Game architecture and design

Abstract

Introduction. I. GAME DESIGN. 1. First Concept. The Shock of the New. The Creative Road Map. Having the Idea. Shaping the Idea. The Treatment. Taking Stock. Feasibility. Getting it Down. 2. Core Design. What Is a Game? Games Aren't Everything. Games Mean Gameplay. Creating the Game Spec. Example Game Spec. 3. Gameplay. What Is Gameplay? Interactivity. 4. Detailed Design. The Designer's Role. Design Documentation. Using The Design Documents. Fitting Design to Development. Why Use Documents at All? 5. Game Balance. Player/Player Balance. Player/Gameplay Balance. Gameplay/Gameplay Balance. A Game Balance Checklist. 6. Look and Feel. Ambience. Interface. Storytelling. The Sum of the Parts. 7. Wrapping Up. The Professionals. 8. The Future of Game Design. The Necessity of Design. Essentials of Game Design. The Future of Design. The Future of Games. Games as Entertainment. The Way Forward. II. TEAM BUILDING AND MANAGEMENT. 9. Current Methods. The Current Development Model. 10. Roles and Divisions. Assigning Personnel. Improving Morale and the Working Environment. Spreading the Risk. 11. The Software Factory. What Is a Software Factory? Why Use a Software Factory? Organizing a Software Factory. Applying the Software Factory Structure and Methodology. The Suitability of a Software Factory. Smaller Teams. The Final Word. 12. Milestones and Deadlines. How Milestones Currently Work. Fuzzy Milestones. Milestones and Mini-Milestones. When to Use Milestones. Making Your Milestones Accurate. Defining Milestones. 13. Procedures and Procedures. Procedures: Where to Use Them? Source Control and Code Reviews: A Synergy. The Importance of Information Transmission. 14. Troubleshooting. Risks. 15. The Future of the Industry. The State of the Industry. The New Model Developers. The Online Revolution. III. GAME ARCHITECTURE. 16. Current Development Methods. The History of Development Techniques. The Present Day. 17. Initial Design. The Beginning. Hardware Abstraction. The Problem Domain. Thinking in Tokens. 18. Use of Technology. The State of the Art. Blue-Sky Research. Reinventing the Wheel. Use of Object Technology. 19. Building Bricks. Reusability in Software. 20. Initial Architecture Design. The Birth of an Architecture. The Tier System. Architecture Design. 21. Development. The Development Process. Code Quality. Coding Priorities. Debugging and Module Completion. The Seven Golden Gambits. The Three Lead Balloons. 22. The Run-Up to Release. Late Evaluation. Late Localization. Playtesting. Focus Groups. The Web Site. Getting Ready for the Gold Master. Patches. 23. Postmortem. Case Study 23.1A Tale of Two Projects. Team Dynamics. Concept. Development. Business Aspects. The Postmortem Postmortem. 24. The Future of Game Development. Development in Context. Future Development. Small Is Beautiful Too. Building the Team of the Future. New Directions in Development. The Shape of Things to Come? IV. APPENDIXES. Appendix A: Sample Game Design Documents. Detailed Design Discussions. Initial Treatments and Sample Designs. Racketeers: Gang Warfare in the Roaring Twenties. Technical Specifications. Code Review Form. Test Scripts. Appendix B: Bibliography. Glossary. Index.

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