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Making the Game
Justin Shaw
English 101
Mr. Godbey
October 3, 2010
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Video games; in our modern society they have become the most played with toy
for kids; the most useful distraction for teenagers; and one of the most detested things
by adults. They are often taken for granted, and hardly anyone who plays them, or
condemns them for that matter, knows the time and hard work required to create them.
With so many being released each year, and the technology used in their creation
almost constantly advancing, the road from idea to finished game has become a long
one indeed.
All video game design begins the same way; as a thought, an idea, or a concept.
Many of these will never get off the drawing board, but for those that do it takes a great
deal of time, manpower, and flat out luck. Most will go through major changes in both
scale and scope before they become a finished product. They change form as the
process moves from step to step. After the base idea of the game is nailed down, the
real work begins. That simple idea is fleshed out. The game world is expanded and
given a sort of life of its own. This is done by a large and diverse group of people
Generally the start of design begins with the storyboarding of an idea (Video
Game Revolution.) The plot of the game will be set out and the individual events in it will
be drawn out to show what will happen. The script will be written and set to match the
plots and characters. From there, the individual elements will be put together into piece,
letting the writers see where any problems or weak points in it. From there, the script is
sent to the audio department for voice actors to read.
In the audio department voice actors go over the script, line by line. They give the
characters the inflection and voice that acts as a large part of modern game play.
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Sometimes, this process take several months, and almost up to a year depending on
the amount of characters and how much dialogue they have. The game is also given its
musical score during this time. The musicians help to give the music and sound cues in
the game an important place in its overall design. Without the score, the game would
lose a large amount of atmosphere. While this is going on, the script also goes to the art
department for them to use in the creation of the look of the game world.
In the art design department, graphic artists give the game world and every
character, item, creature, and place in it a look for the programmers to follow. By
following the script and storyboards, they give the game a unique look. They draw out
how things will be scaled, how the environment would appear, and much more. These
drawings are used by the programmers when they create all the things in the game.
Each building, item, monster, shopkeeper and more are all designed according to the
images given to the programmers.
After the specific designs for the game and its audio are made, the next step falls
to the programmers. They take both the voiced script, images, and score and combine
them into one thing. Creating the game world and everything in it according to the
images given to them; they then take the voice actors recordings and the games score
and add it in when the script calls for it.
Even after all this, the game is not finished. It must go through two of the
toughest crucibles imaginable. It must be play tested to see if it is both fun, and a
coherent experience; and it must pass an inspection by the ESRB, or . Play testing is
done to see if the plot is understandable and if an average person would be interested
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in it. They play through it again and again, looking for any problems that are in the code,
or any unbalance that is in the game play. Along with this is the ESRB, or Entertainment
Software Rating Board, rating it (ESRB.) The game is examined for its content and
given a rating based on who is believed should be allowed to play it. This has become a
corner stone for the video game industry now; rating games, and controlling who has
access to those deemed Mature.
If the game passes through all this, it goes on to publishing. From there, it is
shipped around the world where it will be enjoyed by fans and gamers everywhere. With
development times ranging from one to 4 years, it is a long journey indeed.
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Works Cited
Duncan, Sean C. "Gamers as Designers: A Framework for Investigating Design in Gaming
Affinity (n64stalker)Spaces." E-Learning and Digital Media7.1 (2010): 21-34. ERIC.
EBSCO. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.
ESRB. (n.d.). ESRB Game Ratings. Retrieved October 6, 2010, from Entertainment Software
Rating Board: http://www.esrb.org/ratings/index.jsp
n64stalker. (n.d.). How Are Video Games Made. Retrieved October 5, 2010, from
GamerBase.net: http://gamerbase.zophar.net/other/articles/article1.htm
The Video Game Revolution: How a Game is Made. (n.d.). Retrieved October 04, 2010, fromPBS.org: http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/inside/how/index.html
Zackariasson, Peter, and Timothy L. Wilson. "Paradigm shifts in the video game industry.."
Competitiveness Review20.2 (2010): 139-151. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO.Web. 6 Oct. 2010. (The Video Game Revolution: How a Game is Made)