Video Game Programming and Development: An Explanation of the Process

By Gina Kraft

 

The entire development process starts from the initial conceptualization of a game, analyzing consumer responses, and gamers offering solutions and ideas to the bugs they detect on the game. The world's latest innovations have indeed advanced the modern gaming industry.
The Development Process. The development of a successful video game is something which needs the input of more than thirty people, with each individual working on a special assignment. Nowadays, the great variety of gaming consoles and platforms have greatly increased the public's expectations. Every detail of a video game may take weeks or even months of hard work to create, making the entire game development process difficult, but lucrative. The elevation of video games to a much more realistic and futuristic dimension is what makes gaming an elite industry in the world today.
Development consists of a huge network of professionals divided into different slates to work on specialized aspects of the game. Each team focuses entirely on its task. The whole programming team is led by an executive producer and project manager to make sure that all departments are working in a coordinated and harmonious manner. In conjunction with the basic programming teams, there are equally important teams that deal with auxiliary tasks such as the tools department, engine department and audio department.
The Game Concept. Each game is born from an idea that needs to be realized. This idea serves as the inspirational blueprint for the game design team. The concept selected by game designers could be original, licensed-based or a sequel. Licensed-based titles can come from movies, books or other people. As soon as a concept is formulated, a 'concept plan' is then required and submitted to the project's main decision makers. In addition, licensed-based titles need authorization from the original makers. Pre-production Stage. During this point, a more detailed design of the video game is crafted and this is done primarily by the game designer. The document should specify and establish the main goals of the game. During this stage, the developers not only work on the software but also produce a detailed report on what type of technology is used in the game and the type of engine it should work on. Production. This is probably the most important part of the development process. Tool programmers, interface programmers, artificial intelligence experts and engine professionals work together in developing the game. The audio department takes care of background music, interface music and character voices.
Post production. Here comes the video game testing stage. The graphics are polished. Marketing the software also takes place at the final stage. Once the game is released, the development process is completed.

Gina Kraft wrote the article for Game Shastra. Gina is a supporter of Game Shastra specially, their Game Development, Game Design, and Game Testers.

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The Stages of Game Development

By Gina Kraft

 

It's difficult to play a video game without appreciating all that goes into the game development of the world, characters, and concept. Many gamers look to the video game world to provide a form of escape from the daily grind. However, in order for a game to provide this level of enjoyment, it must have a well thought-out game concept, good story/plot, and intricate character development. Game design is a bit of a complicated process, but is much easier to follow when broken up into stages.
Developing the Idea
The first stage of game development is formulating the idea. The concept of a game is usually created by a team of designers that work together to come up with the basic idea. The genre of the game is the first thing that must be decided. Will it be a shooter, action, adventure, action-adventure, role playing, simulation, or strategy game? Once the genre is determined, developers go to work putting together the concept. This leads to the next stage of design which includes the development of the story and characters.
Story and Character Development
During this stage of development, the player's character must be carefully considered. In order to create a successful game, the player must be able to identify with the character and want to play out his or her story. The environment around the player is also designed at this point. In order to properly create the environment, it must be determined how the player will be interacting with the game. After these details are established, the concept is submitted to the decision-makers for approval. If approved, the money is provided for game development
Creating Scenes
During scene creation, a scenario or set of scenarios must be developed. The main scenes vital to the story of the game are described in detail, with focus on the communication between the player and the game. This communication is vital for passing necessary information to the player in a way that does not detract from the engaging story. The main scenes are sketched during this phase and background music and special effects are created as well. Everything is developed with the idea of capturing the player's attention and keeping it.
Production and Testing
When the concept is fully created and the sketches and ideas are completed, it's time take the game out of the imagination of the design team and turn it into a real experience. This is the stage where programmers work on the code to create all the scenes previously described. The graphics are then fine-tuned to bring the world and the characters to life. At this point, everyone on the team must be able to work together on the game design in order for it to succeed. When the programming is completed, game testers begin to search for bugs to help ensure smooth game play before it is released.

Gina Kraft wrote the article for Game Shastra. Gina is a supporter of Game Shastra especially, their Game Development, Game Design, and Game Testers.

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Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3

By Clifford Abrahams

 

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 is another tactical action game in the series. Your goal this time is to free China. Just like the episodes in the past, there are thousands of faceless warriors you will defeat in your quest for China's freedom. This new version has plenty of action and fans of the genre will thoroughly enjoy playing the game.
This game is big, providing a massive amount of levels to delve through before you finally finish the game. The storyline, although very similar to those of the past, is enticing and the player will be enthralled at the new characters and graphics. You play mission after mission in this never ending action title. If you played Gundam series before you will be familiar with all the different characters, and probably you will have a favorite personality. The four campaigns making up the story will take days to complete.
All your missions have one goal in mind. Destroy the head of the enemy forces, or degrade their fighting ability to such an extent where they provide no real threat. Eventually you over run their bases and take control. This is how you win the game. You will gain credits and get extra tactical advantages as you proceed. Some of the exciting moments of the game are fighting with your sword and slashing your enemy in half. You can also use explosives to kill huge amounts of enemy soldiers. The more you kill, the higher your score and you will try and get the highest score possible.
You can use the gold you earn to upgrade your own army, get new units and renew any equipment lost or destroyed. You can improve your skills and tactics as money can buy anything. This action packed game however, can get boring after a while, as you are basically doing the same thing over and over again. You will be killing the same armies throughout the game, from one level to the next.
The game is addictive and the more you play, the more reluctant you are to put down the controls. You can play co-op and enjoy the company of your friends, and this mode makes the game even more interesting. You can swap ideas and tactical plans with your partners and improve your score.
The graphics have been vastly improved to those in the predecessor. The music is fitting for the game. The narrative is easy to follow and you must heed his instructions and listen to his advice in order to successfully complete your missions. The story is well thought out and logically played out. The developer has ensured that fans get their money's worth. The controls are smooth and despite the massive amount of characters on the screen there is fluid movement without jerking or struggling.
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 is not a game that will appeal to everyone. You need to be a fan of this type of game and you won't be disappointed. Most enthusiasts will be raving for weeks after they finished the game, and may even play it again to relive the exciting entertainment it provides.

