Game Design and Development Report: Techniques, Ideas, and Testing

This report provides a comprehensive overview of game design and development, encompassing various aspects of the industry. It begins with an introduction to game design and development, highlighting the use of coding and programming for gaming programs across different platforms. The main body of the report is divided into tasks, starting with idea generation techniques used by industry practitioners, such as storyboards, brainstorming, mood boards, concentration, and SCAMPER. It also analyzes factors contributing to successful idea generation, including goals, people involved, development processes, market trends, and technology. The report then explores different game ideas and designs, including puzzle games, arcade games, action games, racing games, and adventure games. Further tasks cover game design proposals, functional game prototypes using industry-standard techniques, iterative testing and revision processes, and game prototype applications to a defined audience. The report also discusses gameplay mechanisms, testing techniques such as combinatorial, functionality, compatibility, tree, regression, load, play, and ad hoc testing, and the development process, which includes planning, pre-production, production, launch, pre-launch, testing, and post-production phases. The conclusion summarizes the entertainment-focused nature of the game design industry and emphasizes the need for specialized skills and expertise.

Design

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Task 1..........................................................................................................................................1
Idea generation techniques used by industry practitioners................................................1
Factors that contribute to the generation of successful ideas............................................2
Task 2..........................................................................................................................................2
Game ideas and design......................................................................................................2
Game design proposal and supporting documentation......................................................3
Task 3..........................................................................................................................................3
Functional game prototype using industry-standard techniques.......................................3
Game prototype through iterative testing and revision......................................................3
Task 4..........................................................................................................................................4
Game prototype to a defined audience..............................................................................4
Gameplay mechanisms, testing and the development process..........................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Game design and development refers to the development of the gaming programs using
coding and programming which can run either on gaming systems, computer systems or mobile
technologies. Gaming zones are in trends now a day so industries which are mainly dealing with
such activities and functions in their business are growing at a very good pace due to the
advanced technology used with proper securities and animations (Czauderna and Guardiola,
2019). The following discussions are made on the idea generation techniques used by the
industry, factors that contribute to the generation of successful ideas, game ideas and design,
game design proposal and supporting documents, functional game prototypes using industry
standard techniques, iterative testing and revision, game prototype, testing and development
process with a proper findings and conclusion.
MAIN BODY
Task 1
Idea generation techniques used by industry practitioners
There are numerous techniques such as storyboards which is defined as the graphic layout or
graphic organizer which states various illustrations and images in an orderly way with a motive
of depicting the story in order to transfer their ideas from their minds to the display screen which
is used by the game developers. Brainstorming is defined as the grouping of the people and
discussing the ideas and innovations with each and every one by following the three steps such
as statement of the task, generations of ideas and grouping and selection. Mood boards is defined
as the visual board which consist of images in order to represent the ideas about the game
graphics and animation, it can be in the form of text, samples or collages. Concentration is
defined as the deep thinking about something which can result in something new and innovative
ideas for gaming, in depth concentration is necessary if developers wants to utilise the advanced
technology in a right and efficient way. Scamper is defined as the technique which is used to
solve out the problem for example if game needs to be named in an attractive manner so
developers can use seven steps given by scamper such as substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put
to another use, eliminate and reverse (da Silva Júnior, Santos de Lima, Sousa Lima and
Monteiro, 2020).
1

