Before Game Development. Necessary Steps in Planning

The most important stage of custom mobile game development – preparation for the actual development process – is often underestimated, underutilized, or simply misunderstood and poorly executed. Later, when the game turns out to be not as successful as expected, these mistakes may not even be remembered. The game developer will see problems everywhere except at this stage. All that was needed was proper preparation.

In the article below, we will discuss in detail why this phase – planning and preparation – should be given the utmost attention.

What does preparation for game development mean?

In this case, we are primarily talking about one of the first steps in project implementation – planning the development of the game product. What does it entail? At this stage, the basic concepts of the future game are created and documented, which, along with other important components, are formalized into initial project documents.

It is clear that the content creation process itself begins long before writing code or creating game design, so it is at the preparation stage that the future success of the entire project is largely determined.

This stage, depending on the complexity of development or even the game genre, takes different amounts of time relative to the entire project. For example, for a 2-year cycle, it could be a few months (1-3) on average. What matters here is something else – thorough elaboration and mastering of the preparation stage reduces the overall development period, as it makes all subsequent processes simpler, shorter, and more efficient.

Components of Game Development Preparation

Let's talk about what is usually included in the preparation stage for custom mobile game development.

Basic Concept

Start by asking yourself the right questions – who is your target audience? What game solutions and mechanics will be optimal for your product and user? What will be the foundation of your content?

Game demographics will help creators design spaces, worlds, and mechanics taking into account the opinions and demands of future players. At the same time, the key game mechanic, the architecture, and the framework of the game being developed are the reliable foundation on which you can confidently rely when creating graphics and meta.

All these things need to be carefully thought out, described mentally, and then recorded in the specific form of a game design document.

Study the Market

The release of a game should always be preceded by market research and tests. The publisher must understand that the product they are investing in will not fall into a void but will be in demand and purchased.

Costs for release and advertising campaigns should also be assessed at an early stage to understand the potential and possible payback dynamics in a particular segment, for example, taking into account the geographic zone.

This is important because even the average cost per install of game apps, which directly affects monetization, varies significantly by country (in the US and Japan, the figures are an order of magnitude higher than in Russia – a couple of years ago it was about $5-6 versus $1-2).

Often, such a test involves placing several ads leading to a game landing page and getting feedback from potential users.

In addition, there are many other market analysis methods that will help you get an objective picture and understand the feasibility of releasing the game here and now.

Describe the Game's Structure and Mechanics

We have already said that the game development preparation stage should include a detailed, numeric description of all its components, including the internal structure and mechanics, plot and characters, as well as ways to integrate them into the game world. This should also include what lies outside the game – monetization mechanisms and the liveOps plan.

If you create a complete picture for yourself, then, like a coloring book, you can gradually fill these diagrams, blocks, and patterns with the paint of creativity and innovation. Furthermore, this is important from the perspective of your future product's audience – thus, at the preparation stage, you will see it through the user's eyes. Do you like it? Then go ahead!

Prototyping

Creating a prototype is a crucial and very useful part of preparing for game development. It allows programmers, designers, and artists to create everything from scratch with almost no risk – just as they see it at the moment.

This is a great experience that helps identify and fix errors, add something new, and fine-tune certain functions. Imagine what would happen if these glitches appeared for thousands of people while using the content?

It is also important to understand that any prototype answers certain questions, so in this case, we cannot talk about some kind of free creative expression by employees.

Will the character appeal to the target audience? What does a particular level look like? Which colors, textures, or interfaces look best? Prototypes will help answer these and other questions, so that based on this, you can improve the game, perfect it, and present it to the consumer in that form.

Put Everything and Everyone in Their Place

Any workflow is, first of all, order. You must understand exactly who is responsible for what. All members of your team must know and accept this. Only by being tied to their duties, tasks, and time will they be maximally productive.

To do this, first describe the functions of each person. Let your pipeline work smoothly, without failures or stops. Here are a few professional profiles, key positions in game development, to make it clearer what we are talking about:

• direct producer, initiator, client – the key bearer of the DNA and vision of both the brand and each specific project, inspirer and, as a rule, organizer ensuring synchronization of all elements and participants with each other;
• associate producer – manages the process 'on the ground' – monitors the project time and budget, ensures high production standards and continuous communication between the development team and the client;
• developer – the direct executor responsible for the perfection of the technical implementation of the game, implementing the best industry experience in it;
• game designer – makes content and mechanics unique, prepares the product for a particular platform, it is his work that the gamer will later 'taste' with their own hands during gameplay;
• quality assurance engineer – brings the game to perfection through numerous performance and functionality tests – from controls to the in-app store;
• artist – visualizes the game world, its objects and characters.

Doubt