Please visit our ps3 games website for the latest PlayStation 3 games news.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clifford_Abrahams

Battlefield 3 Classes

By German Batista

 

The new classes in Battlefield 3 merges the 7 classes that were available in Battlefield 2. The four classes in Battlefield 3 are going to be support, engineer, recon, and assault. In Battlefield 2 you had a medic class but it was hardly ever used, mainly because you didn't get any additional points for doing your task and the weapons were inadequate to defend yourself. The assault class is now the new medic, and it includes a new feature where you can remove your defibrillator and add a grenade launcher attachment instead. So now you are able to customize each class anyway you want. In previous FPS like Black Ops and Bad Company 2, when you see a player that needs to be resurrected, you can go up and revive the player whether they like it or not. In Battlefield 2 the player had a choice whether if they wanted to be revived or not, which gave them a chance to change class; this feature will be brought back in Battlefield 3. Also the defibrillator will have a longer wait time before you can revive someone again, in Bad Company 2 there were too many people being revived left and right which became really annoying.
The support class will have the ability to give out extra ammo to players who need it, and, like in previous Battlefield games, will have heavier guns like the PKM, which holds more ammo and packs more firepower than a regular assault rifle. They have also included a bipod on these weapons so that when you lay prone you'll have better accuracy when firing.
The engineer class will have the same features in Battlefield 3 like they did in Bad Company 2, anti-tank equipment, and the ability to repair vehicles. Recon will be the new sniper class, which will have team based features on it rather than having players selfishly snipe enemies from afar, but there isn't enough info on this class yet.
Battlefield 3 will include squad leaders like in Battlefield 2, and it will be a 4 man squad. Squad leaders will have the chance to create the squad and the ability to respawn someone at your location. So it is really important for the leader to stay alive and to have your team support you in order to advance through objectives.
Overall they are really making the classes team based so that you work together to accomplish objectives, instead of running around trying to get the most kills. We can expect more features to come as we get closer to the release date. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes revealed at mw3vsbf3.com

http://www.mw3vsbf3.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=German_Batista

What Is the New Playstation Vita by Sony?

By Leanna Steele

 

Everyone is talking about the new upcoming game console by Sony, which is Playstation Vita that is going to be released late this year. Get in the know and find out what people have been talking about, and why. This article discusses the fuss about this new handheld game console.
In early 2011, everyone was so excited about this new upcoming handheld game console by Sony, which back then was codenamed Sony NGP, or Sony Next Generation Portable. In June 2011, during the E3 Expo (Electronics Entertainment Expo) that took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Sony announced that the official name for this new handheld game console will be Playstation Vita, also called PS Vita, sometimes also written as PSVita, without the space in between the word PS and Vita.
Critics have good praise for this device, with most game critics citing that it will probably be the best handheld console out there that will defeat Nintendo 3DS (also called 3DS) hands down, and Nintendo 3DS was only launched February this year (Japan) and March this year in North America. Playstation Vita, or PS Vita is speculated to take most of the market share from Nintendo 3DS when it is released. The official release date for this console still has not been announced yet, as of now. However, many have speculated that the console will be released as early as November this year in Europe, and probably after Christmas this year in North America. However, this is only speculation and we are yet to hear from Sony official representatives regarding the release dates. Many have expressed their disappointment to the rumor that this console will not be launched before Christmas. Many are hoping to get this console for Christmas as a Christmas present.
Some die-hard Apple iPhone fans may not like this game console though, thinking that this gaming device is a 'threat' to their beloved iPhone (even though both products clearly have different target market than PS Vita). Whatever it is, PS Vita is already climbing the chart in Video Games category on pre-order on Amazon.com and many other online retailer websites like Best Buy.
If you are a casual gamer there's a chance you won't like this device though, as this device is probably built with 'hardcore gamers' in mind. This device is clearly targeting 'gamers' who are always looking for new features and looking for maximum gaming experience. Since PS Vita also allows you to save and play your PS3 games on it, this will be a really great feature for gamers alike.

The author can be found on most PS Vita and PlayStation forums. He is also running a PS Vita website dedicated for PS Vita news and updates.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Leanna_Steele

Welcome to I love Games for Life

HI everyone.

I love Game for life was created by me to pass on information, news and updates that are happening in the exciting world of gaming! I've been playing games since my dad bought my brother a Commodor computer and I'd sneak downstairs to play tennis on it (loved that game) when no one was looking. Wow, long ago eh? Well, thats how long I've loved gaming. So sit back and enjoy my site. I hope you gain a lot of valuable info!

Take care :)