Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

C H A P T E R 4
I’ve also found that while much of game development is about creativity, inspiration, and
innovation, the vast majority of time is spent doing hard, often stressful work, sometimes to hours
that seem inhuman. I think that one of the keys to becoming a very valuable contributor to game
development is when a person fully accepts that every task on a game has to be done by someone,
and each of us has to be miserable for a time in order to get back to the fun stuff!
One more lesson learned—I feel that the most important attribute for any individual game
developer, and perhaps what should be prized above all other factors, is the ability to consistently be
level-headed and sensible when faced with challenges. The field of game development changes with a
remarkable frequency because it is still such a young industry. The people who will continue to remain
on top are those that can quickly break down and solve new, unforeseen problems.
MEGA TIPS
1. Plan your tool requirements early and dig in to the details.
2. Do your first pass placement of all actors, props, hazards, and items on
your topographic level map using a symbol legend. Conform to this legend
across the design team.
3. Include “camera notes” with your level specifications in your game design
document. These notes should attempt to predict possible problem areas
for camera motion and camera scripting.
4. Plan your NPC use early and try to be flexible. Leave room for building in
behavior adjustments, new or better ideas, reworks, and tuning to improve
the NPC-to-player contact experience.
5. Make sure any sophisticated boss behaviors can be accommodated by your
toolset.
6. Identify and categorize your prop types as static, damageable, or scripted.
You might even build this identity into their filenames (for example,
s_barrel for static types, d_pillar for damageable types, and sc_altar for
scripted types).
7. As much as possible, work up front to lock down tools stability. Make sure
the game asset pipeline from 3-D package to engine is functional as early in
the development curve as possible.
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Actors, Props, Items, and Camera Details