GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK Second Edition

Transcription

1 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK Second Edition BY HEATHER MAXWELL CHANDLER INFINITY SCIENCE PlliSS INFINITY SCIENCE PRESS LLC Hingham, Massachusetts New Delhi, India

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Preface Acknowledgments About the Author xix xxi radii xxv Parti: General Production Overview 1 Chapter 1 Came Production Overview Introduction Production Cycle Pre-production 5 Game Concept 6 Game Requirements 7 Game Plan 8 Pre-Production Checklist Production 9 Plan Implementation 10 Tracking Progress 11 Task Completion 11 Production Checklist Testing 12 Plan Validation 13 Code Release 13 Testing Checklist Post-Production 14 Learn from Experience 14

3 VI 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Archive Plan 15 Post-Production Checklist Chapter Summary 15 Chapter 2 Roles on the Team Introduction Production 18 Executive Producer 19 Producer 19 Associate Producer 21 Background and Training Art 23 Art Director 24 Lead Artist 24 Concept Artist 24 World Builder or Level Designer 24 Asset Artist 25 Animator 25 Technical Artist 25 Marketing Artist 25 Background and Training Engineering 26 Technical Director 27 Lead Engineer 27 Engineer 27 Background and Training Design 30 Creative Director 30 Lead Designer 31 Designer 31 Writer 32 Background and Training Quality Assurance Testing 34 Lead QA Tester 34 QA Tester 35 Background and Training Team Organization Corporate 37 Marketing and Public Relations 37

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS IX Creative Services 38 Sales Chapter Summary 38 Chapter 3 Project Management Methods Introduction Pros and Cons Personal Software Process (PSP) Scram Project Management Institute (PMI) Chapter Summary 57 Part II: Business Information 59 Chapter 4 Legal Information Introduction Intellectual Property Rights 62 Copyrights 63 Trademarks 63 Trade Secrets 64 Patents Legal Agreements 65 Employee/Consultant Agreements 65 Work for Hire 66 Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) 67 Development Contracts 67 End User License Agreements (EULA) Licenses Chapter Summary 71 Chapter 5 Developer and Publisher Relationships Introduction Pitching a Game to a Publisher Managing the Developer-Publisher Relationship 77 Independent Developer 82 Publisher-Owned Developer Third-Party Game Approvals Chapter Summary 90

5 X TABLE OF CONTENTS Part III: Managing People 91 Chapter 6 Hiring And Retaining Talent Introduction Hiring Talent 94 Screening Resumes 95 Interviewing Talent 98 Providing Feedback Retaining Talent Training 103 Game Development Resources 105 Organizations 105 Conference and Trade Shows 105 General Game Industry Information Chapter Summary 106 Chapter 7 Teams Introduction Project Leadership Picking Leads Team building 112 Getting to Know Each Other 114 Role Definition 116 Cross-Training 117 Seating Arrangements 118 Team Meetings 119 Team Website Team Buy-in and Motivation 121 Warning Signs 122 Addressing the Warning Signs 124 Showing Appreciation 125 Sharing Vision 125 Team Survey Quality of Life Chapter Summary 131 Chapter 8 Effective Communication Introduction Written Communication 134

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS XI 8.3 Oral Communication Nonverbal Communication Establishing Communication Norms Communication Challenges 138 Resolving Conflict 138 Delivering Bad News 140 Giving Effective Feedback Chapter Summary 142 Part IV; Technical Production 143 Chapter 9 Massively Multiplayer Online Games Introduction Differences Between MMOs and Other Games Pre-Production 147 Technology Issues 147 Design Issues 149 Art Issues 150 Production Team Production Post-Production Chapter Summary 155 Chapter 10 Voiceover Introduction Planning for Voiceover 158 Voiceover Design 158 Technical Considerations 159 File Formats 160 Voiceover Script 162 Placeholder Voiceover 163 Schedule and Staffing Choosing a Sound Studio 166 Bid Packages Casting Actors 169 Union Versus Non-Union 170 Celebrity Voices 171 Preparing Character Descriptions 172 Auditions 172

7 XÜ TABLE OF CONTENTS Selecting and Booking Actors Recording Voiceover 177 Preparing for Recording Session 177 Directing Actors 178 Selecting Takes 179 Audio Deliverables Voiceover Checklist Chapter Summary 180 Chapter 11 Music Introduction Planning for Music 184 Music Design 184 Technical Considerations 185 Schedule and Staffing 186 Bid Packages Working with a Composer Licensing Music Chapter Summary 192 Chapter 12 Motion Capture Introduction Planning for Motion Capture 196 Motion Capture Requirements 197 Motion Capture Shot List 198 Schedule Working with a Motion Capture Studio 199 Bid Packages Preparing for a Motion Capture Shoot Motion Capture Checklist Chapter Summary 203 Chapter 13 Marketing and Public Relations Introduction Working with Marketing 206 Development Milestone Schedule 206 Game Documentation 206 Focus Groups Packaging 208

