TheDocumentsandAssetsCreatedDuringtheVideoGameProductionProcess

KatyDaiger

IndividualStudyProjectUniversityofTexas,SchoolofInformation

December7,2009

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TableofContentsI.Introduction A.Purpose B.ResearchTechniquesandLimitationsII.OverviewofGameProductionIII.DocumentsandAssets A.YearRound 1.Wiki 2.Perforce 3.AbouttheStudio/ExecutiveSummary 4.StudioPolicies 5.ProductionStandards 6.InterviewNotes 7.Emails

B.ConceptStage 1.PitchDocument 2.Demos 3.CashFlowSchedule 4.HighLevelSchedule 5.DeveloperEvaluationDocument 6.ContractandAmendments 7.KeyDeliverables

C.PreproductionStage 1.GameDesignDocument(GDD) 2.AdditionalDesignDocuments 3.Story/NarractiveDocuments 4.CharacterRoster 5.ArtStyleGuide 6.ConceptArt 7.ReferenceFiles 8.WorldBible 9.LevelDesignDocuments 10.PaperDesigns 11.GameflowOverview 12.UIFlowchart 13.TechnicalDesignDocument(TDD) 14.Prototype 15.HiringPlan 16.RiskRegistry

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D.ProductionStage 1.ArtAssetTrackingDocument 2.Models 3.Textures 4.GameEngine 5.Code 6.Script 7.FlashAnimation 8.In‐gameScreenShots 9.MicrosoftProject 10.WhiteBoardImages 11.MilestoneFeedback 12.ConsoleVendorStandards 13.GameBuildandBuildNotes

E.PostProductionStage 1.BugDatabase 2.BurnDownChart 3.FocusGroupMovies 4.ESRBRatingsApplication 5.Manual 6.GMCBuild 7.PerforceArchive 8.PostMortemIV.FinalThoughtsandConclusionsV.WorkCited

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I.IntroductionA.PurposeIn1975,whenAtarireleasedthehome‐consumerversionofitsarcadehitPong,itwasprobablyhardtoimaginehowhugethevideogameindustrywouldbein2009.Eventhoughitisrelativelyyoung,thevideogameindustryhasquicklygrownfromsmallcompaniesoperatingoutofgaragestomulti‐nationalcompaniescontributingtothebilliondollarindustry.Pioneersfromthe1970’sand1980’shavemoldedvideogamesintotheseriousbusinessitistoday.Therecordsthathavebeenaccumulatingwithgamecompaniesandgameprofessionalsovertheyearsarenowofinteresttoarchives,andrightfullyso,consideringtheculturalsignificanceofmanyofthoserecords.Gamedevelopershaveembracedthispartnershipwitharchives,lookingtofindaplacethatwillcarefortherecordsthattheyholdsodear.ProfessorofArchivesandPreservationManagementatUCLAAnneGilliland‐Swetlandhassaidthatarchivesare“fundamentallyconcernedwiththeorganizationalandpersonalprocessesandcontextsthroughwhichrecordsandknowledgearecreatedaswellasthewaysinwhichrecordsindividuallyandcollectivelyreflectthoseprocesses”(2000,p.2).Theproblemarises,however,whenrecordscannotbeidentifiedduringappraisal,andanorganization’sprocessesaremisunderstood.Foranindustrylikethevideogameindustry,wheremuchoftheirprocessesandresultingrecordsaresospecifictotheindustry,itcanbehardforanarchivisttotellwhattheyarelookingatandtounderstandarecord’ssignificanceingameproduction.Itis,therefore,inanarchivist’sbestinteresttobetterunderstandthevideogameindustryandit’smanycomponentsbeforemakingselectionandappraisaldecisions.Thepurposeofthispaperistotakethatfirststepinhelpingarchivistsunderstandthevideogameindustrybyexaminingthedocumentsandassetscreatedbygamecompanies.Thispaperisintendedasasurveyoftherecordsgeneratedduringvideogameproduction,andanoverviewofwhyandhowthoserecordsarecreated.Itisnotintendedtobeastatementonarchivingbestpractices,butratheratoolforarchiviststousewhenassessingandprocessingvideogamecollections.Itisanoverviewofhowavideogameismadeandthepapertrailleftbehindthatanarchivistmightencounter.B.ResearchTechniquesandLimitationsResearchforthispaperwasconductedoverasinglesemesterthroughtheuseofobservationandinformalinterviews.TheauthorspentonedayaweekforfivemonthsexaminingtheproductionlifecycleandthedocumentsandassetsgeneratedduringthatlifecycleatagamedevelopmentcompanyinAustin,Texas.Thegamecompanyhadthreeconcurrentprojectsallatdifferentstagesofproductionduringtheobservationperiod.Observationsweremaderegardingthetypeofdocumentscreated,thepurposeofthosedocuments,versioncontrolforassets,andrecordsretention.Thestaffatthegamecompanywasawareoftheresearchbeingconducted,andwasavailableforinformalinterviewswhentheauthorhadquestions.

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Whilethispaperprovidesauseful,indepthlookatgameproduction,itisstilljustanexampleofhowonegamecompanyhandlesdocumentation.Therewillbemanysimilaritiesbetweenthedocumentsandassetscreatedatdifferentgamecompanies,buttheamountandtypeofdocumentationishighlydependentonthekindofgamebeingcreated.Forexample,asmallpuzzle‐basediphonegamewillneeddifferentassetsthanalargePlayStation3adventuregamebasedonamovieproperty.Documentationisalsodependentonwhatpartsofagameadeveloperishiredtocreate.Thecompanywheretheresearchforthispaperwasconductedoutsourcedtheaudioworkfortheirgamestoaseparatecompany.Subsequently,audioassetswererathersparseduringtheirproductionprocess.II.OverviewofGameProductionThekeyplayersinthevideogameindustryaregamedevelopers,publishers,platformcompaniesandIPholders,someofwhichcanbeone‐in‐the‐same.Thegamedeveloperishiredbyapublishertomakeagame,evenifthegameconceptoriginallycomesfromthegamedeveloper.Whilethedeveloperisresponsibleforcreatingandimplementinganappropriatedesignaesthetic,manytimesthedeveloperisgivenmaterialtoworkfrom,especiallyifthereisanIPholderinvolved.Forexample,agamedeveloperhiredtoworkonaHarryPottergamewouldbegivendesignparameterstoworkwithin.Thepublisherhasahugeimpactonthedocumentsandassetscreatedduringgameproduction.Somepublisherstakeahands‐offapproachtotheirrelationshipswithgamedevelopers,onlywantingtoseedocumentationwhenmilestonesaredue.Othersaskforhighlydetailedandgranulardocumentation,wantingtoseeagamedeveloper’sdecisionsandprogressateachstep.WhenthereisalsoanexternalIPholderinvolved,theytoocanrequestdocumentationasawaytomonitorthehandlingoftheirIP.Avideogamecanbemadeforanumberofgameplatforms,includingthePlayStation3,NintendoWii,Xbox360,PlayStationPortable,NintendoDS,Appleiphoneandmore.Eachplatformbringswithitproprietarytechnologythatagamecompanymustlicensefromtheconsolevendor.Inaddition,mostplatformshavespecificationsforhowthegameshouldbebuiltandrun.Gamedevelopersareusuallyrequiredtosubmitacopyoftheirfinishedgametotheconsolevendortocheckforstandardscompliance.Withinagamecompany,employeesaredividedbydisciplines.Thesedivisionsincludeanimation,art,programming(orengineering),production,qualityassurance,designandaudio.Smallgameproductionsmaycombinesomedisciplines,whilelargeronesmayhavemoregranulardivisions.Thedesignersareinchargeofcreatingoverallgameplay,lookofthegameandstory.Theartistsandanimatorsaretaskedwithimplementingthedesigner’svisionandcreatingtheartassets.Programmersfocusonthetechnicalaspectsofthegame,andusuallyworkoncreatingcodefortheproject.Theproducermanagesaproject’sscheduleandbudget,andkeepsproductionontimeandunder‐budget.Thequalityassurancedivisionistaskedwithmakingsurethegameworks.Theymonitorandfixbugs,andcheckforconsolestandards.Asthenamewouldsuggest,theaudiodivisioncreatesthe

