Game Production Process - Creating Games with Unity and Maya - page 4

Sound Designer: Playing a game with the sound off has its charms,
but anyone who has played a game on a big screen TV, with the lights
off, and the sound pumped way up (or on headphones) knows how an
effective sound design creates perhaps more ambiance than any visual
elements of a game. Too often in all aspects of 3D animation, students
or beginners treat sound and music as an afterthought, but it never is in
big-budget games.
Sometimes for students there are budget restrictions that prevent custom
soundtracks from being used. However, thinking early of sound effects and
music will allow for proper timing and can even influence visual choices.
The Tools and Unity
Now that we have generally looked at who is on a team, it is important to talk
through what the tools of that team are, and specifically how Unity fits within
that tool box.
Unity is classed as a game engine. What this means is that it is the technology
that drives a game. The way to think about it in production terms though is
as an “assembler.” Unity itself is generally not used to create assets (although
there are some things like particles that are created within Unity itself ).
Almost all the art assets are created outside of Unity itself—the 3D models
are created in a 3D application (Maya, Cinema4D, Blender, modo, 3DS Max,
Lightwave, etc.), the texture assets are made in Photoshop or BodyPaint, and
even the scripts are actually written in some other application (UniSCTE on
a PC, Unitron on the Mac, or some other scripting tool all together). All these
assets are imported in Unity through a quite painless process where you are
then able to combine these assets to create the game.
So, you assemble games in Unity, but most games—and all games with any
level of visual complexity—make heavy use of lots of other applications in the
process. Just as there are lots of different ways to create 3D assets (some will
choose Maya, others 3DS Max, for instance), there are multiple game engines
as well. Unity is particularly flexible and accessible; that is why it is the tool
of choice in this topic. But be aware that there are lots of other methods of
creating games (Unreal Engine, CryEngine, Source, etc.).
Teams of Teams and Pipelines
Often, a production team will be broken into two teams, an art team
(sometimes called “Creative”) and a technology team. The work of both is
critical for a successful game, and communication between the two teams
better ensures a smooth process.
One of the benefits of working as part of a team—or a team of teams—is
that assets need not be created sequentially. The technology team doesn't
need to wait for creative to finish up their work before starting on scripts.