Development ToolsPlanningReactive Risk ManagementContingency PlanningDesign & Architectural ProblemsSchedule ThreatsOrganizational ProblemsContractor ProblemsPersonnel ProblemsDevelopment ProblemsProcess ProblemsState of IndustryCelebritiesViolenceNew Developer ModelCommercial AlliancesManaging OutscourcingDelivering Games OnlinePlaying Game On-lineObject-Oriented DesignPressure to ProduceSlide 22Code ReuseDesign Reuse - PatternsObject Factory PatternSingletonFlyweightChain of ResponsibilityIterator and Reverse IteratorTemplate and StrategyObserverCommandDecoratorFacadeMediatorStateThe remaining slides come from the Rabin textbookOther Modeling Techniques: 3D SculptingOther Modeling Techniques: Reverse EngineeringBSP Modeling TechniquesCase Studies: Low Poly ModelingCase Studies: Car ModelCase Studies: Environment ModelingVolume EnhancementsCase Study: Dark OrbitDistance EffectsCase Study: Phoenix Assault Before and after depth principles have been appliedFaking Detail with Vertex ColoringCase Study: Polar BowlerCharacter AnimationOverviewAbout the Animator2D Versus 3D AnimationProduction WorkflowBinding a Mesh to a RigKeyframed AnimationFacial AnimationMotion Capture01/14/19 1Development ToolsCIS 487/587Bruce R. MaximUM-Dearborn01/14/19 2Planning•Games are not meant to have a 20 year life span so people are tempted to cheat on software planning•Games have an artistic element which makes this type of planning more like the movie industry•Risk management both proactive and reactive are at the heart of this planning01/14/19 3Reactive Risk Management•Problems not addressed until they surface•Why are problems overlooked?–Developer is overly familiar with the project and the product (day to day grind prevents seeing mounting problems)–Managers often try to shoot the messenger rather than deal with the message01/14/19 4Contingency Planning•Most delayed games are victims of reactive risk planning•Correctly implemented contingency planning adds very little work to project•Goal of contingency planning is to save time and money•Every project has problems the question is the effectiveness with which they are dealt with01/14/19 5Design & Architectural Problems•Changes to base-lined requirements•Poorly defined requirements often causes project scope extension•Unfamiliar methodologies, tools, libraries•Architectural integration problems01/14/19 6Schedule Threats•Too tight schedules•Incomplete schedules•Unavailable resources•Overestimation of schedule savings•Inaccurate schedule estimates•Schedule adjustment errors01/14/19 7Organizational Problems•Unwilling to deal with subordinate criticism•Management induced difficulties–Vested interests OEM products–Insisting on “right of veto”–Lack of disciplined development process01/14/19 8Contractor Problems•Late delivery–Insist on penalties for late delivery•Poor quality–Allow for time in schedule to review products and correct quality problems–Provide solid requirements statement to contractors•Lack of skill or motivation01/14/19 9Personnel Problems•Failure to work as a team•Poor communications skills•Low motivation or morale•Skills shortages–Allow extra time to come to speed–Encourage knowledge sharing–Hire outside contractors01/14/19 10Development Problems•Inadequate office facilities (not enough or not available when needed)•Poor quality development tools or third party libraries•Misinterpretation of design documents•Failure to meet requirements•You have to stop researching at some point in time and start developing product01/14/19 11Process Problems•Excessive red tape and bureaucracy•Failure to apply procedures correctly•Failure to make use of data used to compute metrics in risk management•Getting the level of formality to the right level (games are not life and death products)01/14/19 12State of Industry•First era–Talented amateurs–Tie-in licenses introduced (e.g. Disney)•Second era–Mass-market consoles–Many similar games sold•Third era (current)–Rise of the 3D polygon market–Controversy heralds release of hot games01/14/19 13Celebrities•Can be virtual (Laura Croft) or real•Movies and merchandise follow release of several games and make more money than the game•You can’t create likable characters and sidekicks by formula•Recognizable likenesses must be distinguishable from other games01/14/19 14Violence•Ratings are used to market games•Players are disappointed when violence is not realistic•Games do not cause violence in the real world (they don’t prevent it either)•In the long run games will need to do what television does and show the consequences of violent behavior01/14/19 15New Developer Model•Leveraging intellectual properties–Games based on existing character licenses out sell “in-house” characters•Developing several projects simultaneously is a better way to reuse technology than serial reuse of “old” technology01/14/19 16Commercial Alliances•Technological resources and management can be shared to allow for economies of scale•Umbrella of studio allows nutruing of newcomers•Studio can maintain a talent pool inventory•Super-developer can raise capital for development more easily enabling higher royalties for participants01/14/19 17Managing Outscourcing•Creative core must maintain ownership through out project•There must be standardization of design methods, libraries, and tools for this to work•Current trend is for developers to pay development costs (publishers only want to pay for completed games)01/14/19 18Delivering Games Online•The cost of the first level of a game might represent 50% of the total cost•If the game were released on a pay for play basis over broad band the remaining levels could be released like chapters every few weeks•The entire game could be released as a stand alone “greatest hits” as market is saturated01/14/19 19Playing Game On-line•People would rather pay $5 for 2 hours of entertainment than pay $35 for 40 hours•In 2 hour chunks a 40 hour game can net $50 to $100•Massively multiplayer games have the potential to make a lot of money as well01/14/19 20Object-Oriented Design•Programs written in procedural languages become impossible to maintain at 25,000 lines of code•Programs written using object-oriented programming don’t become hard to maintain until 100,000 lines of code•Supporting the
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