406 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
A.2.2 Define Concept
Once the initial concept is approved, Supergame Studios will further define the
concept and start working on documentation and a playable prototype. Refer to
Chapter 15 for more information about defining the concept.
Mission Statement
The mission statement details what is being made and for whom it is being made.
The goal of the mission statement is to succinctly define the main essence of the
game. The mission statement becomes a yardstick that the features and game set-
ting are measured against—anything that does not support the mission statement
won’t be included in the game. The initial mission statement for Justice Unit is:
Justice Unit is a mass-market superhero game with streamlined controls. It
is intended for fans of comic books and superheroes who want to experience
the larger-than-life adventure of being a hero.
The initial mission statement is revised slightly in pre-production after the
team receives feedback on the first draft of the core design document. The pub-
lisher wants the connection between the game and movie to be stronger in the
mission statement. The new mission statement for Justice Unit is:
Justice Unit is a mass-market superhero game with streamlined controls. It
is intended for existing fans of the Justice Unit movies, and also for fans of
comic books and other superhero movies who want to experience the larger-
than-life adventures of their favorite heroes.
Game Setting
The game setting is closely related to the movie setting. For now, the team defines
the game setting in general terms, and will flesh out the setting and storyline in the
design documents over the next few months. The setting for Justice Unit is:
The game is set in a classic world of fiendish villains and gun-toting thugs.
The player’s team consists of oddball heroes with super powers. In a universe
full of straight-faced heroes and villains, the Justice Unit is a group of bizarre
misfits with strange powers and wacky personalities. Justice Unit is part par-
ody and part tribute of the classic super-teams of the sixties, complete with
improbably origin stories and larger-than-life villains.
Gameplay Mechanics
The gameplay mechanics describe how the player will interact with the game. For
example, how the control scheme will work, what types of multiplayer modes are
CASE STUDY—GAME PRODUCTION CYCLE 407
available, or what types of challenges the player will encounter and what strategies
will be used to overcome these challenges. While the designer is responsible for
documenting the gameplay mechanics, he or she will work closely with the other
leads to prototype some basic gameplay in order to figure out what will work best
in the game.
The key gameplay mechanic for Justice Unit is based on the powers the su-
perheroes have. The powers available in the game will match the powers that are
depicted in the movie. For example, Bullet Point has the ability to fly, and this
ability will be present in the game. The lead designer is working with the lead
engineer to create a flying prototype to determine how the player will control
Bullet Point when he is flying, and so on.
The designers will spend some time in pre-production figuring out the rest
of the main gameplay mechanics. The gameplay features will be prioritized
so that the most important gameplay mechanics will get defined and proto-
typed first.
Story Synopsis
Supergame Studios decides to create a unique storyline for the game that has
some tie-ins to the movie. They don’t want to be too dependent on the movie
content, as the final version of the movie will be different than the original script.
The game will focus on the origination of these superheroes and how they be-
came the Justice Unit.
The story synopsis for Justice Unit is:
When marketing executive Mark Ferrier was struck by lightning during
a presentation, he developed astonishing powers. At first, he kept these to
himself, but after witnessing the Justice Unit in a pitched battle with the
villainous Wire Hanger, he joined in their defense. The Unit recruited Ferrier,
who chose the name Bullet Point. Along with Montezuma, Ice Queen, Major
Malfunction, and The Caribou, he fights crime and those who commit it.
Audio Elements
The sound design for Justice Unit will be very high quality and will support
Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. The superheroes in the game will be voiced by the
same actors who play them in the movie. The voiceover design will be fairly
complex, since voice cues are used to convey a lot of information to the player
about the story, characters, missions, and the gameplay mechanics. 50,000 lines
of dialogue is a ballpark estimate for the game. Each platform may feature some
additional voice cues that will be unique to that platform.
Supergame Studios is planning to license the theme music from the movie
and will use this as the main theme music for the game’s introductory cinematic.
408 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
They will also hire a composer to create some variations on this theme to use
throughout the game. The music will be adaptive and will change based on what
the player is doing in the game. For example, if the player is exploring the world,
one type of music will be played, and if the player engages in combat, another
type of music will begin playing.
Justice Unit will use a unique sound effect for each superhero power. This
will allow the player to easily identify which superhero is helping him, even
when the superhero is off screen. Stock sound effects will be used for things
like footsteps, environmental sounds, and selecting items in the UI screen.
Supergame Studios is planning to use the same sound effects for the superhe-
roes’ powers that are used in the movie. The sound designer from Supergame
Studios will have a direct contact with someone on the sound design team for
the movie.
Prototyping
The superhero powers are one of the key game play mechanics featured in the
game. Design is working with Engineering to prototype at least one superhero
power for each of the playable characters in the game. For example, Ice Queen
has the ability to freeze anything, and work is being done on a prototype to figure
out how to change the state of an object from normal to frozen. Water is going to
be challenging, especially running water that is frozen in mid-air. Bullet Point’s
flying ability will also be prototyped.
The team will also use some paper prototypes to test out the statistics for the
game mechanics. Each superhero power has to be equal to the others so that
one superhero is not going to become dominant during the course of the game.
The designers are working on a system that balances the super powers. The
designers are initially able to use dice rolls as a low-fidelity way to prototype how
powerful each super power is. Once they have worked it out on paper, they will
work with engineering to create a working digital prototype.
Risk Analysis
At this point in the project, before the concept documents are submitted to
senior management for approval, the producer conducts a risk analysis. The pro-
ducer will continue tracking the risks throughout the project in order to be pre-
pared for any unforeseen circumstances. Figure A.4 is a sample risk analysis for
Justice Unit.
