Alpha is the stage after which all the foundations of the design are layed down and the key features are completed. At this stage the game should look like a basic form of it's finished product. Alpha is used as a base to work and implement improvements to during the next stage.

Beta is the second major milestone in development. During the Beta testing bugs/glitches are corrected and the code should be completed. There should be no more changes at Beta stage to the key elements of the game, as the game should be near finalisation at this point.

Gold Master stage is the complete game, and should contain no bugs, and the game should ideally be ready for manufacturing.

There should always be a schedual for developers to set milestones for themselves, and thus make for a smooth production process, and there should always been alloted time for problems that could end in delayed release dates- which could ultimately cause cancellation in the project.

Developers and Publishers

When a video game is being created there are many processes that the game must go through in order to reach the end product, from the early planning and development stages, to QA testing and finally, when the game is passed on to a pusblisher and released.

There are two main 'contributors' to the production of a game- the game developers and the publisher. The game developers are the actual creators of the game, consisting of a studio of programmers, designers, artists and testers, whereas the pusblisher is (usually) a seperate company that actually 'release' the game. Pusblishing companies have little say in the creative aspects of designing the game itself, but they are nevertheless crucial to the release of the finished product- the publisher handles all marketing of the game (which includes advertising), packaging and distributing to retail for sale, also providing financial backing for the development of the game in some cases. Without a publisher, a developer would find it impossible to sell their game to the public as they need discs, boxes and manuals to be made and distributed on a mass scale- and without any advertisement the game would also fail to even sell or make a profit. The largest companies such as Nintendo and Sony have their own development studios and can afford to both develop and publish their own products, and it has become common for wealthy publisher to buy out smaller developers and thus develop and release their own games.