4

Postproduction

Unlike the film industry (where months of editing, color correction, and releasing the film is involved), postproduction in the game industry is a relatively short period (when compared to the actual production phase, anyway). The game, for all practical purposes, is pretty much finished at this point. Postproduction in the video game industry is more about wrapping up the production and preparing for the next project. There are also some inescapable necessities that must be performed at the end of the production cycle to ensure that your product will be available throughout the world, that it will sell, and that you will be in a position to launch your next title—such as setting up a customer support network and being prepared to code and create any necessary patches to your finished game.

The beginning of postproduction is usually marked by the release of the Gold Master; this is the final version of the game that will be mass produced by the publisher. The Gold Master is the game after it has made it through the approval processes of the studio, the console manufacturers, and the publisher during code release. Once it is out the door, the studio can begin preparing for the next title to be produced.

4.1  Code Release and Gold Master

Think of this stage as quality control. At this point all the minor/major bugs involved with game play have been corrected, but the game must make it through the QA department’s final set of checks and validation before the game can be sent on to the publisher. Though this is usually not a terribly long process (unless you’ve rushed to the Gold Master because of an unreasonable milestone schedule), it must be included in the schedule —usually a couple weeks—it can be an extremely involved process. Depending on the number of platforms the game will be released on and how many localizations are initially being prepared, each version of the game must go through stringent tests in every area. Once the QA department has given the game the thumbs-up, it can then be sent to be replicated. This is called “code release”.

Once the studio acknowledges that the game is ready and it has made it through the code release process, the actual game then is sent for review by the publisher. Chances are good that the game you were developing will be played on one or more consoles; as a result, you will also have to submit the Gold Master to the console’s manufacturer for approval as well. In addition to getting approval at these locations, there will also have to be local tests of the game in the various areas in which it will be released to make sure that the game is relevant in the areas it is being released.

4.2  Builds and Localization

Though builds are happening throughout the production process, it’s helpful to think of builds in the overall sense of the game. A “build” is basically a version of the game at any point in the production process. Though there are several different approaches to scheduling builds into the production process, it’s important to remember that there are a couple builds that will be of huge importance: the Alpha build (which will be the first really playable version of the game), the Beta build (the version that will be tested for final bugs and playability), and the Gold Master.

When the game development process reaches its peak at Beta testing, new builds are created on an almost daily basis. Basically, every time a new function, asset, or similar element is added to the game, a new build has just been made. Producers usually track the additions that have been made to each build in a daily report (or build notes) that’s made available to the team through the use of version control software. This report is important to the QA department, as they must test all the additions to the title. Usually they do this on a scheduled basis, rather than attempting to keep up with the production team on a day-to-day basis (and because the testing process can be long); they usually run a build for a few days, then move on to the newest build to hit the deck. This means that only every third or fourth build is actually tested—and these are primarily the builds that involve changes in the code. Because the addition of art is not a huge change to the last build, most of these builds won’t be immediately tested.

Another set of important builds to consider are those that are created for countries outside of the United States. The process of creating foreign versions of the game is known as “localization”. When planned for in advance, localization can be a smooth final step in the production process. This advance planning is usually accomplished by preparing code that will be easily adapted into the foreign versions, organizing assets into easily found directories, and including themes and stories that can be easily translated to other cultures. There must also be an allowance made for creating foreign-language manuals, cover design, and so on.

If the budget for your title is large, chances are good that the localized versions of the game will be released at the same time as the domestic version; however, if you are on a limited budget and schedule, or if you are an independent developer, the different foreign versions will slowly trickle in as they are created. Either way, keep in mind that these versions of the game will be treated just like your original Gold Master; they must be submitted to the publisher and console manufacturers for approval.

There is also the issue of cross-platform development; if you have made the decision to release the game on several consoles and/or the PC, you will have to track every build and version for each of these platforms. This can mean a lot of work in getting to a final Gold Master for every platform you are developing on.

Once the Gold Master is out the door, the public relations (PR) machine will swing into motion.

