The game’s pre-production stage is not only its initial stage but also the planning stage. At Phonato Studios, the game development division of RNF Technologies, the team believes that when efforts are channelized into a well-planned idea, it gives an out product that the audience can efficiently and effectively realize. This is why the pre-planning stage of game development is crucial, as it focuses on developing key ideas and producing early design documents that outline the upcoming game.
Time to face the fact: the pre-production phase, which begins long before the game is produced, significantly impacts and foreshadows the project’s overall success and brings a sense of teamwork to everyone involved. In other words, you need a well-thought-out pre-production plan to make your game unique and tailored for your business and audience needs. It is only after the pre-production stage of the game that you’ll realize if the game is well worth the effort you are willing to put in.
But it is not as easy as it looks in theory; the pre-production stage incorporates a few sub-stages under them to create a complete proof concept for your next project. Check out the following segments to understand the pre-production stages at large!
Crucial Game Pre-Production Stages
Key Issues
Here’s a pro tip: Start your game designing venture by asking yourself these questions — Who are you targeting? What fundamental mechanics will your game reflect? Will your game have a base? These questions play a role in building demography for your game and help the designers evaluate the whole process; it allows the developers to design the gameplay space of their free will, which will help them bring out the best from their systems. After all, it is what you are banking everything on. Describe as intricately as possible and let your game live in your players’ minds.
Show Your Business To Your Publisher
A genuine publisher knows the drill of advertising, and they won’t publish your game if you don’t get your marketing right. The publisher relies on your early-stage game engagement metrics, monetization, etc., to seal a deal with you. So, you need to keep in touch with the installation cost against the demographic; you can do so by throwing small advertisements about your game to understand what your audiences take to it. However, you can explore many other marketing metrics; just be wise as you need to consider the most appropriate one.
Curate A Game Economy
A game designer must describe the game’s economy, events, mechanics, and how new mechanics will be added during the pre-production phase of a video game. Consider gameplay, monetization, critical metrics, and the metagame. Cut to, find your game progression.
Prototype Your Gameplay Features
During this crucial pre-production game development phase, known as prototyping, designers, programmers, artists, and level designers are allowed to exercise their creative muscles and build simple prototypes of the gameplay elements they hope to see. Any prototype must address a specific set of issues and achieve a particular objective.
Does your intended audience find the characters appealing? Is a specific mechanic or level enjoyable to the audience? Which color scheme or user interface is most effective for most testers? Once you have answers to these questions, you are ready to platform a game that will enhance the user experience to a level never seen before.
Distribute The Workload
For everyone to be productive after joining the team following the pre-production stage of the game, identify important positions and individuals and arrange their workload accordingly. Describe each person’s duties and how they will work together. Game pre-production processes must be established and adhered to by all parties.
Once you have sorted everything out chronologically, decide the project timeline and prepare for the challenges the pre-production phase will throw at you.
Common Pitfalls You Can Expect
- Couldn’t get through to the intended audience. You can avoid this by having a heuristic approach and re-testing your game prototypes.
- Bad Metagame. The story may seem fantastic on paper, but once you start playing, you’ll realize it’s not as expected. This problem may be avoided by prototyping as early as possible, concentrating on your meta, and asking yourself the most crucial question: Is this what my target audience wants?
- Architectural error. That might result in significant delays because of technical issues. Simply put, make an effort to research and adhere to the best practices in new technology around the globe.
Final Thoughts
The game’s pre-production phase is about laying the groundwork to provide agility and ability to the team to bring out their best in the production phase. Be less rigid when it comes to the game designing process; the objective is to locate the joy and carry out the concept. There will be changes. Adapt. Be nimble. As things change, keep your team members updated with the trends.