Beta is where the final touches are done on a game before release. For strategy games, many of you may know how difficult it is to balance hundreds, if not thousands, of variables. There are different sides with varying unit stats, typically, multiple resource systems, and gameplay mechanics that all need to come together to be fun. Again, there is so much value in getting fresh eyes on any game, and this is why public beta testing is so important.
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Making a Role Playing Game (RPG)
RPGs are one of the biggest, most immersive experiences in gaming. RPGs can be compared to reading a great book; there is a lot of time put into reading one and a great deal of deep, emotional satisfaction after completing it. Making an RPG is truly a huge undertaking and is a great case study in development.
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Game Design is similar to the design process of building a car. There are many systems to be developed and many stages of development. Taking this analogy further, cars have a body shell, primary parts, like the engine, fuel system, brake system, and electrical system, not to mention the interior, tires, stereo, paint, safety features ... You get the idea. The car we drive every day takes thousands of people coordinating for years to design, develop, and manufacture a product that does all these things, hopefully well. Of course, these systems need to be designed before the engineers can develop anything or manufacturing can meet specifications for functionality and quality.
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I started out writing these design blogs to offer some tips about game design, and I decided to tie that in with what has been going on with Codex Worlds. It is also important, however, to talk about what else goes on in pre-production in addition to design. In the past two blogs, I covered some production, project management, producing, and team evaluation points. Now onto some tactical game design tips ... the whole point of this blog. :)
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My last blog covered some of the higher level items worth thinking about during the game design pre-production phase. Resources, communication, team size, and individual skills all play into how our processes work, but that's not the end of the road. Here are some tips to help maximize efficiency:
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There are a ton of different ways to implement your game design. Some considerations may include team size, member experience, difficulty level of the project and resources. Of course, big publishers may have team sizes anywhere north of 50 or even 100 people, and their approach to design may necessarily be different than 10 indies doing a "garage" project. Having stated all that, it might be fun to look at how we are doing things at Codex Worlds.
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It might be fun to look at some design strategies early in pre-production. These are quick snapshots of strategies; I will have much more game design details coming soon in my personal blog for game students at gamelifecoach.blogspot.com
It might be fun to look at some design strategies early in pre-production. These are quick snapshots of strategies; I will have much more game design details coming soon in my personal blog for game students at gamelifecoach.blogspot.com
Read MoreHello. My name is Dexter, one of the founders of Codex Worlds. In this first company blog, I want to introduce the engineering and design teams. This blog is the first of 3 blogs introducing the Codex Worlds team. The second blog will focus on our art team and my third blog will focus on publishing.
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