Level .03 - The Pitch

Stages of GameDev

We generally know three basic stages of game development:

From Pre-production to Production

1. High Concept - the main idea of the game;
2. Pitch - idea in summary form, communication of the idea and goals, promotion of the idea from a financial and commercial point of view;
3. Concept - the result of steps 1 and 2, game description, outline, and more (story, demography, risk analysis...);
4. Game Design Document - description of the game aspects related to gameplay, which may contain elements of the project prototype;
5. Prototype - methods for implementing an idea/ideas, proof of concept, feasibility;
6. Production - design, creation of levels, programming.

Pre-production

This is where your project begins. You may have an excellent idea for a type of game or a story to bring to life, or you may want to create a game that uses a specific type of technology, e.g., VR, controller, or console. As part of pre-production, we define what the game is about, why it should be created, and what is involved in its creation.

At this stage, try to find answers to these questions:

1. What is the game about? It is important to have a complete idea and to know the game's goal and characters. It is essential to create a game prototype and combine individual ideas.
2. Who is our audience? Create a general player Persona to tie the ideas together.
3. Is there a market for it? What is the competition like? Even before the actual game creation, it is necessary to carry out market research. That is, as long as you plan to sell your game and not just create it for yourself. The survey also includes the specification of the game's unique features, the so-called USP - Unique Selling Points.
4. On what platform will the game be published? The best choice is to choose a platform that is easy to test. Development for multiple platforms brings more complications and requirements but also more potential players.
5. How to monetize the game? Will the game be sold on some platform or for free, with in-game purchases? Mobile applications mostly make money from advertising, PC game sales, or in-game microtransactions.
6. How long will the development take? You should create the first version of the game as soon as possible. A game designer or developer is only a human and only does a few things efficiently. Starting a big project with little experience means redoing a lot of things. Therefore, the most outstanding achievement of the first game is completing the game. When dealing with an experienced team, we must consider the time for creation, testing, fixing errors, creating levels, aesthetics, music, balance, etc.
7. What resources and team do we need? Each team member should have a team role. If you decide to solo-dev, you (1 person) will be in charge of all team roles.
8. What is the budget? Let's remember that the budget has an impact on the answers to most of the above questions. The team is working on something that has yet to be bought. During the game development, you will have to live off your own funds or find a good sponsor and publisher ;)

Market Research

Market research is a compilation of various data about games, trends, player interests, and predictions. It is a process to find an equation between what we want to do and what people want us to do. It all assures us that our game (idea) is being developed for the right people at the right time.

If you do not work for a specific publisher but are an independent game developer (indie games), then the best way to succeed is to find a specific audience and use its potential to the maximum.

Several resources are dedicated to market research at the bottom of this page.

Unique Selling Points (USP)

USPs are elements or features that can make your game stand out. Thanks to them, your game will stand out from the competition. The assumption is that these elements will attract players to your game. Or at least try to impress the publisher so much that he decides to invest in your project :)

USPs aren't just about game mechanics, which we'll discuss later. It can also be a visual page, unique location, story, or exciting content. Let's look at a few examples:

• Jet Set Radio: Manga-like visual style
• Fight Night: Innovative punch controls
• Dead Space: Monster dismemberment
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Survival and camouflage
• Vietcong: Fight in the jungle during the Vietnam War
• Blinx the Time Sweeper: Manipulate Time in various ways.
• Afro Samurai: The ability to slice the enemies.

The examples list 1 USP, but of course, there are more. Although there is no specific rule for the number of USPs in one game, most top games have 3-5. If there are too few of them, the game will not be "rich" enough, and there is a risk that it will not stand out. Conversely, if there are too many, your team may struggle to focus on development properly.

Persona

The team must imagine not only the game but also the player for whom the game is intended. A persona represents the target type of player and helps maintain a coherent idea about the game. The assumption is that the developer is unlikely to deviate from his persona's interests. Create your own "Natalie" (choice of name is random ;) and ask yourself: Would Natalie play it? Would she like it? Isn't controlling the game too complicated for a young lady?

It is important to know who the game will be intended for in advance. Of course, some games finally found a completely different audience. But nowadays, there are a lot of games on the market, and it isn't easy to promote a game well. Therefore, one of the marketing goals is to create a game for a specific audience, show it, share it, and find this audience.

Incidence / Activity Matrix

As you may have already noticed with player types, a common phenomenon in game design is working with a matrix - categorizing or dividing certain concepts into a grid.

We can create an incidence matrix in connection with the game's rules. It is a grid in which we write down the game's actors, including various objects, in columns and rows. If actors and objects meet in the game, it can cause a certain reaction.

For example, we can understand the matrix as contact/collision in Pacman. So we can list all the actors in the game in both rows and columns. And we write in the matrix how they react to each other. Pacman with Pacman in no way, of course. Pacman with Blinky: death, Pacman and Ball: +score, Pacman and Cherry: Superpacman mode.

It's different from game to game. Basically, it's about actors and objects and the activities that happen when they collide. It doesn't have to be a conflict in the sense of death; it can also be "picking up," etc. The extent depends on the game's complexity.

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