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musicandsoundstheplaythroughoutagame.Theheadofeachdisciplineisconsideredthe“lead.”Gamecreationgenerallyhasfourstagesofproduction–concept,preproduction,productionandpostproduction.Whilemanydocumentsandassetsarecreatedduringaspecificstageofproduction,theirusecanspanmultiplestages.Theconceptstageiswhenagamedevelopercreatesanewprojectandpitchesittoapotentialpublisher.Duringconcept,thegamecompanybeginstoformulatepotentialproductionschedulesandbudgetstoshowapublisherwhatwillberequiredtimeandbudgetwisetocreatethegame.Onceagamecompanyissignedwithapublisherandaprojecthasbeenapprovedforproduction,thepreproductionstagebegins.Duringthisstage,thelookandfeelofthegamebeginstotakeshape.Designdocumentsarecreatedandtechnicalroadmapsarelaidout.Prototypesarebuilttotestoutpotentialfeaturesandassesspossiblerisks.Preproductioniswhenplansarefinalized,sothatgamedeveloperscanfocusonbuildingthegameduringtheproductionstage.Productionisaboutcreatingtheactualfilesthatwillbeusedtomakeaworkinggame.Thisstageisusuallycharacterizedbyanupswinginthenumberofpeopleandtheamountoftimespentworkingontheproject.Gamedeveloperscloselymonitorproblemswiththegamecreationprocessandthegameitselftoensureproductivity.Oncethebulkoftheproductionworkhasbeencompleted,thepostproductionstagebegins.Thisiswhenallthepossiblebugswiththegamearemitigated.Thegoalistogetthegamereadytobeshippedtothepublisherandconsolevendorforfinalapproval.Ifallgoeswell,thegamewillthenbemass‐producedandsenttovideogameretailers’shelves.Therearealso,ofcourse,administrativeandmanagerialtasksconductedyear‐roundsincegamedevelopmentcompaniesarefull‐timebusinesses.Manyofthesetasksplayanimportantroleingameproduction,becauseoftheirimpactonday‐to‐dayoperations.Thedocumentsandassetscreatedduringvideogameproductiongenerallyfallintooneoffourcategories,althoughmanycanbelongtomorethanonecategorydependingontheiruse.Thefourcategoriesareofficial,deliverable,functionalandadministrative.Officialdocumentsdescribetherelationshipsbetweenpublishersandgamedevelopers,andlayouttheresponsibilitiesofagamedevelopmentcompany.Thesedocumentsincludecontracts,amendmentsandmilestonecharts.Functionaldocumentshelpcommunicatetheelementsofagame,suchasthegamedesigndocument.Deliverabledocumentsarethoserequiredbyapublishertobeturnedinatdifferentstagesofthegameproduction,suchasaplayablelevel.Thesedocumentsareusuallydecideduponandlaidoutinthecontractbetweenthedeveloperandpublisher.Almostallofthedocumentsandassetslistedinthepreproductionthroughpostproductionstagesofthispaperaredeliverablesinsomeformorfashion.

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Lastly,administrativereferstodocumentsrelatedtorunningthecompany,includingexecutivesummaries.Forthepurposesofthispaper,onlythoseadministrativedocumentsaffectinggameproductionwillbementioned.III.DocumentsandAssetsBelowisalistofthedocumentsandassetscreatedduringthevideogameproductionprocess.Asmentionedabove,thelistisarepresentationofhowonevideogamedevelopmentcompanycreatesgames,andtherecordstheygenerateduringproduction.Documentsandassetsaredescribedintermsoftheirtypeanduse,andwhereapplicable,examplesofcontentareincluded.Althoughthemajorityofthislistdealswiththecompany’sactiverecords,thereissomemention,wherepossible,aboutrecordsmanagementtechniques.Eachdocumentandassetislistedunderthegameproductionstagethatbestfitsitspurposeanduse,althoughmanyrecordscanoccuratseveralpointsinproduction.A.Year­Round1.WikiAninternalwikiisusedtofacilitatecommunicationwithinthecompany.Informationoneverythingfrommeetingnotestoconsistencyrulestocompanycalendarsarepostedinthewiki.Usingthissystemallowsanyoneatthecompanytoeditentriesandemaillinkstopertinentposts.Whileitdoesnotallowformuchversioncontrol,itsfunctionalities,whichincludepowerfulsearchcapabilities,maketheWikiausefultoolforthecompany.Thewikifilesaresavedwhenthecompany’sserverisbackedup,andthecompanyalmostneverdeletesanentry.Wikipagesaresavedasrecordsofwhathasbeendiscussedanddecideduponinthepast.Thereisanorganizationsystemforthewikipages,whichmostlyensuresthatrecordsrelatedtodifferentprojectswillappeartogether.2.PerforcePerforceislessadocumentandmoreapieceofsoftware.Itisaproprietary,versioncontrolsoftwarethatmanygamecompaniesuseforrecordsmanagement.Atfirstglance,thesoftwarelooksjustlikeMicrosoftWindowsExplorer,butitismuchmore.Assetsanddocumentsare"checkedin"tothePerforcesystemaftercreation,whereaserverdatabasemaintainsmetadataonthefiles.Whensomeonewantstoworkonafile,itmustbe"checkedout,"sothesoftwarecantrackitsuse.Otherusersarethenabletoseewhenandifanassethasbeencheckedout.Wheneditshavebeenmadetoafile,anditisreadytobecheckedbackin,theuserispromptedtodescribewhatchangeshavebeenmade.WhilePerforceknowsthateditshavehappened,itneedstheusertomakeaspecificnoteofthosechanges.Thefileisthenplacedinafilerepositorythatisonaserverseparatefromuser'sharddrive.Ifforsomereasonanearlierversionofafileneedstobeaccessed,Perforcecanrevertanyassettoanypreviousversion.

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TheentirePerforcedirectoryanddatabasecanbesaved,andisoftendonesoattherequestofthepublisher.ThePerforcefileisusuallyoneofthefinaldeliverablesthegamedevelopergivesthePublisher.Thisisdoneforlegalreasons,butalsoincaseadifferentcompanyworksonagame'ssequel.Author’sNote:Fortherestofthisdocument,ifaversioncontrolmethodisnotspecifiedforadocumentorasset,thatindicatesthatPerforceisusedtomanagetherecord.3.AbouttheStudio/ExecutiveSummaryThegamedevelopmentcompanyfindsitselfhavingtogiveahighleveldescriptionoftheoverallstructureandphilosophiesofthecompanyonmanyoccasions.Beitduringnegotiationswithapublisheroranindustryconference,itisusefultohaveaPowerPointpresentationonhandtodescribethecompany.Thepresentationincludesinformationonthenumberoffull‐timeemployees,thebackgroundsofthecompanyleadsandmanagement,thecompany’spreviouslypublishedgames,andproductionviewpoints.Itisnotunusualforeye‐catchinggraphicstobeincluded.ThedocumentisoftenusedinitsPowerPointformat,butisalsoexportedasaPDFtofacilitateviewingonothercomputers.4.StudioPoliciesStudiopoliciesaretherulesandguidelinescreatedbymanagementandleadsforhowthecompanywillconductitsoperations,includingorganizationalchartsandhoursemployeesareexpectedworkatdifferentstagesofproduction.Thepoliciesareactuallyaseriesofdocuments,eachpertainingtoadifferentaspectofoperations.Whilemostofthestudiopoliciesarerecordedinthewiki,somearesavedasMicrosoftWorddocumentsandMicrosoftExcelspreadsheets.Whennewpoliciesareadded,thedocumentisupdatedandtheoldversionisdiscarded.Sometimes,however,notesaboutcertainchangesareincludedinthedocument,suchas“addedbyJohnDoeonOctober10,2009”or“changedfrom10hoursto9hours.”Ifanitemneedstobedeleted,manytimesthechangeissimplycrossedouttoindicatethatapolicythatonceexistedshouldnolongerbeused.5.ProductionStandardsSimilartostudiopolicies,productionstandardsarerulesandguidelinesforproduction,includingwhatshouldhappeninwhatorder,designprinciples,andhowabugshouldbedescribedinthebugdatabase.Hereagain,productionstandardsareactuallyaseriesofdocumentsthataremostlyincludedinthewiki.Additionsanddeletionstothestandardsarehandledthesamewayastheyareforstudiopolicies.6.InterviewNotesOneofthefewpaperdocumentsthatareusedatthegamedevelopmentcompany,interviewnotesrefertothenotestakenbymanagementandleadsduringjobinterviews.Thedocumentsincludeintervieweeanswerstoquestions,aswellastheinterviewer’sthoughtsonthecandidate.Theserecordsaresavedincaseofadisputeinthehiringornot‐hiringofacandidate.7.EmailsItseemssillytomention,butemailsplayahugeroleforthecompany.Alargeamountofinformationiscommunicatedviaemail,includingmeetingagendas,taskupdates,questions

