1. Game Production Cycle
Taken from https://learn.unity.com/tutorial/the-real-time-production-cycle
1.1. Pre-production
1.1.1. Goals
Establish how the game is going to look and feel. Establish the story, the gameplay, the art direction, the intended target audience, and accessibility. (See Game Design)
Get all team members on the same page about the look and feel of the game.
Determine the product timeline. Assign owners to tasks that must be completed.
For more technical goals see Pre Production Technical Pipeline
Make improvements to the game concept from user feedback (See User Testing and Feedback).
Note
If you are interested in prototyping a game concept first before committing to developing a full game see Prototyping
1.1.2. What Can Go Wrong
Issues can arise if a vision for the look and feel of the game is not established across all team members. In the middle of production you see the output of one of your team members that looks off because they had a different vision for the game. Fixing those kinds of issues wastes a lot of time.
1.1.3. Resources
1.1.3.1. Design Documents
Helps you organize your ideas about your project. You should put details about the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Be careful not to propose too many features to keep your timeline realistic. This document will serve as the single source of truth that outlines specific requirements for the experience you want to create. This will also assist producers and project managers to track design and development progress.
For small projects:
For larger projects:
1.1.3.2. Project Charters
Created after design document has been approved and the project is greenlit. The Project charter is used for outlining project objectives, how the objectives will be carried out, and who the stakeholders for each objective are. Useful in the pre production and production phases.
1.2. Production
1.2.1. Goals
Creating the game by the deadline set during Pre-production.
Taking elements from Pre-production and making them products. * Concepts transformed into models. * Storyboards transformed into animations. * Prototypes transformed into functional applications. * Feature lists transformed into playable experiences
For more technical goals see Production Technical Pipeline
Make improvements to the game from user feedback (See User Testing and Feedback).
1.2.2. Roles
Producer: Overseas development of the entire project. Makes sure teams are hitting critical deadlines. Prevents feature creep (see below).
1.2.3. What Can Go Wrong
During production, feature creep can occur. This is the process of adding new features to the product rather than sticking to the ones during pre production. This can result in delays to production. The Producer needs to watch out to prevent this from happening.
1.2.4. Resources
1.2.4.1. Project Plan
Created in pre-production and used throughout the production phase. It is used to outline specific tasks and deliverable dates.
1.3. Post-production
1.3.1. Goals
Evaluate the product and make proper edits and fixes prior to release.
Make improvements to the game from user feedback (See User Testing and Feedback).
Conduct Alpha and Beta testing to uncover things that need to be fixed.
Alpha Testing: Used for identifying issues and areas of improvement.
Beta Testing: Similar to alpha except it is for getting feedback from end users.
1.3.2. What Can Go Wrong
You could potentially mismanage bug / feature requests. For example. What if there was a bug that made the experience 5% worse but a feature that made the experience 50% better. Which one should you address given a limited time frame.
1.4. Operations
1.4.1. Goals
Support the game: dealing with incoming questions, requests, and problems from users and partners. Make improvements to the game from user feedback (See User Testing and Feedback).
Monetize the game: in-app purchases and advertising within the game or app to bring in revenue
Analyze user information: tracking and analyzing user data to inform any needed changes to the game’s functionality, marketing, or business strategy
Maintain game servers: ensuring that any servers supporting the game are operating properly
Maintain game website: managing and updating the website that promotes or sells the game
Market and sell the game: continued marketing, public relations, partnerships, and other strategies to promote sales of the game
Until the product is discontinued, deprecated, or “sunsettled”, the operations phase should continue.
1.5. Project Retrospectives
1.5.1. Goals
Work with your team to understand areas during the production cycle that went well, areas that did not go well, and ways to improve for future projects.