Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Making games is different to making most other types of software for one main reason: the initial
requirements do not always equate into a successful product. In other words, the initial thoughts
that went into designing a game do not always produce something worth playing.
For example, if you planned to make a piece of software that burned files to CD, you can be fairly
certain what your destination will be when you are finished. Once files actually get on the CD, and
those files can then be read again by a CD-ROM drive, your job is pretty much complete. You
may add other features, but the requirements you set out to accomplish with your program have
been met.
This clear endpoint is not always true with a game. The best and most intricate requirements laid
out for a game might not equal a product that anyone wants to play. For example, simply wanting
a game to be playable is not enough, and it's rare that you will get it right the first time through.
That is where the iterations come in. Small changes and updates and tweaks and brainstorms
within the development cycle help to turn a pile of programming into a game worth playing.
However, these iterations can all be taken to higher level. Besides the process of making
individual games, the actual craft of making games as a whole is also iterative. With each game
you finish, you improve your code, processes, libraries, object models, game ideas, game
designs, and so on. That is why it is so important to get to your
second
game. Writing your
second
game means you will improve on your first, which can then be improved by your third.
Figures 1-1 and 1-2 are examples of the second game theory. Zeno Fighter (Figure 1-1) was a
first attempt at a rock shooter style game. Retro Blaster (Figure 1-2) was a further iteration,
extending the basic game idea. However, without completing Zeno Fighter, there would have
never been a Retro Blaster. Zeno Fighter was not a prototype, an alpha, or a beta version; it was
a finished game. The entire game development cycle was utilized in its creation. When it was
finished, the code base and lessons learned were synthesized into Retro Blaster, a second game.
Just to be clear, though, a second game does not have to be in the same type of genre as the
first game. In fact, in this topic, we will create many different genres of games, all using the
second game theory of iteration and improvement.
Figure 1-1.
A Zeno Fighter screen shot