Factors that contribute to the generation of successful ideas
There are various factors that affects the generations of successful ideas such as goals and
objectives which means that perfect and accurate idea can only be generated if goals and
objectives are clear to the developers because they highly affect the new ideas that can be
implemented in developing the game. People which means that ideas are basically depends on
the people who are involved in the process of development of the game because their thing
power and mind-set definitely affects the game structure and ideas. Development process which
means that ideas and can also get affected if the development process decided is not up to the
mark or consumes more resources then estimated so therefore, development process is an
essential point to remember so that successful ideas can be generated. Market trends which
means that no idea can work without knowing or having the good knowledge about the market or
gaming industry because technology updates as per the needs and requirements of the market and
customers and therefore, market trends and generation of new ideas are relatable so that idea can
exactly hit its success for gaming industry. Technology which means that idea can only be
generated and successful if the technology requirements are met by the company because
technology updates on a regular basis and every day something new is discovered either with
features or security, so therefore, keeping pace with the technology can highly affect the success
of the ideas in the gaming industry (Hicks, Gerling, Dickinson and Vanden Abeele, 2019).
Task 2
Game ideas and design
There are different gaming ideas and design which are in trend and can result benefit for
the company such as puzzle games which are also considered as the mind games in which people
needs to solve out the scenario that are given in the game using their minds and logics. They are
of many types such as pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, word
completion and problem solving. Arcade games ae coin operated machines which are usually
placed in restaurant and bars in context of any business and such games are video games, pinball
machines, electro mechanical games, redemption games or merchandisers. Such games are
programmed in terms of coin operation or token systems. Action games are generally the
animated or graphics games which consists the fighting games. Shooting games or platform
2

games. Such games are in trend especially for boys so their involvement is maximum in these
types of games according to the research. Racing games are games in which people makes
participation in racing through any type of mode such as road, water, air or space. It is basically
dependent from racing world racing leagues to fantastical settings. Adventure games are the
games in which player itself assumes as a detective to find or adventure something like puzzle
scenario. This relates to the thrill and mind game for the people (Kankainen and Paavilainen,
2019).
Game design proposal and supporting documentation
Task 3
Functional game prototype using industry-standard techniques
There are various prototypes such as sketches and diagrams are one of the technique of
prototyping which states that it is an ancient method where old people use to depict their things
using drawings, diagrams, figures or sketches and it is considered a very efficient method
because it creates better understanding of the game scenario. Paper interfaces states that idea has
implemented on digital paper through proper and perfect figures which includes charts, data,
facts or tables. It helps the person in better understanding of the situation sand conditions in
gaming programming. Role playing states that it is an experimental technique in which the firm
play the game and records it so that they can showcase that role play of him to the world so that
world can have a look on the fun and entertainment part of the game and can get attracted
towards the game. Physical models states that the company uses the models to show their reality
of game in a three dimensional way by making the physical model of it and bring in fort of the
world to launch the game and organise the events to explore the game’s features and
specifications (Chen, Hammer and Dabbish, 2019).
Game prototype through iterative testing and revision
There are five phases of iterative testing and revision such a first is planning and
requirements which means that it is necessary to plan the needs and requirements of the game
design and development so that resources used can be controlled and utilised in a maximum way
without any wastages and can maintain sustainability while developing the game. Second is
3

analysis and design which means that after examining the requirements of the game program, it’s
analysis and designing is important for final implementation of it for better specifications and
configuration of it. Third is implementation which means that after designing the proper work,
implementation and execution of the program is done for ultimate use of the game. Fourth is
testing which is a very important step because without testing, company cannot hand it over to
their clients because debugging an error detection and rectification is a very significant step in
coding and programming. Fifth is evaluation and review which means after error rectification
and it is essential to evaluate and review the program so that minute mistake can be taken off and
an appropriate and perfect program can be handled out by the gamer, it is also considered as the
end scanning of the whole program (Sarkar and Cooper, 2020).
Task 4
Game prototype to a defined audience
There are numerous game prototypes to a defined audience such as transition from paper
to software design which states the importance of paper design, defining requirements, abstract
components from requirements, flow charts and state diagrams. All such things are transitioned
from paper to the designing of the software. Prototype a user interface which states that creating
a mock up and adding functionality. All such things are used to prototype the user interface so
that it can be performed in a more amended manner. Create a virtual prototype states that the use
of artificial intelligence so that the company can reach its customers in a virtual manner, it has a
high needs and various benefits to use such type of prototype to be attractive in front of the
world. Add I/O to your prototype states that the game must consist both input and output
prototypes to their defined audiences so that they can easily get over the game without any
hindrances and complications. Engineer your algorithm states the programming limitations, basic
algorithm implementations, reworking algorithms for multiple platforms, test and verification,
multiple model of computations such as data flow, textual math, C code, open software
architecture and the lab view approach. Instrument and test your prototype states the limit
testing, stress testing and measuring I/O using data acquisition (Li and Wang, 2020).
Gameplay mechanisms, testing and the development process
Testing Techniques
4