4.3  Marketing and PR

Long before the game ever touches the shelves, the marketing department will have already put the wheels in motion to create a buzz around the title. The relationship between the game producers and the public relations department usually begins in preproduction! Once the concept is approved and the schedule for production is created, the marketing department will want tentative dates for a demo and completed game shipment so they can plan the marketing campaign for the title.

Ideally, the marketing department would simply accept the product from the developer and run with it; however, as most public relations departments have launched many titles, they usually have some great ideas regarding how to make your game more appealing to the game community. These ideas will pop up in the form of requests during the production process. If this happens, it’s important to let the department know the impact that adding these items will have on the schedule—this is one of the biggest reasons for developers going over their budget and schedule. It’s usually a great idea to make sure the marketing department knows the schedule revolving around important milestones; this knowledge will keep them from making demands on the production team during what will already be extremely busy periods.

During production, as key (or dramatic) art assets are created for the game, it’s a great idea to get these to marketing for use in the game manuals and cover art. A failure to do so will usually have them hounding you at some point for these items—they don’t want to be the department that holds up the release of the game due to a lack of a manual and box. Work on written documentation for the game should begin as early into production as possible. Sometimes a strategy guide is also in the works for the game, so the amount of hounding you will receive for screenshots, a walkthrough, and similar materials will be enormous!

Besides the actual items needed for the release of the game, the PR/marketing team is also responsible for getting word out to the press about the game. Thus, time must be allotted in the final months of production for press interviews, tradeshows, online previews, and similar events related to your game. When done properly, the game market will be thoroughly saturated with information regarding the title long before the game hits the shelves. Another thing that must happen long before the game’s release is to submit the title for a rating.

4.4  Rating Systems, Demos, and Guides

Much like in the film industry, for games to be sold through certain retailers (or for the major console manufacturers), games must be submitted to a group of panelists that review the material for content and then assign a rating to it. In the United States, this group is known as the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). There are several other important rating boards in the world for localized versions, such as the Pan European Game Information board (PEGI) for a majority of the European countries, the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) in Germany, and the Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO) who rates the games released for Japan.

Each of these organizations has a set of criteria for each type of rating it offers. Most of these criteria are based around the content of the games, including sexual themes, drug use, violence, profanity, and adult content (anything to do with alcohol, inappropriate social behavior, and gambling). Though ratings boards do nothing to limit the content you include in your game, they enforce the guidelines for rating and give you the most appropriate mark. These ratings must be included even in a demo of the game, so it is extremely important to adhere to the projected rating of the game immediately from the concept phase. You should also take into consideration costs associated with applying for a rating—these can sometimes be substantial fees and should be in the budget.

The rating assigned to the game determines the marketing strategy associated with that game, such as the times that commercials will air on television, and what kind of art can be displayed in magazines and other print. The rating will also ensure that your product does not fall into the wrong hands and that children are unnecessarily exposed to content that is inappropriate for them. Though most countries do follow the recommendations of their appropriate board, some locales are none too friendly to extreme, adult-oriented material. As a result, the game may actually be banned in that country. Developers must adhere to the standards of gaming in the countries they are marketing to if they intend to get their product to the shelves.

Another key factor to a successful game release is going to be the accessibility to a playable demo. Usually, this demo is a step further down the development line than the original demo used to pitch the game or the one that was shown at early game conventions and tradeshows. Typically, the downloadable demo is an example of what will be in the finished game, accompanied by a trailer of some sort. This can be one of the cut-scenes contained within the game or a special cut-scene that was designed for use in selling the product. Ideally, this will be made available to the public just prior to the game’s release.

Another great item to have in place at the onset of sales is a strategy guide. This is especially true if the game you have created is a particularly difficult one. Nothing kills the longevity of a title in a player’s console than an overly frustrating game. In addition to giving the player helpful clues and a walkthrough for the game, the presence of the book on the shelf helps generate awareness for the game and can create a whole new avenue of revenue for the title.

Perhaps the biggest role of postproduction in the game industry, though, revolves around the practice of archiving your title.

4.5  Archiving

Once the entire development process is over—all the localized versions are finished, the games and guides are in the stores, and the marketing campaign is in full swing—the production team will now prepare the game for archiving. This stage usually involves performing a lengthy postmortem, documenting all the lessons learned during the production process, and creating a closing kit for the game.