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aboutstandards,andoverallworkflowissues.Almosteveryoneatthecompanysavesalltheiremailspertainingtogamescurrentlyinproduction.Theemailsserveasareminderofwhathasbeendiscussedandwhattasksarestillpending.MicrosoftOutlookistheiremailclientofchoice,whichtheysetupwithnumerousfoldersrelatingtodifferentaspectsoftheirjob.Emailsarebackedupwiththelargeserverbackupthathappensperiodically.B.ConceptStage1.PitchDocumentThisdocumentsisusedto“pitch”orsellagameideatoapublisherorotherfundingsourceinhopesofbeinghiredtocreatethegame.Apitchcanbeforabrandnew,originalgameimaginedbythedevelopmentcompany,orasaresultofapublisher’srequestforproposalsforanalreadyplannedproject.ThedocumentisusuallycreatedusingMicrosoftWord,MicrosoftPowerPointorAdobePhotoshop,andisoftenconvertedtoaPDFforcompatibilitywithothercomputers.Theleadgamedesignersandartistsworkonthepitchdocument,tryingtoincludeenoughinformationabouttheirvisionwithoutoverwhelmingtheviewer.Informationabouttheoveralllookandfeelofthegame,thestoryandcharacters,andsomegameplayfeaturesareusuallyincludedinthepitchdocuments,alongwithanexecutivesummaryofthecompany.Differentversionsofthedocumentaregenerallyidentifiedinthefilename.2.DemosInadditiontoapitchdocument,thedevelopmentcompanywilloftensendaplayabledemoofagame.Itisusedmoreasawaytoshowcasethedeveloper’sskillsthanactuallytestoutgamefeatures.Whileitgivesthepublisheranideaofwhatthegamewillbelikeshouldthedeveloperbehired,thereisnotalotofback‐endtechnicalstructure.Mostoftheworkgoesintothefrontend.Thedemoisplayableontheplatformonwhichthegamewilleventuallybereleased.So,ifthecompanyismakingaNintendoWiigame,thedemowillbeplayableontheNintendoWii.Generallyspeaking,however,thedemoisnotgiventoapublisheronaNintendoWiiopticaldisk,butasrawWiifiles,whichcanonlybeexecutedifthepublisherhasaWiidevelopmentkit.Evenwiththislimitation,thisisusuallynotaproblem.Sincethisisaplayablefile,peoplefrommostofthedisciplinesworkonthedemo.Adesignschemeiscreatedandimplementedbytheartists,animatorsandprogrammers,andthentestedbythequalityassurancedepartment.Productiondoesnotusuallytakelong,andonlyahandfulofpeoplefromeachdisciplineareneeded.3.CashFlowScheduleThisdocumentisoftenincludedwithapitchdocument.Itoutlineshowmanypeoplewillbeneededtoworkonapotentialproject,whentheywillbeneeded,andassociatedpersonnelcosts.Othercosts,suchastechnologylicensesandoutsourcingpayments,areincludedalongwithanestimateofwhenthecostswillbeincurred.

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TheexecutiveproducercreatesthisdocumentinMicrosoftExcel,butalsowillconsultotherleadsshouldquestionsariseaboutwhatresourceswillbeneededformakingthegame.Columnsareusedtorepresentmonthswithtotalcostsatthebottom,whilerowsrepresenttheemployeesneededforproduction.Basedontheindividualcosts,anoverallbudgetisassed,alongwithpotentialdatesforpaymentinstallments.Thisscheduleisnotnecessarilytheschedulethatisultimatelyused,butitstillgivesthepublisherandcompanyanideaofwhatitwilltaketomaketheproposedgame.Theversionofthefileisrepresentedinthefilename,aswellasthegametitle,expecteddateofcompletion,andestimatedbudget.Example:GameName_RTM_Jul2009_500K(fordistro).xls(SeeAppendixAforanexampleofwhatthecashflowschedulelookslike.)4.HighLevelScheduleThehighlevelschedulediffersfromthecashflowschedulebecauseitfocusesmorecloselyonwhateachpersonwilldoduringgameproduction,sometimesdowntotheindividualtasks.Hereagain,though,theexecutiveproducerisinchargeofthisdocumentandusuallybuildsthescheduleinMicrosoftExcel.Occasionally,MicrosoftProjectisusedinstead,butthefileiseventuallyexportedasanExcelspreadsheet.Themainpurposeofthisdocumentistoseehowtaskswilloverlapandtomakesurethereisenoughmanpowertogetthejobdone.Sincethespreadsheetislaidoutwithcalendardatesinthecolumnsandemployeeslistedintherows,itisaneasywaytovisualizeeachperson’sworkload,andrearrangetasks,ifnecessary.5.DeveloperEvaluationDocumentBeforeapublisheriscomfortablepayingagamedevelopmentcompany,theyrequirethedevelopertocompletethedeveloperevaluationdocument.ThisbeginslifeasaMicrosoftWorddocumentwithnumerousquestions,rangingfromcompanyinformationandITstructure,totheirsoftwareengineeringprocesses.TheexecutiveproducerandotherleadsthencreateasecondMicrosoftWorddocumentwithanswerstoallthequestions.Theseanswersallowthepublishertofeelmorecomfortableaboutthegamedevelopmentcompanyandtheirabilitytoactuallyfinishtheproposedgameproject.6.ContractandAmendmentsAfterapublisherhasdecidedtoworkwithagamedevelopmentcompany,acontractmustbesignedbetweenbothparties.Aswithanybusinessendeavor,thecontractlaysouttheresponsibilitiesofthepublisheranddeveloper,andthetermsunderwhichbotharewillingtoworktogether.ThisdocumentstartslifeasaMicrosoftWorddocumentcreatedbythepublisherandisusuallysentelectronicallytothedeveloper.Managementandproducersreviewthedocument,andthenmakeapapercopy,whichcanbesigned.Afterthepublisherhasalsosignedthecontract,thedevelopersavesboththesignedpapercopyanddigitalversion.Amendmentsareoftenaddedtocontracts,especiallywhentimeframeschange.Eachamendmentisapprovedbybothpartiesandisthenintegratedintotheoriginalcontract.Amendmentscancontinuethroughouttheentireproductionprocess.

