How to create a video game? Simple step-by-step guide
Video games are your passion? Have you ever thought about making video game design your career? If you answered yes to these questions, then we are sure you want to know how to develop video games. You've come to the right place! In this article we will reveal all the secrets of creating video games.
Video game design may seem simple, but there are many levels of complexity. Employment opportunities in video game design are constantly growing. This skilled position requires special training, but above all talent, creativity and passion, which you undoubtedly have.
How to develop video games: initial idea and first design document
Like any other creative process, video game design starts with an idea - a few details of what the game will be and where the creators want to take it. The idea is the first step in the video game creation process.
A good idea does not always lead to a video game, and conversely, a bad idea does not always have to become a terrible video game. On the way to the goal, video game design can vary greatly. Its initial concepts are not always what ends up on our screens.
Video game development is a complex process that takes into account many elements.
What happens after you have an idea? Then it needs to be put in writing, as well as a brief sketch of what the video game will look like in all its areas: gameplay, narrative, and art. It's not about having a finished project, but about having a foundation to start working on the key elements of this entire process: the design document. If you are considering a more serious project, it is worth looking into investing in custom mobile game development.
Everything else is built on the basis of this document, including all the elements that the final game will include: from player interactions with stages, NPCs, type of game, its prices or currency, the world, landscapes, to what programmers and artists need to consider in order to develop their work, supplement and complete what the game designer came up with.
Combining all video game elements on paper
The job of a video game designer is to capture on paper everything that will allow the game to be created. From character design, narrative, game systems, and landscape to the smallest and most trivial details of each element's interaction to achieve the final goal.
This document, developed by the game designer, will become the basis for programmers, artists and modelers to shape the final product. How to make a video game easy and facilitate the work of your colleagues? Follow these steps:
Define goals
The first step is to define the project's goals. What do you want to accomplish with the game? What story do you want to tell and how do you want to tell it? What experience can you offer players?
Define the target audience
Once the goals are set, you need to determine what audience might be interested in the video game. Creating a video game in the Souls saga is very different from developing Super Mario. Audiences may partially overlap, but some games may only appeal to a specific niche of players.
Think about which console/device the game will be played on.
Obviously, before describing how the video game will work, its systems or world, you need to determine which platform the game will be developed for. This is very important when it comes to the work of the rest of the game development team.
Consider the game genre
One of the key steps in creating a video game is determining its genre. Developing mechanics for a shooter is a very different process from designing a system for a role-playing game. What if you don't have programming or art skills? In that case, you can order software development from a professional team.
Developing the game world
The game world is one of the most important aspects of video game development. What does this world offer players? What story will it tell? Should it be rich in details? Not all games need a world where every detail is carefully thought out.
Think through the mechanics
The gameplay part is what distinguishes a video game from other cultural and artistic media.
Designing interactivity in a game is complex and requires extensive preliminary work. In addition, you yourself must be a passionate player to know all types of offerings and be able to modify, combine, or supplement them.
Designing levels
One of the important stages of creating a video game is level design.
This stage is closely related to the design of the video game world. Will it be an open world or will it consist of different levels? If it consists of different levels, will they be connected to each other?
Character development
This includes all aspects of the characters. The main character of the game, their personality, their movements, etc. Is it an empty avatar or does it have its own personality?
Furthermore, we will talk about secondary characters and those who act as extras. It may seem that NPCs are sometimes part of the scenery, but good video game design gives them their own personality.
Of course, this process also includes designing enemies, if they exist.
Content development
In the process of creating a video game, as we have insisted throughout the article, many points must be considered. One of them is the content of the video game.
When talking about content, we mean the development of interactive content for players to communicate with characters other than the main character or avatar, as well as elements of the game world, whether destruction or construction.