Whether developing a board or video game, the critical information gathered from thorough play testing during the prototyping phase make it an essential aspect of any serious game production process. Prototypes allow developers to perform rule testing, enjoyability testing and ensure that specific mechanics are obtainable and actually work before spending excess time and money developing something that doesn't work or just isn't fun.
While critically important, prototyping should also be done as quickly and cheaply as possible. When building a board game, the first iteration she be tested using rudimentary materials drawn on paper or even using materials taken from other board games. For a video game, each specific game mechanic should be prototyped and tested before game production actually starts. However, at this phase developers only need to prove the mechanic works and should not waste time and money with elegant coding or performance optimization.
Good prototyping saves money, helps improve the product and can help limit surprises and/or delays during the production process. To borrow and twist an old saying, "if you fail to prototype you are prototyping failure." - or something link that.
No comments:
Post a Comment