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7.KeyDeliverablesThemostimportantsectionofthecontractisthelistofdeliverablesforwhichthedevelopmentcompanywillberesponsible.Deliverablesareassociatedwithdifferentmilestones,whichareusuallyevenlyspacedthroughouttheproductionprocess.Ateachmilestone,specificdocumentsandassetsarerequiredtobecompletedandturnedintothepublisher.Thesedeliverablescanincludeeverythingfromthestorydocumenttocharactermodels,andtendtobuildonthemselvesasthecreationprocesscontinues.Thecontractusuallyincludesamasterlistofallkeydeliverablesincludedateachmilestone,withmoregranulardeliverablelistscreatedlater.TheselistsareeithercreatedusingMicrosoftWordorExcel.Thecompanymanagementandleadsworkonthedeliverableslisttomakesurethateachdocumentorassetrequiredatamilestonecanactuallybeaccomplished.Asproductiongetsunderway,mostsmallchangestodeliverablesarenotmadeinthecontract,butinexternaldeliverablelists.Majordeliverablechangesaretreatedasamendmentstothecontract.C.PreproductionStage1.GameDesignDocument(GDD)Oneofthemostessentialdocumentsinthevideogameproductionprocess,thegamedesigndocumentlaysoutoverallstyle,storyandgameplayfeatures.Itiswrittenbytheleaddesigners,andisoneofthefirstdocumentswrittenonceagameisgreen‐lit.TheGDDiscreatedusingMicrosoftWordandwritteninanarrativeformat.Thereaderistakenstepbystepthroughaspectsofthegame,resultinginabetterunderstandingoftheoverallfeelofthegame.Gameplayfeatures,suchasplayerpowers,pointcollectionandrewardsystems,andhowthecontrolswillfunction,aredescribedintermsoftheirdesignandmechanics.Thedocumentoftenincludesreferencestoothergameswithsimilarstylesorgameplayfeatures.Forexample,adevelopmentcompanywantingtomakeanactiongamesetinancienttimesmightlistthegameAssassin’sCreedasaninfluence.Imagesandsketchesarealsoincludedtohelpexplaincertainaspectsofthegame.WhenchangesneedtobemadetotheGDD,anewversioniscreated.Oldinformationisneverwrittenover,ratheroldversionsoftheGDDarestoredinPerforceincasethedeveloperneedstoreferbacktoapreciseincarnation.Thedocumentalsoincludesatableonthesecondpage,whichlistschangesthathavebeenmadetothedocumentandwhomadethosechanges.MicrosoftWord’scommentfeatureisusedwiththedocument,especiallysincetheGDDusuallygoesbackandforthmanytimesbetweenthedeveloperandpublisherbeforeitiscompletelyagreeduponbybothsides.Thegamedesigndocumentcanalmostbeclassifiedasservingafunctional,deliverableandofficialpurpose.Itisoneofmanydocumentscreatedtocommunicatetaskstothedevelopmentteam,andisalmostalwaysrequiredinthefirstorsecondmilestone.ManypublishersalsousetheGDDinanofficialcapacity,relyingonittodetermineifproductionhasstrayedoffcourseornot.(SeeAPPENDIXBforanexamplepagefromofagamedesigndocument.)

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2.AdditionalDesignDocumentsInadditiontoaGDD,thegamedevelopmentcompanyusuallyhasotherdesigndocumentsthatdescribespecificdesignaspects,suchasin‐gamecameraanglesorplayerpower‐ups.ThesedocumentsareverysimilartothelargerGDD,butaremoregranularinscopeandsometimesuseMicrosoftExcelinsteadofMicrosoftWord.Theyalsouseasimilarsystemofversioncontrol.Theamountofadditionaldesigndecisionsdependsonmanyfactorsabouttheproject,includingthegame'sgenre,intendedplatform,andwhetherornotthegameisanoriginalproperty.Ifthegameissmallinscope,designideascanbecontinuallyaddedtothegamedesigndocument.Thisisrarelydone,though.Forone,theGDDcouldpotentiallybecomehundredsofpageslong.Also,havingmultipledesigndocumentsallowsformultiplepeopletobeworkingondifferentdesignelementsatonce.Almostallofthesedocumentsendupinthehandsofthepublisheratsomepoint,usuallyasrequirementsfordifferentmilestones.Thisletsthepublisherrejectelementsbeforethedevelopmentteamgetstoofarintoproduction.ThepublisherorIPownersometimesprovidesdesigndocumentstobeusedasguidelinesortoconveystrictdesignrules.Asmentionedabove,whenmakingaHarryPottergame,adevelopermightreceiveadesigndocumentthatexplicitlydescribesthepowersthatHarryPottercanhave.Designdocumentscanalsocontainlistsofunansweredquestionsaboutdifferentelements,suchas"WhatcolorshouldHarry'shatbe?"or"Dowehaveenoughmemoryforthisbattlescene?"Onceaquestionisanswered,designdocumentsareupdated,andthequestionismovedtoasectionentitled"answeredquestions."3.Story/NarrativeDocumentsAgame’sstorygoesthroughseveralstepsbeforeitcanfinallybeimplementedinthegame.Itstartswithastorydocumentornarrativeoverview,whichlaysoutwhathappensinthegameandwhoithappensto.TheMicrosoftWorddocumentsetsuptheactionandthecharactermotivations.Itiswritteninnarrativeformatandreadslikeashortstory.Dialogueisgenerallynotincludedatthisstage.Next,thegamedesignerand/orwritercreatesalistofstorystubs,or“beats”ofthenarrative.Thesearekeypointsinthestorythatindicateaneedforsomegameplayelement.Forexample,astubmightbe,“HarryPottertalkswithashopkeeperabouttheElderWand,”indicatingtheneedfordialogueandcinematics.Astubmightalsobe“HarrygoestoDiagonAlley,”indicatinganewlevelwithinthegame.ThisstubdocumentiscreatedeitherwithMicrosoftWordorExcelandallowsthedevelopertostarttovisualizinggameflow.Lastly,thestubsareusedtocreateascript.Thisdocumentcontainsdialogueforallpartsofthegame,includingduringcinematicsandgameplay.ThescriptisusuallycreatedusingMicrosoftWord,althoughmoviescriptprograms,likeFinalDraft,aresometimesused.Voiceoverislaterrecordedusingthisscript.

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Allofthesedocumentsgobackandforthbetweenthedeveloper,publisherandIPholderforreviewanddiscussion.ThecommentsfeatureofMicrosoftWordisusedsothatissuesandconcernsarenotrepeatedbetweenthethreeparties.Startingwiththeoverallstoryinsteadofjumpingstraighttoascriptallowsforchangesandadditionstobeincorporatedmoreeasily.4.CharacterRosterAswouldbeexpected,thegamedevelopmentcompanygeneratesalistofcharactersthatappearinthegame.Thelistincludeswhereandwhenacharacterappearsinthegame;whatabilitiesandequipmentthatcharacterhas;andanyrisksassociatedwithcreatingthecharacter,suchashispowerusinguptoomuchdiskmemory.Apictureisoftenincludedinthelist,ifconceptarthasalreadybeencreatedforthecharacter.ThisdocumentiscreatedinMicrosoftWordbytheleaddesignersandartists,andisoftenusedtohelpassesswhatcharacterassetsneedtobemade.Sometimesthecharacterrosterisalsoaccompaniedbyaschedule.Thisidentifiesthedeliverablethateachcharacterisexpectedby,aswellastheorderinwhichthedeveloperwillworkonthecharacters.Whenascheduleisinvolved,thedocumentwilloftenmorphintoaMicrosoftExcelspreadsheet.(SeeAPPENDIXCforanexamplefromacharacterroster.)5.ArtStyleGuideSometimescalledtheartbible,thestyleguideisaMicrosoftWorddocumentusedtocommunicatetotheartistsandanimatorswhatthegameshouldlooklikeandhowtoachievethatgoal.Thestyleofcharacters,objectsandenvironmentsisalsooftenincludedinthisdocument.Referenceimagesareusuallyincludedtohelpcommunicatespecificstyleelements.Itisimportanttonotethedistinctionbetweenthisdocumentanddesigndocuments.Theartstyleguideisaboutmaintaininganoveralllook,includinglightingandtextures,whiledesigndocumentsdescribethespecificcomponentsofcharacters,objectsandenvironments.WhenthinkingoftheHarryPottergameexample,theartstyleguidemighttellartiststomakeallelementsassociatedwiththeDeathEatersdarkandscaly,whiledesigndocumentswouldspelloutwhichcharactersareDeathEatersandthatallshouldwearblackrobes.Thereisobviousoverlapwiththesetwotypesofdocuments,butthereisareasonwhytheyareseparate.Theartstyleguideincludesinstructionsofhowtousetheartsoftwaretocreatethevariousstyles.EverythingfromhowtocreatetexturefilesinAdobePhotoshoptothenumberofpolygonstouseinAutodesk3DSMaxisspelledoutintheguidefortheartistsandanimators.6.ConceptArtConceptartisa2Dvisualrepresentationofagameelementthatallowsforthelookoftheelementtobetweakedandperfectedbeforebuildingitin‐game.Conceptartistscreatethesefilesbasedonthegamedesigner’sideasusingAdobePhotoshop.MostconceptartgetssavedasJPEGimages,sothatanyonecanviewthefiles,nomatteriftheyhavePhotoshopornot.