The “postmortem” is basically a final set of meetings with each of the departments to discuss all the things that went right and wrong during the production cycle. Every team member is given the opportunity to speak and weight is given to every item mentioned. Doing this will bring a sense of finality to the project (especially important if many of the people involved with production will be leaving the studio to pursue other projects) and will give permanent personnel working for your studio a great sense of the work culture and ethic of the studio.

Notes should be taken during the postmortem process and then eventually refined into a document that lists the best practices that have been identified and proven to work, as well as the lessons learned, which tend to be the things that didn’t quite work. This document will be a major asset when you’re planning your next project and will help you with some of the major decisions involved with scheduling, budgeting, and planning. Don’t ignore your lessons learned! When you start developing your next title, you will want to revisit this document and prevent your team from making the same mistakes again. Once this has been performed, the closing kit will be assembled.

The “closing kit” is the archived version of the game to be kept for possible future rerelease. All the game’s assets, code, and documents associated with production are organized and filed for later use. If you have made several versions of the game (localizations), this will mean several archived closing kits. These kits must be kept accessible, though—down the line, it may become necessary to create fixes for certain areas of the game (or add-on content or modules may be developed) and these will need to be added to the main kit at some point.

The full closing kit is made up of the individual localization kits (each version of the game made) and the localization kits include a translation kit. The translation kit is the folder that contains every item and asset that was translated into the localized version. In addition to the technical aspects of the game’s production, you also want to make sure that all marketing items associated with the game’s release are also included. This means getting the actual box art and game documentation (manuals and the like) into the kit. The marketing folder in the kit can also contain the original demo and screenshots that were used to market the game.

One other category of item that should be included in the full closing kit is the specific tools and middleware that are needed to open any of the archived files. Though most of the programs used during development will be a product in ongoing use (like Autodesk’s Maya), a specific version of the software may be required to access a specific file, so you should include that software in the closing kit.

The importance of creating a detailed and accurate closing kit cannot be overstated. The only way an accurate revisiting of the game can take place is if the kit is as thorough as possible. It is helpful to this process if detailed files are kept during the production process for art and sound assets, documents, and build notes. These will assist you later on if you must open the kit for another project, or if you must build patches/fixes for your game.

Interview: Ron Burke, Director/Founder of Gamingtrend

Newman: What was your original intention when you created the site GamingTrend.com?

Burke: Well, as you know, we were ConsoleGold prior to rebranding as GamingTrend. All of the political hoopla aside, I was looking at the industry as a whole and realizing that the focus on release dates was becoming less and less important. A “Gold” date (the date that a game is certified as ready for mass production and release) was far less important than the final product. We also wanted to expand our coverage to fill the void that is, to this day, getting larger on PC coverage. Not many know this but I am a PC gamer at heart—I can’t let that coverage die just because the industry is heavily focused on the console side of things.

Newman: Over the years, what major changes or trends in game development have impressed you the most or at least created a major impression on you?

Burke: As I just mentioned, there is clearly a large movement towards the console market. Obviously developing for console platforms that don’t change in terms of graphics, sound, and other various and sundry components is a lot easier than coding for every graphics card under the sun. Less obvious I think is the gaming press movement towards less detail-oriented reviews. The focus has shifted towards “funny” reviews that don’t necessarily do the game justice, instead eschewing detail in favor of dragging the game through the mud in some half-hearted attempt at personal celebrity. Although I try to bring a certain level of levity to my writing, this trend is the exact opposite of what we do here at GamingTrend.

Newman: When developers are creating a new title, what elements do you think affect the production the most or deserve extra attention for the game to become a major success?

