Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
“
”
and production pressure leads to the legendary
so prevalent on many
game projects. Dependant software tools like console SDKs and your licensed game
engine change constantly, challenging software teams to keep up. Unlike many soft-
ware projects, games frequently must support a wide variety of operating systems,
graphics APIs, and platforms.
crunch mode
Most industry software projects are carefully designed and planned. Systems analysts
study customer requirements, case studies of previous versions of the software, and
prospective architectures for months before the first line of code is ever written.
Ultima VIII
'
s architecture was planned by seven programmers in a single afternoon
on a whiteboard.
Architecture notwithstanding, you can
thing, not
something that exists in a design document. You hope like hell that the original
design will result in a fun game, but the first playable version frequently leaves you
with the distinct impression that the game needs some more chili powder and a little
more time on the stove.
Sometimes, the entire design is reworked. Ultima IX
'
t design
“
fun.
”
Fun is a
“
tweakable
”
s architecture and game design
changed no less than three times in development. I was there for two of them and
didn
'
t stick around for the third. When a game is in development for multiple
years, it
'
'
'
s case,
3D accelerated video cards were just coming into their own as we were putting the
finishing touches on what had to be the finest software rasterizer anyone ever wrote.
It never saw the light of day.
s easy for new hardware technology to blaze past you. In Ultima IX
Sometimes Your Game Is Just Plain Boring
Ultima VIII
s map design had a hub-and-spoke model. The hub was an
underground dungeon that connected every other map. We released the
game to QA, and word came back that it was completely boring. The
culprit was a sparse central map that wasn
'
t much more than an
underground maze with a few bad guys hanging out here and there. It
wasn
'
t good enough. Two designers worked day and night to rework
the central map. Puzzles, traps, monsters, and other trickery finally
added a little spice. The central map ended up being one of the best
parts of the whole game.
'