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Thestyleofconceptartgenerallymimicsahand‐drawnfeel,andlooksmorelikeanillustrationthanacomputerizedimage.Conceptartisoftendrawnfromreferencephotos,whichcanbejustpaintedoverinPhotoshop.Thesedocumentsareoftensavedandusedformarketingandadvertisingthegame.(SeeAPPENDIXDforanexampleofconceptart.)7.ReferenceFilesInmanyrespects,almostanythingcanbeusedasareference.Bookscanbeusedforstoryideas.Physicalobjectscanbereferencesforobjectsfoundin‐game.Evensoundbytescangenerategamedesign.Themostcommonreferencefiles,however,arereferencephotosandimagesusedbytheartists.QuicktimeandAVIfilesarealsousedtoillustratemovementsandactionsofcharactersandobjects.ManytimespublisherswillgiveagamedeveloperreferenceseitherfrompreviousgamesorexistentIPcontent.Sometimesthesereferencearejustguidelines,whileothertimesgamedevelopersareexpectedtocreatecarboncopiesoftheoriginals.3Dmodelsofcharactersandenvironmentsfrompreviousgamescanalsobeusedasreferencefiles.Manytimesthegamedevelopercanassimilatethe3Dreferencesasanewgameassets.(SeeAPPENDIXEforanexampleofareferencephoto.)8.WorldBibleTheworldbiblehasalotofoverlapwiththegamedesigndocumentandartstyleguide,butstillservesauniquepurpose.Thedocumentlaysouttherulesofconsistencyfortheenvironmentsofthegame.Notonlydoesitlisttheworldsandlocationsinthegame,butalsotheaffordanceofthoselocations.ReturningtotheHarryPottergameexample,theworldbibleforthisgamewouldincludementionofHogwarts,LondonandGringottsbank,andwouldlistrulessuchas“wizardscanonlyflywithuseofabroom”and“themagiccartsatGringottsshouldalwaysmovefast.”Theseruleshelptheartists,animators,leveldesignersandprogrammersunderstandhowtocreategameassetsandthetypeofphysicstoallowin‐game.Aworldbibleismostoftenseenwithgamesthathavealargescope,suchasmassivelymultiplayeronlinegames,andthosegamesbasedonestablishedIPs.Ifagameissmallinscope,muchoftheworldbiblecansimplybeincludedinthegamedesigndocument.Hereagain,theadvantageofhavingthesedocumentsseparatedisavoidinganoverlylargedocumentfile.9.LevelDesignDocumentsThiscanbeasingledocumentoraseriesofdocumentsthatoutlinegameplayandflow.UsingMicrosoftWord,designerslayoutaspectsofwhataplayerwilldoatanygivenlevelandhowhewillprogressthroughthegame.Leveldesignfocusesonissueslikepuzzlesolving,bossfights,savepoints,rewardscollectionsandpathwaysthroughanenvironment.Whereastheartstyleguideandworldbibleareconcernedwithhowanenemylooksandmoves,theleveldesigndocumentdescribeshowandwheretheplayerandtheenemywillfight.

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Aswithotherdesigndocuments,thisoneincludesreferencestoothergameswithsimilarmechanicsandgameplayfeatures,andincludesasectionforunansweredquestions.Dependingonthescopeofthegame,multipleleveldesigndocumentscouldbeneededtoarticulateacomplexsystemoflevels.10.PaperDesignsPaperdesignsgohandinhandwithleveldesigndocuments.Thesearethehand‐drawnoverviewsoflevelsmadebydesigners.Thedesignsserveasmapsoftheenvironment,illustratingitemsandareasthataplayerwillencounter.Traditionally,leveldesignsaredrawnongraphpaperandthenscannedtomakeaJPEGimageofthedesign.Manytimesthepaperversionisdiscardedinfavorofthedigitalfile.MoreandmorethesedesignsarebeingborndigitalthroughtheuseofAdobePhotoshopandaWacomgraphictablet.Thehardware’sstyluspenallowsadesignertomimicthefeelofapenorpencil,givingthedigitalrenderingsthatsamehand‐drawnlook.ThedesignscreatedinAdobePhotoshopalmostalwaysgetsavedasJPEGsandnotPhotoshopfiles.(SeeAPPENDIXFforanexampleofapaperdesign.)11.GameflowOverviewAsthedifferentelementsofthegamebegintotakeshape,gameflowchartsandwalkthroughsarecreatedtomakesureeveryoneatthecompanyisonthesamepage.Thesedocumentsshowtheprogressionthroughthegamefromtheviewpointofaplayerinteractingwiththegame.Everyonefromtheproducertoqualityassurancetesterreferencesthegameflowdocument.WhileMicrosoftWordissometimesusedtocreatethesedocuments,MicrosoftVisioflowchartsoftwareistheprogramofchoice.Startingwiththeopeningsequence,agameflowchartmovesfromlefttoright,documentingthedifferentlevelsaplayerwillencounterandtheorderinwhichtheyareencountered;playerobjectivesateachlevel;playerpowersandabilitiesateachstage;keynarrativebeats;andanycinematicsthatareneededtoexplainthestory.Estimatesforhowlongaplayerwilltaketoplaythroughalevelareincludedonthechart,aswellasagraphthatmapsthecombat,emotionalanddifficultylevelatanygivenpointinthegame.Flowchartsaresometimesmadeforindividuallevelsifthegame’ssizecallsforthegranularity.12.UIFlowchartAUI(oruserinterface)flowchartfocusesonthemenuscreensseenbytheplayerduringgameplay.CreatedbydesignersusingMicrosoftVisioorExcel,theUIflowchartrevealswhatscreensareneededforthegameandinwhatordertheyshouldappear,includingthesavemenuandhomescreen.Thisdocumentismostlyusedbyotherdesignersduringimplementation.13.TechnicalDesignDocument(TDD)Thetechnicaldesigndocumentiswrittenbythetechnicaldirector,orleadprogrammer,asanoverviewofalltechnicalaspectsofgameproduction.Itincludesdetailsofallsoftware,hardwareandgameenginecomponentsthatwillbeusedduringproduction,andwhat