Burke: Wow—if I knew the answer to this question, companies would snap me up in a heartbeat! For me, the key to success is overall polish. So many games come together at the very last second (the developers behind Assassin’s Creed described the game as fairly broken until weeks before shipping) but pressure to hit certain dates (Halloween for Hellgate: London, for instance) means that the game may ship now only to rely on patches to bring it up to speed. I can’t readily name a game that moved from being broken to AAA with a patch. The industry needs to disconnect a bit from the Q4 ship dates and realize that people have more time to play games during the summer. The other element that I find to be crucial is finding a need and filling it. It is the most basic of business premises and it is the one most ignored. THQ saw that we didn’t have a hacky-slashy loot-whore fest title to play and released the very successful Titan Quest. I wouldn’t call that title groundbreaking or original, but they sure found a need and filled it, didn’t they?

Newman: Today, the concept of games being “cinematic” is a hot topic. In your opinion, what are some of the things you notice immediately about games that are cinematic or epic in nature?

Burke: You say “cinematic” and “epic” and I immediately think of games like Mass Effect. The games that pull it off well don’t tell a story as much as allow you to experience the story. Nobody wants to have a “book on tape” experience in place of a story, so the proper mix of narration and the ability to impact the storyline are vital to the completion of a true experience. Let’s also realize that “epic” doesn’t necessarily mean overly long. Many games try to expand the experience by making players backtrack through retread areas or complete quests that are unnecessarily split into subplots—anyone remember the Triforce collection bits in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Walker? This is unnecessary and often leads to stumbling blocks that prevent players from completing the game. Did you know that fewer than half of the games purchased by gamers are actually completed?

Newman: One of the intended results for creating a cinematic game is to, of course, have the title be picked up for possible film option. Have games been successfully translated to the big screen in the past? What titles do you think have done the best with this?

Burke: The first thing you have to do is define success. Blood Rayne cost $22 million to make and made a paltry $2.4 million worldwide—obviously, that is the opposite of success. Similarly, Wing Commander cost $30 million to produce and made only $11.5 million in worldwide returns. On the other hand, Mortal Kombat cost $20 million to make and skyrocketed to a worldwide gross of $122 million in combined DVD and ticket sales. Obviously, if we are talking simple dollars and cents, Mortal Kombat takes the crown. Even the sequel, at $30 million to produce, still managed to squeak out a $52 million return. Success in terms of dollars and success as to whether the movie is any good are obviously two very different things. It also demonstrates that simply spending more money isn’t the key to success. I don’t think game to movie translations have problems being cinematic, I think they just have the curse of being very poorly written. I can’t think of anyone who would have minded if Wing Commander followed any of the storylines in any of the games and simply starred the very people featured in those FMV [full-motion video] sequences. Matthew Lillard is simply not Maniac.

Newman: It seems that when the crossover goes the other direction (movies that are either simultaneously or later developed into games), the results have been less than spectacular. Why do you think this is the case?

Burke: There is one sharp edge to the movie to game translation: time. The movie is not often feature-complete until it is very close to release, so developers often spend a year or less creating the games. When you throw into the mix how details both minor and major can change at the discretion of the writing team or the director and you have a recipe for a very fluid design chart. Imagine if Optimus Prime were killed at the end of the recent Transformers: The Movie from Michael Bay—obviously the bonus stages that occur in the game after the storyline has ended would have to be rewritten. I can’t think of a more difficult schedule to work with than when somebody else holds all of the strings. If the game isn’t ready, you have to release it anyway—features will be cut and testing will suffer, as they won’t be delaying the movie to be timed with the game. Short development time and a design document that is always in flux is simply a recipe for disaster.

Newman: Having observed the numerous discussions taking place in the many forums on your Web site, what do you think are the major buzz topics in the game industry right now? Is this being reflected in the game development world?

