A Comprehensive Guide for The Game Development Process

The gaming industry is seeing an immense growth spur, gaining more than 2.7 billion players worldwide, and with its value reaching the $300 billion mark, the YoY growth rate continues to rise! This industry value is expected to skyrocket with a CAGR of 12% between 2020 and 2025, with the combination of mainstream AAA games and newly launched mobile games being released daily; this is evident by how Steam has seen a staggering 25 games being released each day.

Apart from the sheer size of the industry, it's also shaping modern-day entrainment and culture as we know it. Of course, with such profitability and influence, you can't help but think of developing your own game so you can get a piece of the pie too.

But to make a game that sells like crazy, you'll need a team of passionate game developers with the creative and technical prowess to spearhead your game development project!

But hold your horses! Before hiring developers, it's best to understand the game development process, so you know what you're in for in the ride ahead. Luckily, we're here to give you a complete overview of the game development process today!

Overview of the Game Development Process

To simplify the game development process, we have broken it down into three phases, explained below

Pre-Production

The first phase signifies the onset of the development process; here, the design and development requirements are outlined alongside the game development plan. In the pre-production stage, relevant data is acquired and assessed, including the game's core idea, the target audience, genre, required resources, characters, budget, and teams, along with the development and launch time.

Using this data and relevant game development assets, a prototype is typically developed, which acts as the blueprint for the entire development process that's to come ahead.

Production

The main phase we've all been waiting for, which contains the bulk of the game development process, has arrived. But unfortunately, production takes the longest time as all project managers, designers, artists, and developers have to work in parallel to develop the game by meeting relevant milestones.

This transition from prototype to the final version of the game involves several processes, which are explained below:

Design: Designers and artists create the user interface, compose music, render the game world and characters along with crafting immersive and dynamic level designs, all of which become more detailed and refined along the way.

Programming: This process is undertaken through a game engine or preexisting game development software. Programmers spend time fixing bugs, incorporating new features and game mechanics, and prototyping unique ideas.

Testing: The operational limits of the game are now tested to ensure that it works as intended. The process of testing begins even before the game is finished. Alpha testing, beta testing, and QA are thus used to diminish bugs, errors, and in-game limitations.

Post-Production

With the game finally being finished and launched, you'd think that's the end, but there's still one stage left! Post-production marks the beginning of the maintenance phase, where additional features and bug fixes are provided via updates and downloadable content.

The first few months after the game is launched, users and game studios start recognizing small bugs and areas for improvement that are resolved through regular updates. New content is also provided within the game, either in the form of free updates or DLC.

Skills to Look Out for When Hiring Game Developers

So now that you know how to develop a game, its finally time to hire game developers, for which you'll have to look out for the following skills.

Creativity

Game developers work adjacent to the creative team to create photorealistic and aesthetically pleasing game elements. This requires a heightened level of creativity so that designs can be translated so that they don't lose their creative element when presented in the game.

Technical Ability

Game development entails programming and coding needed to create the game environments and implement game mechanics in a technically sound manner. Thus, game developers must be skilled in certain programming languages and possess a logical thought process.

Passion

Even with enhanced technical skills and immense creative ability, a game developer may still need one crucial element that dictates the finished game's quality. This element is the passion that drives game developers to breathe life into the digital world they are producing. A passion for games can make all the difference in the development process.

Animation

Animation and design are equally as important as programming ability when it comes to game development. To get the best out of your developers, they must be familiar with animation software and programs that allow them to create attractive characters and game designs.

Streamline Your Game Development Process with Aspired

As we've seen, making a game takes a lot of steps, and each can be broken down into the aforementioned game development phases. Not all companies can handle full-cycle development, and some need quite a bit of help with crucial aspects of this detailed process.

Even seasoned game development companies need proper assistance to avoid trouble when it comes to factors such as creative differences, tight deadlines, last-minute changes, and maintenance. These factors contribute to the game's success and can't be readily assessed and controlled by game studios.

To overcome this factor, they need the help of talented game developers that embody a structured game development process that allows goals to be achieved in a timely and straightforward manner.

Final Words

Being plagued with numerous challenges and adversities can not only make the game development process hindersome but can also lead to unfinished and error-ridden games and cause game studios to completely drop game development altogether.

If you're in need of game development expertise, then don't look any further! Aspired is a remote staffing agency that can provide businesses with talented and vetted remote resources that can fuel your game with quality processes and skills that lead to gaming masterpieces.