Videon Game Development and Production (Essay Sample)

Video Game Development
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Video Game Development
Game development is increasingly becoming popular with the growing demand of video game enthusiasts. While you are unlikely to go from having no experience to creating a highly rated game overnight, not many people understand the process of video game development. However, game development tools and resources are becoming more accessible to the average person, even without any programming experience. Game development follows a multi-step process. Pre-production, production, and post-production e are three major phases in the game development; 
Pre-production phase
           The preproduction stage marks the start of game development. At this stage, the developers define what the game is about, why it should be made, and what it will take to make it. Some game ideas involve storytelling and might require a specific type of technology for example; Virtual Reality (VR), a new controller, or a console, (Stefyn, 2019). The key questions to answer at this stage include; defining the target audience, market, and competition level, a platform to be published, how to monetize it, length of time for development, and estimated budgets. The availability of resources will majorly affect the completion period of this project which can be anywhere between a week and a year.
The key personnel required at this stage is the game producer and conception artist. A game producer would be in charge of the project's business aspects, particularly the finances, (Stefyn, 2019). While a concept artist, on the other hand, sets the tone for the project. These first visuals help shape the game's language by providing the desired outlook for everyone involved with the project.
At this stage, Game Design Document serves as the game's compass, (Stefyn, 2019). The file holds information on ideas generated and helps the development team to understand and agree on the project's overall vision. The Game Design Document is considered to be a living file that is constantly changed and fine-tuned during development, (Stefyn, 2019). Adjustment may result from the realization that things do not appear, play, or function as expected. Once your product is done and ready, the documentation helps in laying down marketing strategies.
During pre-production, prototyping is essential to check the viability of the game ideas. Before a video game moves to production, prototyping becomes a prerequisite to test for functionality, gaming experience art directions, and the mechanical aspects, (Stefyn, 2019). At this stage, prototyping is used to determine whether or not the game idea is viable and worth pursuing. Game developers frequently use easily available and affordable materials to test various components of the game.
Production
Game programmers' input is critical during the production phase. A game programmer creates the code that allows a video game to be played. Game programmers collaborate closely with producers and other departments such as game design, art and animation, sound engineers, and 3-D modelers to turn the project's vision into a fully functional, playable game, (Crosby, n.d). Game programmers could be in charge of everything from determining how fast your character runs and how high they jump to determining how many enemies appear and when, as well as how they react when attacked.
The majority of games are programmed in custom code using the C programming language. The advanced logical instruction required to generate graphic images familiar to users is generated by a 3-D code engine, (PBS, n.d.). During production, game designers ensure that the storyline, character backstory, and dialogue are developed (Stefyn, 2019). Additionally, a game designer will develop the game’s rules, scoring system, level of difficulty, building environment, and graphics editing.
Post-production
The game enters the postproduction phase once it is finished. This phase consists of extensive testing, review, marketing, and distribution, (Crosby, n.d). Project documentation is done and archived for future reference suppose they are required in future. 
Testing
As a proactive measure, testers perform testing to find hidden bugs. Testing involves letting the testers play the game over and over to find errors. Errors may be ‘fatal’ and require immediate attention or minor. The initial version is often referred to as "alpha" whose first users are the testers. The developers iterate over it until all the bugs have been fixed, then a “beta" version is released, (PBS, n.d.). In the next testing cycle, a larger group of testers includes the general public at times. The beta version is subjected to rigorous testing and all arising bugs fixed. The iterations happen until the developers are confident that the gam