Burke: The buzz word is “censorship”. Watching FOX the other day I saw one of their game “experts” claim that Mass Effect is a sex simulator that allows users to choose your breast size, sleep with as many people as you want, watch and control full-nudity sexual scenarios, and treat women as disposable sexual objects. Anyone who has played the game can attest that absolutely none of those claims are in any way true, but the word is already out. Uninformed masses will spread that misinformation for miles without checking a single fact, going so far as to write their talking-head political figures of choice to see action against companies like Bioware. In the old days we’d call that slander—today we call it “fair and balanced”. As it stands, this sort of nonsense coupled with a broken rating system makes developers less inclined to take any level of risk with more mature content. Violence is okay, but not too much. How much is too much? The ESRB will tell you after your product is finished. Granted, they don’t have any sort of specific or measurable content, but you’ll just have to trust that this self-hired governing body knows what they’re doing despite the fact that there isn’t a gamer among them—they know smut! Sex is okay, as long as it is implied and nobody sees a bare ass. Granted, you can see far more sexuality and nudity in any given episode of any late-night TV show, but once again we have to trust the ESRB. Our politicians smell blood in the water and latch onto the buzzword-bingo nonsense of calling out M-rated games fueled by misinformed “experts” with their own axe-grinding agenda at hand. I’m not calling for government control, but I would like to see a greater commitment to making sure that the age ratings are more enforced. This means that the lady in front of me who purchased Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas for her preteen kid should probably pay a bit more attention.

Newman: When you attend major gaming conventions like E3 and GDC, what are you looking for in a new game title? In what ways have games successfully created a presence at a conference that made you take notice?

Burke: Shows like E3 and GDC are simply “the story so far”. I saw a fantastic hour-long look at Fallout 3 and I wrote up an article that describes what I saw while trying to keep as much personal bias out of it as possible. For me, the key is to just remain as neutral as possible. Unlike some sites, I don’t judge the title like I would in a full review until I can play it for myself from beginning to end. I’m also not going to give a product a thumbs-up based on a prescripted tech demonstration. If you think that those presentations aren’t rehearsed and tweaked to the high heavens, you are sorely mistaken. Any new title that I see at an event needs to have a few elements to catch my eye: a hook and a tendency towards overall polish. Granted, many games come together at the very end of the development cycle, but I shouldn’t see a subteen frame rate in a game that is due to be released in a month. The hook is equally important—try to compare the last three Tony Hawk titles and you’ll see what I mean. The hook in Project 8 was the Nail the Trick mode, but it was leveraged as a feature instead. When we got to Proving Ground we saw a greatly expanded “Nail the…” mode, but once again, it was just an expanded feature. When you boil the game down, it is simply you skating around a static world. Maybe it is hard to jazz up a skating title, but there is no excuse for the glut of World War II FPS titles. Come up with a new way to tell the story, tell a different side, or try another war—where are the Vietnam games? The last few budget titles didn’t score high enough to count. Rather than answer what makes me take notice at a conference, let’s talk about what doesn’t make a good impression. Two E3s ago, I was bumped from a floor-level console so an EB Product Manager could take a crack at it. Watching this suit fumble about for a few minutes was painful, and I’m sure he didn’t really care about the product, but only how much he was getting paid per square foot of display space. Another thing that doesn’t sit well with me is blaring noise. At one particular booth there were not one but two full-size rock bands hammering as hard as they could on their instruments trying to outgun each other. It was loud enough for me to hear through several sound-resistant rooms. As a member of the press, I want to hear about the hook, what is new, what inspired the title, and other various details that fans will be interested to know. Before any of that can happen though, I have to be able to hear.

Newman: What advice would you give a young developer who’s trying to create a successful franchise game?

Burke: Creating a franchise game is a pretty difficult proposition. Kaz Hirai once said that the consumer doesn’t really know what they want. At the time I was pretty offended by this statement, but time has proven him wise. Most consumers sit back and wait for the new concepts to come to them. I think that companies like Bioware and Square Enix have it right—they don’t worry as much about the mechanics as they do about telling an interesting and engaging story. Kane and Lynch may have had an interesting story tucked away in there, but I couldn’t care less about the characters. You can’t be immersed in something you don’t care about. Similarly, make sure your story makes sense—I’m talking to you Kojima-san! I’m not sure what turning into a statue and grabbing the genitals of a nearby statue, or eyeballing scantily clad women in a magazine has to do with saving the world from mooing/hopping Metal Gear robots, but I am already pretty perplexed by Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots. If you want to see how it is done, take a look at Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune—the game features a likeable and realistic person in a semi-plausible adventure story that takes place in a believable framework. More than anything, be willing to take a few risks. Without risk, we would never have seen such fantastic titles as the Sam & Max series, Psychonauts, and Spore.