What Is Video Game Development? The Ultimate Guide

We all grow up to have hobbies, which become our dreams, among which one of them is video game development. Later, many tend to follow those dreams. However, many enjoy these dreams by simply consuming them in their everyday life as entertainment for themselves, but this entertainment is instead treated seriously.

Among the hobbies that are practiced by most teenagers is the art of playing video games. Video Games are loved by all who play them. Currently, there are 3.09 billion gamers around the world, and the research shows that these numbers are only going to boom. Just the idea that 55% of the males are gamers, the sheer scale of it, defines how seriously involved people are in playing video games. The strong reason for this ever-going and ever-lasting love is probably because of the phenomenon that it is associated with childhood memories.

However, it is a big responsibility to impress gamers around the world, and this rising tension and craving for a better experience have left many Game developers working tirelessly. It is deemed necessary for you to know the art of what you consume. Being an active gamer, you should clearly understand video game development and what goes on behind the scenes when creating video games so you can enjoy your video game from a whole new perspective.

In this blog, we will delve deep into video game development by understanding what video game development is and how to make a video game:

What is Video Game Development?

Video Game Development is the creative art of making a video game from the process of level one, which is the idea generation, designing, testing, and launching. However, this is not as basic as it sounds, as video game development can be done in basic terms by one person or more realistically it needs thousands.

It is, henceforth, a very complex and time-consuming process that involves the interlinking of many layers of departments. Video game development primarily includes the Department of Computer Science, creative writing, and graphic design. From the above, a realistic approximation of thousands of people in creating a video game involves developers, designers, sound engineers, artists, writers, and testers, or be done by a single indie game developer.

Depending on the scale of the game, these numbers may vary, but the primary layers and practices remain the same on every scale.

Video Game Development Process

The Video Game Development Process consists of five main steps that you will need to go through in creating video games. These steps are crucial and ensure that a glitch-free and smooth experience is reaped by the consumers.

The following are the five steps:

Conceptualizing the Idea

This is the first in the process of video game development. In this initial step, the idea is generated by someone who defines the map and the basic plot of the video game. This involves what genre needs to be catered whether it is horror, sci-fi, sports, cyber-punk, action-adventure, survival, and many more. This step also identifies the who is the specific audience that needs to be targeted.

Conceptualizing the idea of video game development is the base of the empire and needs to be of a clearly defined set of morals. From the plot to the storyline, all concepts are cemented in this stage and later progressed in the later stages.

Pre-Production

Pre-production is defining and planning the conceptualization of the ideas that were put forth in the first step. This step strengthens the preceding step by diving into more detail, and the scope of the game is determined.

In this stage of video game development, the team of video game developers, in coordination with those who pitch the idea to the known ‘creators’ of the video game development, design the outline mechanics of the game and the story, which plays a crucial role in administering the attention of gamers, the characters, and the settings which needs to be accessible yet subtle.

Once the user interface of the game is laid out and explained, the budget upon which the entire video game development is to function is identified and allotted. However, to seamlessly execute that, a strategy is made. Lastly, an estimated timeline is set, so accordingly, preparations for marketing and publishing platforms are carried out.

Production

This step, as you have probably guessed, is the real deal and takes a huge chunk of the time in video game development. This process alone takes up to months and even years of work. This is the step that gives the empire a physical structure.

Put simply, here, the game is created, the developers start writing the code, and the sound team begins creating sound effects, writers make amendments to the plot, music is composed, and art is crafted, visuals are created.

The production stage of video game development is the interplay of all departments involved in creating video games. This part is the ‘how to make a video game’, the beauty of the art that fulfills the satisfaction of billions around the world. The result of this stage creates a prototype of the game where the video game development tests the user experience of the game.

Post Production

This stage of video game development is primarily composed of testing of what’s been done in the previous step. If put into simple words, this process weeds out all the bugs that may hinder giving the users a smooth gaming experience.

The Post-production of video game development polishes the game and overlooks every component of the game, from the sound effects to the story. Another name for this stage is the maintenance stage, which does the internal testing of the dame and is finally finalized.

Release

Now that the game is tested, polished, and bug-free the video game development moves on to the next and final stage of the process, which is the anticipated release of the video game.

In this final stage of the video game development process, video trailers, pictures, and teasers are curated by the marketing team, all the while publishing platforms are timelessly worked so the game finally reaches its desired destination of gamers’ deck.

The Cost of Video Game Development

Video Game Development is a hectic process and involves the coordination of many experts across a multitude of groups however, if you have an idea and passion for creating video games you may need to assess the cost of video game development before you hire a video game developer.

The cost of video game development depends on the scope of the project, so it may differ from game to game. However, one thing should be kept in mind: the more the experience of the video game developer, the costlier it is.

When talking about independent indie games, this may be cost-effective for you and can be made for a few thousand dollars. However, the same cannot be said for AAA games, which will cost you millions of dollars.

Important Elements of Video Game Development

If you wonder how to make a video game, this section will contribute toward your understanding of the production elements that you need to take care of:

Game Idea and Concept

As discussed earlier, this stage is the base of it all. It highlights the idea of the game by identifying the genre, setting, gameplay, and mechanisms of the video game development.

In this stage, you will create an outline of your game, which will include the story, characters, levels, and gameplay mechanics.

Choosing Development Tools

This stage primarily lies in the step of the production process of video game development. In this stage, you will need to select a game engine and development tools that mix well with the scope of your gaming project.

The following are the popular gaming engines that you need to be aware of:

• Unity
• Unreal Engine
• Godot
• Game Maker Studio

Equip Yourself with Skills.

When working in video game development, it is vital to know all the facets of video game development. If you are new to the artwork of video game development, you should hire a video game developer and work to learn all the skills necessary.

Here are the basic skills that you need to know for your video game development:

• Game designing
• Programming
• Visual artist
• Sound Designing
• Writing

Develop the Game

Acquiring the above skills or when you hire a video game developer these skills contribute towards video game development. Without these, you fail to create video games.

Developing the game is time-consuming, fairly because it is part of the production stage of video game development.

Programming:  Cater to the programming segment of video game development by choosing a professional development company and development tools and implementing your desired gameplay mechanics and control.

Art and Animation: Start working on art and animation style. This segment is unique, and when developing a video game, you should have a unique art style that differentiates you from your competing video game studios. In this stage, you illustrate your characters and graphics, which involve your background and animations.

Sound design: Sound effects play a huge role in your video game development, as it builds suspense and excitement. In this element of your video game development, you compose music and create sound effects for every movement of your character, including the background sound effects to keep your video game interesting.

Polish your Game and Publish

Once these elements are taken care of, you test your video game development and get rid of all the bugs and loopholes. As the bugs are taken care of through testing, you market your game to your target audience.

Conclusion

The gaming industry, for the unforeseen future, is going to boom more. If you want to publish your video game, it is best that you hire a video game developer and learn how to make a video game. For starters, it may be a hectic experience for you, but with a professional hand to guide you, you will satisfy the needs of billions for times to come.