Game Development: The Start
Many people think - I want to make games! I have a lot of ideas and ideas (the truth is most likely not drawn up), and in other games I see all the flaws at first sight and I can put forward my thoughts in a coherent and consistent manner, but ... Something is missing! What exactly to do if you want to try yourself in the field of game building? There are only two ways, like: making games as part of a professional team or making games yourself. But even a cursory review in my region (St. Petersburg) showed that such a position as "Junior Game Designer", in principle, does not exist. And not even a junior position is very rare.
Apparently, this is a closed kitchen, which is difficult to get from the side. Hence, another decision arises - to go to the office, producing games on their own in any open position, of course, with the appropriate qualifications). But there is a nuance here, personal experience tells me that as an ordinary developer, the chances of participating in writing GDD (and, in principle, of any other TK), or at least in forming the initial requirements for it, are very small. There simply will not be time for this, but at general meetings, with the participation of all departments, if any, one can only draw very, oddly enough, general concepts.
In order to completely make the game yourself, it is necessary that there are too many stars, I will not consider this option now, I will only say that this is not my way (at the moment).
So what then to do? Now I’ll try to formulate a few theses, which, it seems to me, should help people who consider themselves to be beginner game designers to at least start moving at least somewhere).
1) Write, write and write again.
Record all the ideas that come to mind. Ideas can develop into a full-fledged GDD, and sketches into stories, and they, in turn, again into a plot for the game. And even if not, practicing writing again will not hurt. Indeed, in more or less large projects, a full-fledged script, dialogs of the main characters, a description of the missions, and even trivial replicas of secondary characters are required. All this is written (well, it reads something for sure) including the game designer.
2) Decide on the platform and genres.
Here, perhaps, many will say that the main idea, and where to implement it, is a secondary issue. But the game designer, as it seems to me, should not only determine the general concept of the game, work out various mechanics, determine the style of the game world, but also have a decent knowledge of technical issues: engine capabilities, traffic volumes, issues related to the acquisition of game currency, etc. It seems to me that the range of issues related to the technical implementation of games is so wide that it is only possible to study them for years, so I will conditionally highlight the following areas:
a) PC games
b) Game consoles
c) Browser games
d) Games for mobile Devices
e) Board Games
In order not to drown in the variety of complex engines, at first, it seems to me, it is worth focusing on games for browsers, and of course desktops. In the latter, in practice, you can even test the balance and watch how this or that mechanic works.
The genre, it seems to me, is not so important which one to choose, you just need to understand that taking up the writing of your first GDD, taking as the basis the idea of an RPG-style game or strategy, you can encounter so many pitfalls (and not so) that it will disappear any hunt to do this. It is better to try with simpler genres, for example, a scroll shooter or tower defense.
3) Follow the news.
Keep abreast of the latest developments in the world of games, at least in that niche that you have chosen for yourself. What games came out, what technologies are used to create and maintain them. Why did this or that game fail or, conversely, hit the top Google Play. It’s also good to have your own opinion on this)
4) Play games.
Himself to constantly play new (and especially) old games. Even if they seem unsuccessful to you, always try to go through the games to the end - so you can see some non-standard tricks and moves from the developers and better understand what will be interesting to a potential user of your future game, and what is not very. This is especially true of old games, for example, for NES or SMD, when the modest capabilities of consoles forced game manufacturers to think more about the plot and gameplay.
5) Bring the matter to the end.
It is very important (at least for yourself) to complete at least one GDD. Let him “mature” for about a week, look again with a “non-clouded” look, it is possible to make adjustments. Give reading to friends, put it on profile sites / forums and get at least some feedback. But when opening your “creation” to the world, you need to be prepared for criticism (often far from constructive), and maybe even completely ignoring your ideas and texts. This, too, can significantly reduce enthusiasm, or even make stopping further attempts to write. Well, that’s not what I really wanted.
6) Gather a portfolio.
As a result of the above items, in the end we can get a dozen complete GDDs, possibly even with prototypes of games written on something and other related literature. Collected together in a resume, this can serve as a portfolio (albeit without real work experience), which you can already try to show to a potential employer.
I understand that the game development office probably has a lot of its own achievements, the implementation of which simply does not have enough resources, but perhaps they will find it interesting not only the ideas themselves, but the approach to their implementation.
