Gaming is on the rise. This can largely be attributed to the growing number of gamers and the readily available gaming platforms such as smartphones, tablets, and traditional gaming computers. As a result, the video game industry has become more lucrative than ever. More people are now learning to develop and sell their own video games.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics estimates a 10% increase in animators and multimedia artists between 2016 and 2026. There’s no better time for aspiring video game developers to start than now. And the good news is all video game development procedures follow similar concepts regardless of the operating systems or the gaming platforms. Follow these steps to create a video game from scratch.
Do Your Research
Game development is no easy feat, it requires extensive research–just like product development. Once you know the kind of games you intend to create, research the skill requirements and the game’s features. If you’re new to game creation, consider taking a few introductory courses before starting. The courses will arm you with basic skills; you’ll even know how to create a game design document (GDD).
Determine whether you have enough resources for the project or if you’ll need funding from outside. There are many small business funding options you can explore. If you have a registered company, you can approach your bank for business funding. You can also try crowdfunding or simply carry out a quick search on how to get a title loan for your business. During your research, ask yourself which experts you’ll need to bring on board and how much it will cost you to hire them.
Pick a Concept
Create a few game concepts and decide what kind of video games you wish to develop. Look at different game genres and subgenres and see what’s popular. Compare it to what used to be popular then write video game ideas. This is the initial stage in the game development process.
Afterwards, identify game features and other game mechanics. Create a long list of video game ideas and their components. Narrow them down depending on the resources required and their potential for success. The trick is to start small, especially if it’s your first time.
Build the Game
Once you know how you want your game to look, start building it. Select the best programming language and hire a game engineer to manage the game concept–unless you’re an expert. You may not need advanced technology for a video game for small devices such as smartphones or tablets. However, you might need to pay programmers a lot to script your codes if you decide to go all out and create hardware-dependent games. Such games are demanding and require a lot of GPU to render frames.
Test the Game
Refine your game for any possible discrepancies and test it or send it to quality assurance (QA) testers to do it for you. Any video game must pass a technical test by QA testers before its official release. QA testers run the game multiple times, note any crashes, and write a detailed bug report. This can be a long process but is essential in ensuring gamers get the best possible experience from any video game released to the market.
