Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
able demo that focuses on the action(s) the player will do most during the gameplay.
It should have nothing extra such as fancy graphics and sound effects. It should in-
clude any pertinent actions that rely on the action in question and vice versa, for
example if a previous action contributes to the action being tested, include it in the
prototype. The question the prototype should answer is: do I still like my initial idea?
While prototyping, it is acceptable to use existing assets scavenged from the net,
other projects, and so on. Just be aware of the subtle risks of having the project be-
come inadvertently associated with those assets, especially if they are high quality.
For example, one of the authors was working on a simple (but clever!) real-time
strategy game for Game Boy Advance. It was decided to add on a storyline to sup-
port the gameplay, which included a cast of characters. Instead of immediately cre-
ating original art for these characters, the team used the art from a defunct epic RPG
project. The problem was that the quality of this placeholder art was so high (done
by a world class fantasy/sci-fi artist) that when it was time to do final art for the game,
the art the in-house artist did just wasn't up to the team's expectations. And the pro-
ject didn't have enough money in the budget to hire the world-renowned artist to do
the art for it. So both the team and the client (Nintendo) felt like the art was second
rate, even though it was appropriate for the game being made. The project was later
cancelled, but not necessarily due to the art.
The following screenshot shows an adventure title prototype made by one of the au-
thors with GameMaker studio by using assets taken from the Zelda saga:
Test it once you have a working prototype, it is time to submit your idea to the public.
Get a variety of people in to test your game like crazy. Include team members, former
testers (if any), and fresh testers. Have people play often and get initial reactions as
well as studied responses and collect all the data you can.
