Video game development

Development of commercial video games is normally funded by a publisher and can take two to five years to reach completion. Game creation by small, self-funded teams is called independent development. The technology in a game may be written from scratch or use proprietary software specific to one company. As development has become more complex, it has become common for companies and independent developers alike to use off-the-shelf "engines" such as Unity or Unreal Engine.^[1]


Commercial game development began in the 1970s with the advent of arcade video games, first-generation video game consoles like the Atari 2600, and home computers like the Apple II. Into the 1980s, a lone programmer could develop a full and complete game such as Pitfall!. By the second and third generation of video game consoles in the late 1980s, the growing popularity of 3D graphics on personal computers, and higher expectations for visuals and quality, it became difficult for a single person to produce a mainstream video game. The average cost of producing a high-end (often called AAA) game slowly rose from US$1–4 million in 2000, to over $200 million and up by 2023. At the same time, independent game development has flourished. The best-selling video game of all time, Minecraft, was initially written by one person, then supported by a small team, before the company was acquired by Microsoft and greatly expanded.


Mainstream commercial video games are generally developed in phases. A concept is developed which then moves to pre-production where prototypes are written and the plan for the entire game is created. This is followed by full-scale development or production, then sometimes a post-production period where the game is polished. It has become common for many developers, especially smaller developers, to publicly release games in an "early access" form, where iterative development takes place in tandem with feedback from actual players.

Overview[edit]

Games are produced through the software development process. ^[2] Games are developed as a creative outlet^[3] and to generate profit.^[4] Game making is considered both art and science.^[5][6] Development is normally funded by a publisher.^[7] Well-made games bring profit more readily.^[5] However, it is important to estimate a game's financial requirements,^[8] such as development costs of individual features.^[9] Failing to provide clear implications of game's expectations may result in exceeding allocated budget.^[8] In fact, the majority of commercial games do not produce profit.^[10][11][12] Most developers cannot afford to change their development schedule midway, and require estimating their capabilities with available resources before production.^[13]


The game industry requires innovations, as publishers cannot profit from the constant release of repetitive sequels and imitations.^[14] Every year new independent development companies open and some manage to develop hit titles. Similarly, many developers close down because they cannot find a publishing contract or their production is not profitable.^[15] It is difficult to start a new company due to the high initial investment required.^[16] Nevertheless, the growth of the casual and mobile game market has allowed developers with smaller teams to enter the market. Once the companies become financially stable, they may expand to develop larger games.^[15] Most developers start small and gradually expand their business.^[16] A developer receiving profit from a successful title may store up capital to expand and re-factor their company, as well as tolerate more failed deadlines.^[17]


An average development budget for a multiplatform game is US$18-28M, with high-profile games often exceeding $40M.^[18]


In the early era of home computers and video game consoles in the early 1980s, a single programmer could handle almost all the tasks of developing a game — programming, graphical design, sound effects, etc.^[19][20][21] It could take as little as six weeks to develop a game.^[20] However, the high user expectations and requirements^[20] of modern commercial games far exceed the capabilities of a single developer and require the splitting of responsibilities.^[22] A team of over a hundred people can be employed full-time for a single project.^[21]


Game development, production, or design is a process that starts from an idea or concept.^{[23][24][25][26]} Often the idea is based on a modification of an existing game concept.^[23][27] The game idea may fall within one or several genres.^[28] Designers often experiment with different combinations of genres.^[28][29] A game designer generally writes an initial game proposal document, that describes the basic concept, gameplay, feature list, setting and story, target audience, requirements and schedule, and finally staff and budget estimates.^[30] Different companies have different formal procedures and philosophies regarding game design and development.^[31][31][32] There is no standardized development method; however commonalities exist.^[32][33]


A game developer may range from a single individual to a large multinational company. There are both independent and publisher-owned studios.^[34] Independent developers rely on financial support from a game publisher.^[35] They usually have to develop a game from concept to prototype without external funding. The formal game proposal is then submitted to publishers, who may finance the game development from several months to years. The publisher would retain exclusive rights to distribute and market the game and would often own the intellectual property rights for the game franchise.^[34] The publisher may also own the development studio,^[34][36] or it may have internal development studio(s). Generally the publisher is the one who owns the game's intellectual property rights.^[11]


All but the smallest developer companies work on several titles at once. This is necessary because of the time taken between shipping a game and receiving royalty payments, which may be between 6 and 18 months. Small companies may structure contracts, ask for advances on royalties, use shareware distribution, employ part-time workers and use other methods to meet payroll demands.^[37]


Console manufacturers, such as Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony, have a standard set of technical requirements that a game must conform to in order to be approved. Additionally, the game concept must be approved by the manufacturer, who may refuse to approve certain titles.^[38]


Most modern PC or console games take from three to five years to complete, where as a mobile game can be developed in a few months.^[39] The length of development is influenced by a number of factors, such as genre, scale, development platform and number of assets.


Some games can take much longer than the average time frame to complete. An infamous example is 3D Realms' Duke Nukem Forever, announced to be in production in April 1997 and released fourteen years later in June 2011.^[40] Planning for Maxis' game Spore began in late 1999; the game was released nine years later in September 2008. The game Prey was briefly profiled in a 1997 issue of PC Gamer, but was not released until 2006, and only then in highly altered form. Finally, Team Fortress 2 was in development from 1998 until its 2007 release, and emerged from a convoluted development process involving "probably three or four different games", according to Gabe Newell.^[41]


The game revenue from retail is divided among the parties along the distribution chain, such as — developer, publisher, retail, manufacturer and console royalty. Many developers fail to profit from this and go bankrupt.^[37] Many seek alternative economic models through Internet marketing and distribution channels to improve returns,^[42] as through a mobile distribution channel the share of a developer can be up to 70% of the total revenue^[39] and through an online distribution channel owned by the developer almost 100%.