IN THE LAST EPISODE

• You already create a mission statement

• You understand the idea and storyline
 AGENDA
• Video Game Technical Requirements
• Video Game Functional Requirements
• Video Game Requirements Documentation
 GAMEPADS AND MICE
• Gamepad
• Can be held in a player’s hands
• Allows for fewer fingers to be used to play
• Mouse
• Useful when the game requires precision, such as aiming in shooters
• Not all actions in a game can be mapped to a mouse however
INPUT DEVICE EXAMPLES

Xbox 360 gamepad Sidewinder gaming mouse

 KEYBOARDS AND KINECT
• Keyboard
• Standard input method for PC games
• Large number of keys allows for large number of commands available to player
• Kinect
• Motion sensing device that can immerse the player into the game
• Limited to Microsoft consoles and operating systems
INPUT DEVICE EXAMPLES
Smartphone
Steering wheel
TOUCHSCREEN
SOUND DEVICES
Sound Device Advantages Disadvantages
Headphones • Privacy Increases the chances of
• Prevents disturbing hearing impairment
others
5.1 speakers • Optimum sound quality Expensive
• Life-like reproduction
of sound
• Provides better gaming
experience
2.1 speakers • Most commonly used Lower quality of sound
• Affordable
• Available in a wide
range of products
Standard speakers • Affordable Lower quality of sound
 IDENTIFYING GAME PERFORMANCE

• To create a player-friendly game, you must identify the hardware, memory, and networking requirements for an
optimal game performance.
• Judge the game performance by analyzing how well the game can run on a chosen device with specific graphics.
• Analyze whether the game can adapt to the network setup when players want to play the game online.
 MANAGING GAME PERFORMANCE
• To effectively manage the game performance, you must manage three components:
• Platform-specific memory requirements
• Graphics performance requirements
• Networking requirements
COMPARING GAMING PLATFORMS
Gaming Platform Advantages Disadvantages
Console • Most preferred • The built-in storage
platform memory is not easy to
• Most suited with upgrade
adequate memory
Mobile • Rapidly gaining • Games that can be
popularity played are limited
• Games with low because of limited
graphics can be played memory
easily • Memory upgrade is not
possible

PC • Memory requirements • May require a heavy

can be easily met by investment for the
enhancements. high-end memory and
graphics card
 MANAGING THE IMPACT OF GRAPHIC
• These elements influence the performance of the graphics used in your game:
• Central processing unit (CPU)
• Graphics processing unit (GPU)
• Reach
• HiDef
• Network impact
 REACH VS. HIDEF PROFILES

Reach Profile HiDef Profile

• Limited set of graphics features.
• Highest level of graphics.
• Integrated in hardware of most platforms.
• Suitable for use on platforms with higher power
• Windows PCs using a DirectX 9 GPU hardware and better capabilities.
• Xbox 360 consoles • Windows PCs using a DirectX 10 GPU
• Windows Phone • Xbox 360 consoles
 NETWORK IMPACT

Online Games Requirements Offline Games Requirements

• Use light graphics and code • Can use high-end graphics and game code
• Use a dedicated server • Do not require a dedicated server
• Ensure that the game is able to perform well on low • Ensure that the game is able to perform well on low
bandwidth bandwidth
• Ensure that the game is able to handle a large • Ensure that the game is able to handle a large
number of users number of users
 UNDERSTANDING NETWORK
• Virtual Environment (VE): a computer-generated simulation in which the system simulates a 3D virtual world.
• Multiplayer online games use Distributed Virtual Environment (DVE), where gamers share the VE.
 WEB SERVICES COMPONENTS
• A Web service uses:
• XML for representing data
• Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) for data exchange
• Web Services Description Language (WSDL) for describing the service’s functionality
FOUR BASIC ELEMENTS ON A GAME
SETTING THE GAME FEATURES
SETTING THE MILESTONE
• First Playable (Based on prototype)
• Alpha (50% assets, 50% gameplay)
• Code Freeze (100% Gameplay, 75% assets)
• Beta (gameplay and assets 100%)
• Release Candidate (bug fix from beta tester)
• Release to Market
• Creating Game plan Sample
GAME DOCUMENTATION
Arts Design Technical

• Style Guide • UI • Coding standard

• Assets list • Multiplayer • Technical Design
• Tool instruction • Characters • Tool instruction
Background and
Dialogs
• Scoring
• Mission Design
• Control Scheme
• Player Actions
• Storyline
• AI
• Weapon, Special
Objective, Power Up
• Voice Recognition
CONCEPT VALIDATION
GAME REQUIREMENTS VALIDATION
GAME PLAN BUDGET