Pre-Production

Unit 1

 Type of production -Pre-Production to game design: The pre-production for a game is the most important thing to do before making the game to life. However pre-production isn’t just for games it’s also for all types of art, such as TV, Radio, Films and even photography in some areas. There are many types of production which can be useful in order to have the right idea in what you want to use in order to create your game with. There are types of production which can help you to mass produce the game in order to reach the amount of demand otherwise this could lead to a bad start and would also cost the company lots of money.  There are ‘batch production’ this is where you only release a small amount of games or items for sale. This would be better for smaller companies who would test to see how many copies you would sell and if you end up selling the copies then you know that you can then release more because people are buying them.  There is also ‘one off production’ this is where the producers only sell one copy of the game this can also help the designers to save money but this is not usually used because they would not make enough money.

Finance
- You will need to make sure you have the right amount of finance to be able to complete

your game and make it have the up to date graphics and make it a top game as well as having to pay other essentials like staff so that you can make it quicker with different departments. You also need the money to purchase the software needed to be able to complete the game as well as buying the computers or other items which will be needed to create the game and give the staff the tools to create a game which could be the game of the year. You would also need to pay for advertisements for the TV which are very expensive as well as needing people to help design the graphics for the adverts and posters to make it more well known for people to learn and discover the game if they had not seen or heard about it then it could potentially bring in more revenue if it has a successful advertising campaign. You would also need to bring in certain people who can design a front cover/case for the game which would is necessary for the game so people can be aware of what type of game it is and also the rating so people know what it will contain. You would also have to give the publishers a percentage of what the game makes in revenue as well so if the game does not sell well then it could mean that the company could go into administration which would be catastrophic for the company.  

 

 

Time -Time management is very important in order to complete your game on time in order get the full revenue by the game publishers. This can bring more money into your company which will make you able to create a better game. It can also benefit you if you finish by a certain time then you will not need to rehire objects so you would save money not having to re-do it and then would be able to do more if you would be able to just continue and not have to rehire the equipment. Also you would need to check what times the voice actors and celebrities can come in because they might be booked to do other things so you would have to wait until they became free to book in again so it would be important to ask to sign them and get them to do the voice in advance. It would be also advised if you asked some of the other voice actors before so they could tell you in advance what days they can come in and voice act. You may also need money for transport to reach game launches or even game centers e.g. E3 which are big game events where developers/publishers show trailers and some gameplay of their game, so it is vital that they try and attend the big game events.

Personal-

The amount of personal you have can be important to make sure that you complete the game on time it can also depend on how well and skilled your personal are then can depend on how quick certain work will be programmed or designed. It can also effect the amount of money used as well for people’s wages which could make it more costly if they have to pay more people to work for them. The amount of people on each team for that area of production then it could become over crowded in that area so then people could start to get in the way of each other which could then cause delays for the game if people are getting in the way it could prevent certain areas being completed as quick which could cost the company money if there are too many delays. You also have to make sure that the people you want for art or voice actors then you will need to make sure then you have them booked otherwise you may have to wait for them to become free again which could take time. You should also make sure that people know what roles they are supposed to be doing and so there is no confusion on what their roles are. You also need to make sure that all your personal are properly skilled or have experience in the area that you want them to work in so if they do not have the correct skills or experience then you will not be able to work for you due to insufficient experience.

Facilities- The facilities are important to companies which will need to rent like materials which will be needed to make the game and if you do not use the correct equipment need or the right locations then it could mean that your game could not be as good or reach its correct potential then that could mean that the company could lose money because of this error. There are important facilities for the location so you can get it correct and get the environment correct and so this would be important for you to find the correct location and also make the most of the location or the area provided. You also may need to outsource  to get something that you may not currently have or something that you need but do not currently have then you would need to outsource in order to get it or purchase it for a certain amount of time.

 

Materials – The materials used are very similar to other sections of pre-production but it is still important that you make sure that you have the correct resources in order to complete it to a certain standard. You will need materials such as scripts which are very important to game completion and will need to be completed before any voice acting can be started until it’s finished by the script writers which is why it is important to have skilled people doing the script writing and normally the script is already written so it takes less time. Audio equipment is also very important in order to have clear and detailed audio such as ‘gun fire’ which will be needed if the game you are creating is a shooter or contains shooting then you will need the correct sounds to achieve an accurate game. Also you will need other sounds for the background like rain, wind and cars because it will make vital to create a perfect game for the player. You’ll also need costumes or outfits that will suit the game you are trying to create because then this will give you a more realistic experience for the voice actor so they can perform better and get into the character.

