Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

C H A P T E R 1
INTRODUCING THE PREVISUALIZATION
PROCESS
It helps to know where you’re going before you get there, so that you can be prepared.
Tropical jungle? Bring the bug spray. Exotic island? Bring the suntan lotion
and spear-fishing gear. Similarly, when you are developing a game, title planning and
attempting to predict trouble spots are critical to successful execution. Thus, most
game titles, in the early days of production, go through a quick series of
previsualization passes, the goal of which is to lock down a visual style—even if
you’re building the next frantic puzzle game based on alien octopus larvae marbles!
What do alien octopus larvae marbles look like? Can somebody show me? Is there a
museum? Is it open? Some development teams keep this process informal, while others
take it very seriously. Whether you’re building the next fighter, shooter, or environmental
action game, you need a visual roadmap.
The real point of previsualization is to help take your game vision in an
agreed-upon direction and to create a visual or stylistic reference point; a visual anchor,
so to speak. Of course, deviations from this reference or anchor point can be
made. The visual style can and will evolve over the development cycle. It might evolve
slightly. It might change dramatically. Previsualization simply creates a useful starting
point for everyone involved in the project.
Next, as we look at the previsualization process itself, we’ll examine the following:
� Utilizing concept and reference drawings
� Implementing basic level architecture and environmental design. (A level is
a self-contained section of the game experience with its own beginning and
end. Most games feature many levels that must be completed in order to
finish the game as a whole.)
� Doing concept work on paper and building topographic reference maps
� Making simple asset breakdowns from your design
S TEP-BY-STEP PREVISUALIZATION
Since most game development cycles rarely allow for lengthy preproduction cycles,
developers often face the challenge of delivering creative and technical design documentation
rapidly. Any previsualization work that can be accomplished under tight
time constraints will normally be done as the overall project details settle into place.
Previsualization will happen during a small slice of time while a game title ramps up
toward full production.
3
Previsualization