I wonder what the community thinks about such an opportunity to get into gamedev. Maybe someone went this way and is now a game designer. Or maybe everything written here is complete nonsense and completely unrealizable in our universe?
Apparently, this is a closed kitchen, which is difficult to get from the side. Hence, another decision arises - to go to the office, producing games on their own in any open position, of course, with the appropriate qualifications). But there is a nuance here, personal experience tells me that as an ordinary developer, the chances of participating in writing GDD (and, in principle, of any other TK), or at least in forming the initial requirements for it, are very small. There simply will not be time for this, but at general meetings, with the participation of all departments, if any, one can only draw very, oddly enough, general concepts.
In order to completely make the game yourself, it is necessary that there are too many stars, I will not consider this option now, I will only say that this is not my way (at the moment).
So what then to do? Now I’ll try to formulate a few theses, which, it seems to me, should help people who consider themselves to be beginner game designers to at least start moving at least somewhere).
1) Write, write and write again.
Record all the ideas that come to mind. Ideas can develop into a full-fledged GDD, and sketches into stories, and they, in turn, again into a plot for the game. And even if not, practicing writing again will not hurt. Indeed, in more or less large projects, a full-fledged script, dialogs of the main characters, a description of the missions, and even trivial replicas of secondary characters are required. All this is written (well, it reads something for sure) including the game designer.
2) Decide on the platform and genres.
Here, perhaps, many will say that the main idea, and where to implement it, is a secondary issue. But the game designer, as it seems to me, should not only determine the general concept of the game, work out various mechanics, determine the style of the game world, but also have a decent knowledge of technical issues: engine capabilities, traffic volumes, issues related to the acquisition of game currency, etc. It seems to me that the range of issues related to the technical implementation of games is so wide that it is only possible to study them for years, so I will conditionally highlight the following areas:
a) PC games
b) Game consoles
c) Browser games
d) Games for mobile Devices
e) Board Games
In order not to drown in the variety of complex engines, at first, it seems to me, it is worth focusing on games for browsers, and of course desktops. In the latter, in practice, you can even test the balance and watch how this or that mechanic works.
The genre, it seems to me, is not so important which one to choose, you just need to understand that taking up the writing of your first GDD, taking as the basis the idea of an RPG-style game or strategy, you can encounter so many pitfalls (and not so) that it will disappear any hunt to do this. It is better to try with simpler genres, for example, a scroll shooter or tower defense.
3) Follow the news.
Keep abreast of the latest developments in the world of games, at least in that niche that you have chosen for yourself. What games came out, what technologies are used to create and maintain them. Why did this or that game fail or, conversely, hit the top Google Play. It’s also good to have your own opinion on this)
4) Play games.
Himself to constantly play new (and especially) old games. Even if they seem unsuccessful to you, always try to go through the games to the end - so you can see some non-standard tricks and moves from the developers and better understand what will be interesting to a potential user of your future game, and what is not very. This is especially true of old games, for example, for NES or SMD, when the modest capabilities of consoles forced game manufacturers to think more about the plot and gameplay.
5) Bring the matter to the end.
It is very important (at least for yourself) to complete at least one GDD. Let him “mature” for about a week, look again with a “non-clouded” look, it is possible to make adjustments. Give reading to friends, put it on profile sites / forums and get at least some feedback. But when opening your “creation” to the world, you need to be prepared for criticism (often far from constructive), and maybe even completely ignoring your ideas and texts. This, too, can significantly reduce enthusiasm, or even make stopping further attempts to write. Well, that’s not what I really wanted.
6) Gather a portfolio.
As a result of the above items, in the end we can get a dozen complete GDDs, possibly even with prototypes of games written on something and other related literature. Collected together in a resume, this can serve as a portfolio (albeit without real work experience), which you can already try to show to a potential employer.
I understand that the game development office probably has a lot of its own achievements, the implementation of which simply does not have enough resources, but perhaps they will find it interesting not only the ideas themselves, but the approach to their implementation.
I wonder what the community thinks about such an opportunity to get into gamedev. Maybe someone went this way and is now a game designer. Or maybe everything written here is complete nonsense and completely unrealizable in our universe?