 

Contributors – This is important if you are in a specific area and you need information about the area then a local historian could be a vital contributor towards your game and how accurate it’ll be. It is also important that you have the correct contributors for the talent e.g. voice actors as well so they can make the game that little bit better which can improve the story for people if the character has a good emotional connection and a believable voice and this can improve the experience for some people. It is also important to make sure that you know what the weather is going to be and at what hours you can get good effects so having someone who knows about the weather like a specialists then it could prove important in what you are trying to catch otherwise you could miss the opportunity and then what you want might not be in the game and so people will have missed out on an experience so it is important to catch the moment you want by being prepared.  It may also be important if you are making a game about a specific person who is famous from historical events then you may need to talk to someone who is a specialist on the subject and someone who could give you access to his information like letters or any books he wrote or that people have wrote about him.

 

Locations -

It can be very important to have the right location for your game or any media it is vital you find the correct location which could make the game that bit better if you find the correct place so that it would look better for the player and will make the level feel better so it will flow better because level design can be very important and can make the feel of the game better. Distance can also be a factor in to where you want to go because if it’s too far then it can cause more money costs for the producers to have to travel there

and so money will have to be restricted in certain areas which could mean that the game will suffer because the money was spent on traveling which can be expensive.

 

Codes of practice and regulation-
It’s important that you do not break legal regulations or do not copyright other producers or there publishers so you do not receive a law suit and avoid having to go to court and having to pay a fine which could damage the amount you can use for the next game which may upset many fans because it will not be at the standard that they are used to because of the fine which could have been prevented if you had not broken the legislation laws. You also have to make sure that follow Health and safety rules otherwise it could end it you being sued if you do not allow certain things for your workers. There are also many trade associations for workers in the gaming industry which protect them from certain things that the company may do that is not legal towards the worker then that worker can use the trade association as support against the company. Some of the associations are (TIGA) The Independent Games Development another one is (BIMA) British Interactive Media Association one of the bigger ones are (PEGI) Pan European Game Information which rates what rating a game should be like 18 or lower ratings which can protect people from games which could give a negative influence on them. Ofcom is the main regularity for producers which can see what your trying to advertise and see if it can be aired during the day or after the water shed (9:00) which means it is more violent and can only be showed after the watershed which means it can show more parts which can be aimed at older audiences.

The parts of pre-production I will use for Wayne's game will be mainly time which will need to be managed well otherwise I will not meet the deadline which in the real world could be very costly if you do not meet the deadlines that have been set. The facilities that will be needed will be important like 'Game design' which will make the game and software like Photoshop will be needed to create some elements of the game that could not otherwise be used in the game. Locations would need to be looked at before the game has even been started to be developed because the place where you base it on will be very influential in how the game will look. Finance is something that will not matter while designing my game for Wayne but if I was to use equipment or have materials for when I am designing games out of college in the real world then costs will play a large part in the creation of my game. Codes and regulations will also not play a large part in my game for Wayne due to me being the only person that will work on the game due to the game being basic which does not include detailed coding or detail that would normally need a whole team to complete the task and they would also need to be looked after like health and safety which would be a high priority for many game companies which need to make sure that there workers are properly looked after and that they only work the regulated hours or the company could receive legal action against them.  Materials that would be needed for my game would normally just be used on the computer for free but if I was to get the software out of college for a personal game then I would have to spend a reasonable amount of money on buying the suitable software needed to create the game and I would need lots of materials to base the costumes on and clothing which normally cost a lot of money to get all the required materials. Personal will not be very important when doing Wayne’s game due to me being the only person who will be working on it due to the simplicity of the game and that it would also cost more money to hire people which would increase my budget and make the whole process more expensive because of it, but if I was making a game in a company e.g. Ubisoft I would need a big team to complete all of the resources that would be needed to make the game sound realistic and to make the graphics seem real on next gen as well as sounds and art details that would need many personal on the team to make sure it would be made on time to meet the deadline which could mean that if you do not meet the deadline then it could mean that the publishing company could demand more money because you did not meet the designated deadline.

By Joe W