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thoseparticulartoolswillprovidetothedevelopmentteam.Italsoincludesabriefdescriptionofhowcodewillbewrittenforthegame,andpipelinesfordifferentassets.Thedocumentisupdatedatdifferentstagesofgameproduction.Itoftengoesbackandforthbetweenthepublisheranddeveloperastechspecificsbecomebetterandbetterdefined.Forthatreason,thereisachartonthefirstpageofthedocumentthatdescribeschangesmadetothefileandwhomadethechanges.TheTDDisoftenbrokenoutintomoregranulardocumentsthatcoveroneaspectofthegametechnology.Forexample,itispossibletohaveadocumentsolelydevotedtothesavegamesystem.14.PrototypeAprototypeisasimplified,yetfunctioningversionofthegamethatisusedtoexploreaparticularquestionaboutmechanics,suchas“isjumpingfun.”Asapposedtoademo,thefrontendofthegameisfairlyplain,butthebackendisrunningseriousgamemechanics.Someassetsarepulledfrompastprototypesofothergamestoaidintheproductionprocess.Mostofthefrontendofaprototypeisinthe“greybox”stage,whichmeansthatlevelsaremappedoutbutcontainonlygrey,simpleversionsoftheobjectsandenvironmentsthatwilleventuallyfillthespace.Evenwiththismonochromaticinterface,mechanicscanbeeasilytestedandassessed.Otherexamplesforusingaprototypearetotestcombatsystems,vehiclemovementsandcameraangles.Justlikeademo,aprototypeisanexecutablefileonlyplayableontheplatformonwhichthegamewilleventuallybereleased.Alldisciplinesworkonbuildingtheprototype,includingthequalityassuranceteamthat,despitethesmallsizeofthefile,doublechecksthattheprototyperunsandworksthewaythedeveloperhadexpected.15.HiringplanThehiringplaniswrittenbytheproducerusingMicrosoftWord,anddescribeswhatdisciplinesneedmorehiresandatwhatstageintheproductionthoseindividualswillbehired.Thisnotonlyshowsthepublisherwhatstepsthecompanyistakingtogetthegamemadeontime,butitalsohelpsthedeveloperkeepontopofhiringnewstaff.Itcanbeeasytooverlookthehiringprocesswhentherearesomanyotherdevelopmenttasksthatneedtobecompletedatanygivenmoment.Withoutthoseextrastaffmembers,taskscanbegintospiraloutofcontrolwithnotenoughmanpowertogetthejobdone.16.RiskRegistryThisisalistofpotentialissuesthatcouldariseduringproductionandthepossibleconsequencesofthoseproblems.TheriskregistryisoriginallycreatedinMicrosoftExcelbytheproducer,butiscontributedtobytheentiredevelopmentteam.Theregistryincludesassessmentsoftheprobabilityoftheriskoccurringandwaystomitigatetheproblem.Thereisalsoasectionofthedocumentthatlistseachattributetodescribearisk,andthepossiblevaluesforthoseattributes.Risksareidentifiedas“open”untiltheyareeithersolvedortheissuehaspassedbywithoutanydamage.Sincetheriskregistryisstructuredtoshowallchangesinriskstatues,onlyoneversionofthedocumentiscreated.Thatversionisconstantlyupdatedwithadditionsanddeletions.

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D.ProductionStage1.ArtAssetTrackingDocumentDifferentartassetsaresubmittedtothepublisherforapprovalatvariousmilestones,andtheyareoftenreturnedwithcommentsregardingtweaksthatneedtobemade.Theartassettrackingdocumentlistsallsuchassetsandwhentheyareduetobesubmitted,aswellasinformationonassetsthathavealreadybeensubmitted.Theproducer,leaddesignerandleadartistmaintainthelistinMicrosoftExcelasawaytokeepaneyeonthenumerousassetsthatgointoagame.Thedocumentisusuallyincludedwitheachmilestone,andsentbackandforthbetweenthedeveloperandpublisherasnewassetsareapproved.Sincethedocumentissupposedtoreflectthevariousupdatesandchangesthathavebeenmadetothelist,onlyoneversionofthespreadsheetisusedandrepeatedlyupdated.Sometimesthereisaneedtobreakoutthetrackingdocumentintospecificartasset,suchascharacterorweaponstracking.ThesearetreatedasseparatedocumentsandnotasdifferentsheetswithinthesameExcelspreadsheet.2.ModelsBeforeanartassetcanbeincludedinagame,itmustbecreatedoutsideofthegameengine.ArtistsuseAutodesk3DSMaxtobuildmodelsofvariousassets,suchasobjectsorsets.Duringthisstage,afileissavedasa.MAX,representingthe3DSMaxprojectfile.Oncethemodeliscomplete,itisexportedasa.S3Dfile,whichisanintermediary,proprietaryformatusedbythedeveloper’sgameengine.The.S3Dfileisloadedintothegameengine,andimmediatelyconvertedintooneofthreemodelfilesagainspecifictotheengine.Whilemostmodelsaresavedinhighlyproprietaryformats,theyarealsosometimessavedasPDFsor.OBJfiles.Bothofthesefilescanbeusedtoshowsomeonea2Drepresentationofamodelwhenthatpersondoesnothaveanyoftheproprietarysoftware.3.TexturesModelswithinthegamedonotautomaticallyhaveskin.Theyneedtobegiventexturesbeforetheywilllooklikerecognizableobjects.ArtistsusingAdobePhotoshopcreatethesetexturefiles.Theyaresavedas.TGAfiles,andimporteddirectlyintoAutodesk3DSMax.The.TGAfilebecomespartofthe.MAXproject,andisexportedtothegameengineaspartofthe.S3Dfile.TexturefilesarealsosometimessavedasPDFsor.OBJfilesiftheyhavetobeshowntosomeonewithout3DSMax.(SeeAPPENDIXGforanexampleofanartassetatvariousstagesofmodelingandtexturing.)4.GameEngineThegameengineisessentiallyasetoftoolsforcreatingavideogame.Itisathird‐party,proprietarypieceofsoftwarethathasalreadybuiltmuchofthecoderequiredtorunthecomponentsofthegame,includinganimatingmodels,physicsandgraphicaluserinterfaces.Theengineallowsthegamedeveloperstofocusonthecontentofthegameandnotnecessarilythebackendofthegame.

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Workingwithinthegameengineusuallymeanshavingseveralassetsopenatonce,suchasacharacter,amodelandasetfile.Thedeveloperusesascripttodeterminehowthesethreeelementswillinteractwitheachother.Allthefilesandassociatedscriptscreatetheactuallevelsofthegame.5.CodeProgrammingcodeisusedtocreatethestructureforthegamemechanics.Whilemuchofthecodeisalreadyincludedinthegameengine,therearestillsituationswherecodeneedstobewrittenforthegametofunction.Whennecessary,theMicrosoftcodecompilerandeditorVisualStudioisusedtowriteC++code.Theseassetsaresavedas.Hand.CPPfiles.TheNintendoWii‐specificeditorCodeWarriorisalsousedtocreatecodeforplatformrequirementsandstandards.6.ScriptScriptislikecode,buttellsthegamecontentinstructionsonwhattodoandhowtodoitduringgameplay.Scriptfilesarewrittenusingaproprietarylanguagespecifictothedeveloper’sgameengine.Thescriptfilesareincorporateddirectlyintotheengine,andareincludedwithallotherassetswhenthegameisbuiltfromtheengine.Asubsetofdesignersknownasscripterscreatetheactualscriptforthegame.Scriptsareoftensavedassimpletextfiles.Thiscancomeinhandywhensomeonewhoneedstoreviewascriptdoesnotactuallyhavethelicensefortheproprietaryscriptsoftware.Alocalizationfileisaparticulartypeofscriptfilethatliststhewrittentextusedthroughoutthegame.Whenagameissoldinaforeigncountry,thelocalizationfilecanbeeasilyaccessedandupdatedtoincludethetextinthatcountry’slanguage.Thesefilesarealmostalwayssavedasa.TXTfile,sothatanexternaltranslatorcouldaccessthem,shouldtheneedarise.7.FlashAnimationFlashanimationisatooltocreateuserinterfaces.TheprogramallowsforrapidprototypingoftheUItoquicklyseewhatmayormaynotworkintheinterface.Theseassetsaresavedas.SWFfilesandimportedintothegameenginetobeusedinthefinalproduct.Adesignerisoftenassignedthetaskofjustcreatingtheuserinterface.8.In‐gameScreenShotsAsonecanimagine,thereareasomanypiecestovideogameproduction,thatitcanbehardtoshowathird‐partytheprogressthathasbeenmade.Itcanalsobecumbersometosendeverysinglefileassociatedwithaleveltoapublisherwishingtoseewhatthegamecurrentlylookslike.Thegamedevelopmentcompanygetsaroundthisbytakingnumerousscreenshotsofthegame.TheseJPEGScanshowhowthelookandfeelofthegameisdeveloping,aswellasspecificcomponentsthathavebeencreated.Quicktimemoviesarealsosometimesusedtoshowcaseaparticularmovementorgameplayfeaturethatwouldotherwisebeincommunicablethroughastillimage,suchasswordfighting.(SeeAPPENDIXHfortwoexamplesofin‐gamescreenshots.)

