Creating a Demo


The "proof of concept" demo has fast become the most important aspect of pitching to publishers. Demos themselves have evolved from simple technology prototypes through to impressively feature-complete previews of what the final game will offer.

With development costs escalating as they are, assigning even a small team to a demo for just a few months can cost developers dearly, especially as there are no absolute guarantees that their game will get signed, regardless of its quality. Indeed, many a developer has gone out of business during the crucial pitching process. For these reasons, it is essential that you plan carefully and extract the most value for money or "bang for buck" from your demo.

Planning

As with a full product, it is vital when creating a demo that you plan in advance the time and cost factors. This involves working out exactly which features you intend to implement, and not necessarily what you think should be in the demo but rather what the publisher will want to see.

At demo stage, publishers nowadays are rarely moved by amazing graphical routines. What they really want to see is proof that your core game systems—particularly those that are new or different, or that feature strongly in the USP list—work as planned.

Consider the first presentation of your demo and if at any point you would have to say to the publisher "now imagine . . .," then you need to do more work. Never take for granted that other people will have the same vision of your concept as you do.

Once you have an understanding of what is required for your demo, you should sit down with your department heads to prepare a schedule. Again, be realistic. Always remember there are no guarantees that you will ever sell your game or recoup the cost of creating the demo, so while an increased content and quality level within the demo presents a stronger case to publishers, if you still fail to secure a deal your financial loss will be even greater. Pitching is a very delicate balancing act.

Choosing a Platform

Another key consideration when preparing a demo is the target platform. As the vast majority of development work is done via the PC, this is for many the obvious choice, but not always the best one. Presuming that you have researched your concept, you will have a fair idea as to the platform(s) that best suit it. If your primary shelf keeping unit (SKU—i.e., version) is console-based, however, most publishers will want to see the demo running on that platform before committing, both to show that you are a registered developer and are capable of creating content for that platform, and that the key features you are including are possible within the fixed limits of the target hardware.

If you are already in possession of the necessary equipment, then this is less of a problem. However, for startups and PC-only developers, both the time and cost of obtaining hardware and finding experienced staff must be taken into consideration. If for any reason it is not possible to develop your demo on target hardware, then consider options such as keeping your PC content in line with console specs, show demo footage running on a TV, and develop your control system using one of the many console joypad adapters on the market so that at least the publisher can feel as though they are playing it on the relevant system.

Using Middleware

Middleware is one of the biggest stories in recent development history and has in a short space of time evolved from simple component software such as video codices to complete game engines at the bleeding edge of technology.

Middleware can greatly enhance your development process—RenderWare Studio, for example, can be used to develop simultaneously for PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. Moreover, such software is especially useful when developing your demo, as they already contain much of the core functionality you will require, thus allowing you to concentrate your limited time and resources on implementing the key features.

Bear in mind, however, that middleware is not a magic cure for all game development issues, nor is it suitable for all developers and all games, and time saved at the demo stage might be lost later in development. Unlike proprietary technology, when using middleware, you are never 100% in control, and middleware vendors work to different ideals and deadlines than your team and product do.

Although many publishers are warming to middleware solutions thanks in part to the success of games such as Grand Theft Auto 3, some still favor developers with proprietary technology, and others even have exclusive deals with certain vendors or buy licenses in bulk. This also needs to be taken into consideration when deciding on your technical solution.




Secrets of the Game Business
Secrets of the Game Business (Game Development Series)
ISBN: 1584502827
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 275

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