At this time, the number of actual risks may be quite low. These risks will
increase as the team continues to develop the gameplay mechanics and sto-
ryline. The technology used to make the game will have a big impact on the
risks, especially if it is a new technology that no one on the team has worked
with before.
CASE STUDY—GAME PRODUCTION CYCLE 409
A.2.3 Define Requirements
The requirements phase for Justice Unit roughly begins after senior manage-
ment approves the concept documentation and any prototypes. They had some
feedback on the characters and setting, and also some good suggestions on how
to balance the superhero powers. The team will integrate this feedback into the
game during the requirements phase. At this time, the team will start to define
specifics about the game—including the core feature set, a list of the necessary
art assets, and a rough milestone delivery schedule. The producer is working
on a detailed game plan as well, and works closely with the leads to determine
how much time, money, and people are needed to complete the game. Refer to
Chapter 15 for more information on defining requirements.
Figure A.5 is an example of the requirements phase overview for Justice Unit.
The requirements phase will start in early January 2008 and will continue
until mid-March 2008. The designers will be busy defining the core features of
the game. They will be spending a lot of time creating and refining prototypes.
Engineering is evaluating several possible game engines. They have an in-
house engine they can use, but the engine may not be the best choice for the
type of game being made. They are also looking at some other engines, and will
spend some time evaluating the features and tools for each. The licensing fees
FIGURE A.4 Risk analysis for Justice Unit.
Risk
Probability of
Occurring
Impact on
Project
Risk
Classification Mitigation Strategies
Licensor who owns
Justice Unit
IP may not
deliver feedback and approvals in a timely
fashion. If they don't approve content of gold
master, console submission process will be
delayed, which may impact the ship date. HIGH HIGH 1
*Schedule kick-off meeting with licensor early in pre-production to
review the project goals and schedule constraints.
*Work out defined approval process that both parties agree to.
*Deliver game assets on a regular basis in pre-production to get
feedback and approval before production begins.
*Once playable builds are available, deliver builds on a regular
basis for licensor to review.
*If possible, include caveat in contract that if they don't respond
with written feedback in 10 days, the item will be considered
approved.
*Establish good working relationship with licensor contact and try
to include them in the development process whenever possible -
make them feel like they are part of the team and have ownership
in the game.
Design might be able to create a workable
gameplay system where the superhero powers
are balanced equally against each other. LOW HIGH 2
*Focus on prototyping the core superhero powers for each
character to limit the number of variables that must be balanced.
*Work with engineering to get a digital prototype up and running
as quickly as possible.
*Create a system that allows variables to be easily changed and
tested in gameplay.
*Continue brainstorming ideas for superpowers until the core
features are prototyped and approved.
During the 2 year development cycle some
employees may leave the company. HIGH LOW 3
*Train at least 2 people to handle specific tasks on the project.
*Schedule time for hiring and training new people mid-project.
*Focus on creating a positive working environment to increase
employee retention.
*Be aware of any sudden changes in employees' work habits so
you can identify at risk people and improve their job satisfaction
before they start looking elsewhere.
*Require everyone to document the work they are doing and to
check all assets into source control system at the end of each day.
Initial game concept art may not accurately
depict what the
Justice Unit
characters will look
like in the game. LOW LOW 4
*Concept art will be based on character design bible provided by
the licensor.
*Feedback from licensor can be quickly implemented until they
are satisfied with the concept drawings.
*Make sure the artists get all available character concept art from
the movie.
410 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
are also something that will impact the decision, but the game has a big budget,
so this will not be the primary deciding factor.
Art will continue working on concept art and will start creating the art
bible and figuring out how many art assets will be needed. This includes the
number of levels, objects, characters, and so on. The list will not be definitive
by mid-March, but will provide a core set of assets that will be needed to get a
prototype working with near-final art.
Define Game Features
The team conducts a few brainstorming sessions to talk about all the features that
can be included in Justice Unit. Not only do they discuss the in-game features,
FIGURE A.5 Requirements phase overview for Justice Unit.
Step Resources General Timeline Est. Start Est. End Tasks
Define game
features Lead Designer 1 - 2 weeks 7-Jan-08 18-Jan-08
Core features are defined.
Secondary and Tertiary features
also defined.
Define milestone
deliverables Producer
ongoing - each
milestone deliverable
list completed about 4
weeks before the
official milestone
delivery.
Define the main project
milestones and what the
deliverables are for each
milestone. Rough milestone
estimates based on desired ship
date.
Evaluate technology Lead Engineer 4 - 6 weeks 7-Jan-08 1-Feb-08
Evaulate the technology needs
for the game and make a
recommendation.
Define tools and
pipeline
Lead Engineer works
with other leads 2 - 3 weeks 4-Feb-08 15-Feb-08
Define the production pipeline
that will produce a playable build
with updated assets.
Create Concept Art Lead Artist 2 - 3 weeks 1-Jul-08 18-Jan-08
Generate concept for key
characters and settings in the
game.
Design
documentation Lead Designer 6 - 8 weeks 21-Jan-08 14-Mar-08
Document the key features in
the game, include prototypes
where possible.
Art documentation Lead Artist 6 - 8 weeks 21-Jan-08 14-Mar-08
Document the artistic look and
feel of the game, generate asset
lists, and write up instructions on
how to use the art tools.
Technical
documentation Lead Engineer 4 - 6 weeks 18-Feb-08 14-Mar-08
Document the coding standards,
techninal design, and tools
instructions fo the game.
Risks Analysis Producer
Ongoing during
requirements phase 7-Jan-08 14-Mar-08
Assess risks on project,
determine resolution strategy,
publish to the team.
Approval
Studio management,
publisher
2 - 3 months after
requirements phase
begins. 17-Mar-08 21-Mar-08
Present all major game play
elements to management for
approval, incorporate their
feedback.
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