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7.MicrosoftProjectThissoftwareisusedbytheproducertotrackspecifictasksduringgameproduction.MicrosoftProjectisaprojectmanagementtoolthatallowsthebudgetandscheduleforatasktobemonitoredsimultaneously.Eventhoughtherearesomanytasksduringthevideogameproduction,onlythosetasksthatcostthedevelopmentcompanymorethan$250aretracked.Examplesofpossibletasksincludetheadditionofanewcharacterormakingsureallthedialogueforthegameisrecorded.Generallyspeaking,eachtaskhasitsownMicrosoftProjectfile.Dependingonthetask,someProjectfileswillbeconvertedtoMicrosoftExcelspreadsheetssothatmoreemployeesatthegamecompanycanreadandeditthefile.8.WhiteBoardImagesMostmeetingsatthegamecompanyareconductednearawhiteboard.Newideasaretalkedthroughwiththehelpofthedryeraseboard,whichisoftennoterasedtilldayslater.Whenitistimetoerasetheboardinfavorofnewideas,digitalphotosaretakenofthewhiteboard’scontentsasarecordofwhatwasdiscussed.ThephotosaresavedasJPEGsandmostareuploadedtothewikiwithadescriptionofthemeetingfromwhichtheyweregenerated.Theimagesarebackedupwhenthewikiisbackedup.Almosteveryoneatthecompanyhaseithercreatedwhiteboardcontentortakenphotosofaboardanduploadedthemtothewiki.Theleadrunningthemeeting,though,willoftentakechargeofwhiteboardduties.9.MilestoneFeedbackWhenthedeveloperturnsinthedocumentsandassetsrequiredforagivenmilestone,thepublisherreviewsthefilesandthensendsfeedbackforthedevelopmentcompany.Feedbackcanbeeitherpositiveornegative,andoftenisamixtureofboth.Itisnotuncommonforfeedbacktoincludeinstructionsforhowtoimprovedifferentassets.ThefeedbackisgenerallyintheformofaMicrosoftWorddocument,butcanalsobetheoriginaldocumentwithcommentstracking.Sometimesfeedbackiscommunicatedviaemail.10.ConsoleVendorStandardsWhenadevelopercreatesagameforaspecificplatform,notonlywilltheyhavetosecurealicenseanddevelopmentkit,buttheywillalsoberequiredtoimplementcertainstandardsinthegamedesign.Thesestandardsincludehowthecontrollerscanfunctionandwhattitlescreensmustappearatthebeginningofthegame.WhenalicensefortheNintendoWiiispurchased,itincludesacollectionofPDFdocumentsexplainingthevariousstandardsrequiredofthecompany.ThesePDFsareusedbythequalityassuranceteamtomakesurethatthegamecomplieswiththestandards.Thelaststopagamemakesbeforehittingtheretailshelvesistheconsolevendor,wholooksoverthegametoensureallstandardshavebeenfulfilled.Beforethen,thegamedevelopercancommunicatedirectlywiththeconsolevendorthroughemailwithquestionslike,“Ifwedidthisinthegame,wouldwebedisqualified?”

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11.GameBuildandBuildNotesAsdifferentgameassetsarecreatedandintegratedintothegameengine,thegamebecomesmoreandmorecomplete.Someversionofthegameisusuallyrequiredwitheachmilestone,sothatthepublisherisabletoseeprogressbeingmade.Thebuildofthegameisessentiallywhenallthecurrentassetsandcomponentsincludedinthegameenginearecombinedtogethertorunontheirown.Oncebuilt,thegamebecomesplayableonitsintendedplatform,andfunctionslikearegularconsolegame.ThebuildissenttothepublisherintwoformsviaFTPsite–as.RARcompressedfilesand.RVMlargediskimagefiles.Itisuptothepublisherwhichonetheywanttouse.Inadditiontotheactualgamefiles,thereisalwaysabuildnotesdocumentincludedwiththecollection.ThisMicrosoftWorddocumentidentifieswhatgameelementsareincludedinthelatestbuild,andthetechnicalrequirementsforexecutingthebuildfiles.QualityassuranceisexpectedtogivethebuildalastlookovertomakesureallthecorrectfilesareincludedandthattheRVMactuallyruns.E.PostProductionStage1.BugDatabaseAttheendoftheproductionlifecycle,thegamedevelopmentcompanyismostlyconcernedwithidentifyingandfixingbugs.Whenabugisfound,itisrecordedinthebugdatabase,aweb‐baseddatabasethatisproprietarytothepublisher,butaccessiblebyallemployeesatthedevelopmentcompany.Bugscanrangefroma"ClassA"bug,whichmustbefixed,toa"ClassC"bug,whichthedevelopmentteamwouldliketofix,butarenotasconcernedabout.Simultaneoustothequalityassurance’seffortstofindbugsisthepublisher’ssimilarsearch.Thepublisherlooksforproblemsandinconsistencieswiththegame,andcommunicatestheseissuestothedeveloperthroughthebugdatabase.Inmanycases,apublisheranddeveloperareindifferentcities,evendifferentcountries,sohavingthepublisherinputbuginformationdirectlyintothebugdatabaseisanadvantage.Thedeveloperfrequentlychecksthedatabasefornewentries,andassignsamemberofthedevelopmentteamthetaskofassessingandfixingeachnewbug.Eachbughasitsownrecordwithinformationonthetypeofbug;whereitoccursinthegame;whofoundit;andwhoisgoingtofixit.Thestatusofabugindicateswhetheritisstillunsolvedor“open,”orifitissolvedand“closed.”Bugrecordsarenotdeletedfromthedatabaseaftertheyaresolvedtoinsurethatthereisahistoryofwhathasbeenfoundandaccomplished.Ifneedbe,thecontentsofthebugdatabasecanbedownloadedasaMicrosoftExcelspreadsheet.Sinceaccesstoapublisher’sproprietarybugdatabasecanbedeniedafteragameisfinished,theExcelversionisoftentheonlyversionthegamedevelopercankeep.