There are various techniques such as combinatorial testing which means that any combination
can be applied in testing can give efficiency in testing, it can be different data or configuration as
well. Functionality testing means that it is specially used to bug or detect errors in order to rectify
the mistakes in a coding so that final execution can be perfect. Compatibility testing means that
testing is done in such a way so that the devices and language compatibility could be checked in
an effective manner without any hampering in a system. Tree testing means it enables to create
the cases of test in a grouping manner in order to test in depth for better accuracy. Regression
testing means to re-check the parts which are not changed from starting to the ending just to
confirm its accuracy of execution. Load testing means to test the program by overloading its
functioning in order to check the efficiency of the program. Play testing means to test the non-
functional features of the game like balancing, fun factors or difficulty levels. Ad Hoc testing
means to test the system on a random basis without any test cases or documentation, so that
random working of the game can be explored by the developers.
Development process
There are seven phases involved in the development process of the game such as first is planning
which is the primary step in the development process which plans about each and every activity
in the game from feasibility study to its implementation process. Pre-production step involves the
activities like storyboarding, storytelling, technological capabilities, early prototyping and
milestone scheduling. Production step involves modelling, designing, audio, visual effects,
physics, mechanics, developing and rendering. Launch step involves the major bug squashing,
minor bug squashing, polishing and master release. Pre-launch step involves alpha and beta
releases, marketing hype, gaming conventions and independent advertising. Testing step
involves the bug identifying, feature exploitation, levels in game and fun in the game. Post
production step involves the more bug squashing, game patching, game balancing and new
content development (Colby and Colby, 2019).
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that game design and development is an entertainment industry as compared
to other industries because it is based on the technology and it is merchandised for entertainment
purpose only either for kids or adults. Special skills or expertise are highly required in designing
and development of games as it needs the in depth knowledge of the updated technology and
programming. Therefore, it is important to analyse the idea generation techniques used by the
5

industry, it is essential to examine the factors that contribute to the generation of successful
ideas, it is necessary to determine the game ideas and design, it is significant to study the game
design proposal and supporting documents, it is important to analyse the functional game
prototypes using industry standard techniques, it is essential to examine the iterative testing and
revision, it is necessary to determine the game prototype and it is significant to study about the
testing and development process. Hence, this report covers all such areas for understanding the
concept of the game design and development.
6

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chen, T., Hammer, J. and Dabbish, L., 2019, May. Self-efficacy-based game design to
encourage security behavior online. In Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference
on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-6).
Colby, R. and Colby, R.S., 2019. Game design documentation: Four perspectives from
independent game studios. Communication Design Quarterly Review. 7(3). pp.5-15.
Czauderna, A. and Guardiola, E., 2019. The gameplay loop methodology as a tool for
educational game design. Electronic Journal of e-Learning. 17(3). pp.pp207-221.
da Silva Júnior, J.N., Santos de Lima, P.R., Sousa Lima, M.A. and Monteiro, A.J., 2020. Time
bomb game: design, implementation, and evaluation of a fun and challenging game
reviewing the structural theory of organic compounds.
Hicks, K., Gerling, K., Dickinson, P. and Vanden Abeele, V., 2019, October. Juicy game design:
understanding the impact of visual embellishments on player experience. In Proceedings
of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (pp. 185-197).
Kankainen, V. and Paavilainen, J., 2019. Hybrid Board Game Design Guidelines. In DiGRA
Conference.
Li, R.Y. and Wang, C.H., 2020. Key factors and network model for location‐based cultural
mobile game design. British Journal of Educational Technology. 51(6). pp.2495-2512.
Sarkar, A. and Cooper, S., 2020, August. Towards game design via creative machine learning
(GDCML). In 2020 IEEE Conference on Games (CoG) (pp. 744-751). IEEE.
Wee, S.C. and Choong, W.W., 2019. Gamification: Predicting the effectiveness of variety game
design elements to intrinsically motivate users' energy conservation behaviour. Journal of
environmental management, 233, pp.97-106.
7