8 TABLE OF COKTTENTS XI11 Manuals 208 Box Art 210 Keyboard Reference Cards Demos 210 Planning for a Demo 210 Console Demos 211 Localized Demos Marketing Assets Game Builds 213 Working with Public Relations 213 Press Tours 213 Interviews 214 Developer Diaries 214 Tradeshows Asset Deliverable Checklist Chapter Summary 215 PartV: Pre-Production 217 Chapter 14 Came Concept Introduction Beginning the Process 220 Brainstorming 221 Initial Concept 223 Genre 223 Platform 224 SWOT Analysis 224 Competitive Analysis 226 Approval Define concept 229 Mission Statement 229 Game Setting 230 Gameplay Mechanics 230 Story Synopsis 231 Concept Art 232 Audio Elements Prototyping Risk Analysis 236

9 xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS 14.6 Pitch Idea Project Kick-off Concept Outline Chapter Summary 240 Chapter 15 Came Requirements Introduction Define Game Features Define Milestones and Deliverables Evaluate Technology Define Tools and Pipeline Documentation Design Art Technical Risk Analysis Approval Game Requirements Outline С 1 Chapter Summary 258 Chapter 16 Came Plan 16.1 Introduction 16.2 Dependencies 16.3 Schedules Creating a Schedule Tracking Tasks 16.4 Budgets Creating a Budget Managing a Budget 16.5 Staffing 16.6 Outsourcing Communication 16.7 Middleware 16.8 Game Plan Outline 16.9 Chapter Summary Part VI: Production 293 Chapter 17 Production Cycle Introduction 295

10 TABLE OF CONTENTS XV 17.2 Design Production Cycle Art Production Cycle Engineering Production Cycle Working Together Chapter Summary 304 Chapter 18 Production Techniques Introduction Getting a Project Back on Track Project Reviews Critical Stage Analysis Weekly Status Reports Running Meetings Resource Allocation Preventing Feature Creep Establishing Approval Processes Task Forces Chapter Summary 321 Chapter 19 Making Builds Introduction Build Process 324 Build Schedule 324 Automated Builds Multilingual Builds Build Notes 326 For the Development Team 327 For Management 327 For Marketing and PR Preventing Piracy 328 Copy Protection Schemes Chapter Summary 329 Chapter 20 Software Ratings Introduction Software Age Ratings ESRB (United States) PEGI (Europe) BBFC and VSC (United Kingdom) USK (Germany) 339

11 XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS 20.7 OFLC (Australia) CERO (Japan) KMRB (Korea) Chapter Summary 341 Chapter 21 Localization Introduction Creating International Content Localization-Friendly Code Language Assets Text Assets Art Assets Voiceover Assets International Characters and Fonts User Interface Keyboard Input PAL versus NTSC Other Technical Considerations Level of Localization Localization Plan Schedule, Budget, and Staffing Organizing Assets for Translation Integrating Translated Assets Testing Functionality Testing Linguistic Testing Console Submission Localization Checklist Chapter Summary Part VII: Testing 359 Chapter 22 Testing Introduction Testing Schedule Test Plans Testing Pipeline 366 Bug Tracking Database 366 Bug Definitions 366

12 TABLE OF CONTENTS XVII 22.5 Testing Cycle 367 Writing Bugs 368 Assigning and Closing Bugs 369 Checking TCRs External Testing Chapter Summary 373 Chapter 23 Code Releasing Introduction Determining Code Release Code Release Checklist Gold Masters Chapter Summary 380 Part VIII: Post-Production 381 Chapter 24 Postmortems Introduction Purpose of a Postmortem Conducting a Postmortem 385 Involve the Entire Team 386 Prepare for the Postmortem 386 Maintain Focus Lessons Learned Document Chapter Summary 390 Chapter 25 Closing Kits Introduction Defining Closing Kits Creating Closing Kits 392 Assets 393 Tools 394 Game Code 394 Documentation Organizing Content Finalizing Closing Kits Closing Kit Checklist Chapter Summary 397

13 XVIII TABLE OF CONTENTS Appendix A: Case Study Game Production Cycle Appendix B: Glossary Appendix C: Resources Appendix D: Biographies Appendix E: About The CD-ROM Index