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2.BurnDownChartThepurposeoftheburndownchartistomonitorhowmanybugseachemployeeisworkingon,andtoestimatethedatewhenallthebugswillbefixed.TheproducerusesMicrosoftExceltomonitorthebugceiling,orthenumberofbugsapersoncanberesponsibleforatanygiventime.Ifanemployeeishighlightedred,itmeanstheproducermayhavetodecreasethatperson’sworkload.Highlightedyellowmeansthatanemployeeisnearingthebugceiling,butisnotthereyet.Thebugceilingdecreasesasthegamegetsclosertocompletion.Thereisonlyoneversionofthedocument,whichisupdatedeachweekwithnewbugcounts.(SeeAPPENDIXIforasnapshotoftheburndownchart.)3.FocusGroupMoviesItisnotunusualforthegamedevelopmentcompanytohireamarketingfirmtofocustestagamebeforeitsrelease,althoughmanytimesfocustestingisleftuptothepublisher.Focustestinggenerallyinvolvesasmallgroupofage‐appropriatevolunteerswhoplaythegameanddiscusswhattheydidanddidnotlikeaboutit.Thisinformationisusefultothedeveloper,whostillhasachancetochangeafewthingsbeforethegameisfinalized.Focusgroupsessionsaretaped,andthosevideofilesaremadeavailabletothedevelopertowatchandreview.4.ESRBRatingsApplicationInordertosellagameatmostretailersintheUnitedStates,thegamemustbegivenanEntertainmentSoftwareRatingsBoard(ESRB)reviewandofficialrating.ThegamedeveloperappliesforareviewbysubmittinganapplicationasaMicrosoftWorddocument,alongwith30minutesoffootageoftypicalgameplay.Afterafewweeks,theESRBsendsthedeveloperanotherMicrosoftWorddocumentthatliststhechosenratingandthereasonswhy.AnESRBratingsapplicationisonlysubmittedwhengameproductionhasreachedthepointwhennonewcontentisbeingcreated.5.ManualWhilemostofthelayoutandfinaldesignofagame’susermanualisdeterminedbythepublisher,thedeveloperisoftenresponsibleforthecopy.Informationaboutthestory,charactersandgameplayfeaturesarewrittenbythedeveloper,whocreatesthefirstversionofthedraftinMicrosoftWord.Almostanyoneatthedevelopmentcompanycanworkonthemanual,andisoftenassignedtodifferentindividualswhoareveryfamiliarwiththevariousaspectsofgameplay.6.GMCBuildTheGMC,orgoldmastercandidate,buildisthefinalandcompletebuildofthegamethatissenttotheconsolevendorforapproval.TheGMCbuildisverysimilartopreviousbuilds,expectitcontainstheentiregamefile.Oncetheconsolevendorapprovesthegameforsale,copiesaremadeanddistributedbytheconsolecompany.Ifforsomereasonthegameisnotapproved,thedeveloperwillhavetocontinueworkingonthegame,whichriskspushingtheirreleasedate.

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7.PerforceArchiveGettingthegamereleasedtomanufacturing,orRTMstage,ispartofthegamedevelopmentcompany’sfinalmilestone.Thisisthepointwhentheconsolecompanyhasapprovedthegameandbeguntomanufacturecopiesofitfordistribution.Alsopartofthesamemilestoneisprovidingthepublisheracopyofthegamearchive.ThisisthearchiveofallthefilesinPerforce,includingacopyofthefinalbuildofthegameandthefilesrequiredtomakethatbuild.Itdoesnotinclude,however,anyadditionalsoftwarethatmightbeneededtorunthegame.Thepublisherrequeststhearchiveincasethereiseveraproblemwiththegame,orifasequelismadebutnotbythesamedeveloper.Theperforcearchivealsoservesasa“receipt”fortheproductioncoststhepublisherpaidthedeveloper.8.PostMortemThepostmortemactuallyhappensafteragamehasshipped.Itisachanceforthegamedevelopmentcompanytoreflectontherecentgameproduction,andasseswhatwentrightandwhatwentwrong.Forthoseaspectsidentifiedasgoingwrong,possiblesolutionsforthefutureareoutlined.Thepostmortemisinitiallyconductedbytheleadsofeachdiscipline,whocollecttheirthoughtsinoneMicrosoftWorddocument.Ameetingisheldwithallemployeesofthecompany,wheretheoutcomeofthepostmortemisreportedandfeedbackissolicited.Manyofthesolutionsdeterminedinthepostmortemareincorporatedintothestudiopoliciesandproductionstandardsdocuments,aswellasthesharedwiki.IV.FinalThoughtsandConclusionsThemajorityoftherecordslistedinthispaperaredigitalfiles,andmoreimportantly,borndigitalfiles.Seeingashowthevideogameindustryisdominatedbydigitaltechnologies,itwouldmakesensethatgamedevelopersembracetheworldof1’sand0’swhenitcomestorecordsmanagement.Whilethereisnothingwrongwithhowthegamecommunityconductsbusiness,itsrelianceondigitalcouldbeaserioushindrancetoarchiveswishingtobecomethecustodiansofgamerecords.Manygameassetsarecreatedwithhighlyproprietarysoftware,whichanarchiveismostassuredlynotgoingtoown.Thegameindustrycombatspotentialtechnologicalobsolescencebygeneratingemulatorswhenanoldfileneedstobeaccessed.Anarchivecancertainlytakethisapproachaswell,butmightfinditselfhavingtopayalotofmoneytofindsomeonetobuildagameengineemulator.Thismaymeanthatvideogamearchivesneedtoassesswhatrecordsbestrepresentthe“organizationalandpersonalprocessesandcontexts”thatAnneGilliland‐Swetlandreferredto,andfocusonobtainingandpreservingjustthose.Forexample,isitenoughtosavejustthegamedesigndocumentsandthefinal,consumerversionofavideogameinsteadofeachmilestonebuild?Maybenot,butthosedocumentswouldseemtobeeasiertopreserveintothefuturethan.S3Dand.SWFfiles.MaybetheansweriscreatingPDFand

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TIFFderivativesofthevariousassets.Anarchiveisnottryingtore‐buildagame,soisitnecessaryforthemtohaveeverytexturefile,oraretheTIFFimagesofthosetexturesenough?Eitherway,archivingthevideogameindustryseemstocallforcooperationbetweenthetwocommunities,andabetterunderstandingofeachother’sneeds.AsGilliland‐Swetlandwouldsay,“eachcommunity[should]learntheothers’vocabularies[…]anddeterminewhatneedstobeaccommodatedandwherenewpracticesneedtobedevised”(2000,p.1).Thevideogamecommunitycangreatlybenefitfromthecareandcustodianshipofarchivists,whowillhelpensurethehistoryofthisimportantindustryismaintainedforgenerationstocome.V.WorkCitedGilliland‐Swetland,AnneJ.(February2000).EnduringParadigm,NewOpportunities:TheValueoftheArchivalPerspectiveintheDigitalEnvironment.TheCouncilonLibraryandInformationResources.http://www.clir.org

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APPENDIXA–SNAPSHOTOFCASHFLOWDOCUMENT

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APPENDIXB–EXAMPLEFROMAGAMEDESIGNDOCUMENT

PLAYERCONTROLS

Pickupitem

Moveforwardorback

ShakeWiiRemoteorNunchukforaction

PauseMenu

Jump

Fight

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APPENDIXC–EXAMPLEFROMCHARACTERROSTER

BOWSER,KINGKOOPA

APPEARSIN

• Level5

PRIORITY

• High

GAMEUSAGE

• Enemyforplayertofight

ABILITIESANDEQUIPMENT

• Strongfighter• Mace

OPENQUESTIONS

• Whatcolorshouldhisshellbe?

ANSWEREDQUESTIONS

• TODO

RISKSANDMITIGATIONS

• Complicatedanimationso Definedearlyandweshouldhavetimetocreatethischaracter

VARIANTS

• Ghostworldversion(shouldbecreatedinblackandwhite)

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APPENDIXD–EXAMPLEOFCONCEPTART

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APPENDIXE–REFERENCEPHOTOFORGAMEENVIRONMENT

APPENDIXF–PAPERDESIGNEXAMPLE

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APPENDIXG–EXAMPLEOFARTASSETATDIFFERENTSTAGESOFMODELINGANDTEXTURING

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APPENDIXH–EXAMPLEOFIN‐GAMESCREENSHOTSOFALEVELANDTHEUSERINTERFACE

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APPENDIXI–SNAPSHOTOFTHEBURNDOWNCHART