Video game development # 2
In video game development there are different areas that make up a development team. I will be delving into each area individually in each of these entries, since they are all very complex and require a fairly deep analysis, i will try to summarize their important points and those that are of greatest interest to most readers interested in development.
We will start with video game design (GD) which is one of the most important when creating video games. It is very important since it has a role similar to a manager, only instead of focusing on the administrative, it focuses on the creative. We will see the directive part in another post.
The "Core Gameplay" or game core, is the mechanics or group of main mechanics of a video game. The action that the player repeats the most and the one that must guarantee to be entertaining. In classic games, actions such as jumping, attacking and / or shooting are typical core game mechanics. These mechanics are always polished as much as possible since this is what the player will do most of the game, so they must be well developed. Of course, there are many games that do not have complex mechanics and focus more on the plot, graphics, etc. But let's try to focus on what's important, because if you're really looking for just the plot or the graphic part, just grab a good book or a movie with good shots. Let's think about what a game is, about playing, about challenges and fun. If your main mechanics are not good that from the beginning, the best thing is to end with the development of that project and start something new. Once you have a gaming core that shines and people like it, you can start building something bigger.
Many newcomers in development imagine a thousand things when wanting to make a video game, they want to make a new super wide and complex adventure game or a shooter game full of action and explosions. It is true that many projects draw on mechanics from other existing games, and they can be a success. There are a large number of variants of the Dark Souls type that are a success, but the important thing is always to give something extra that stands out from the rest, since wanting to make your own version of an existing game is very dangerous, especially if it is an overexploited genre . I know a lot of wonderful games but they just didn't take off for this reason, because they tried to clone a popular game and even though they did it well and with their own label, people already had a favorite. Those two scenarios will always exist.
Sometimes the best and safest thing to do is always clone something that already works and just give it a visual change and some adjustments. Sometimes breaking the schemes and pushing the boat out makes you the new star in the industry. It depends on what you are looking for, play it safe or create a whole new invention. If it's the first one, you won't need a lot of game design knowledge, but if you really want to create something new, you will have to go through a lot of trial and error. My best recommendation is to play plenty of video games, analyze their mechanics and imagine new ones, then put all of that to the test. Remember that the success of the game depends largely on its design
Finally, whenever you have ideas, try to have everything written down, whether in a document, stickers, notebook, etc. Sometimes great ideas flash by, you shouldn't let them slip away. Then organize all the ideas and try to play with them. A design document is also important to guide the game, the more detailed it is, the more certain it is that you will reach your goal. Not having such a document can make your project just a boat adrift, and the day the storm hits, it will simply just sink to the bottom of the sea.
