Tools and Development Process

Why do different developers disagree so strongly about the best way to make games? Certainly, personal preferences, working habits and individual need-for-control plays a major part. More germane, nobody can honestly claim to have found the right balance between free-form, flexible idea-generation closely iterative, deadline-driven production.

Even the line between tools-based development (too restrictive, say critics) and non-tools development (unnecessarily complicated and expensive say its critics) is always on the move, as fashions change between a market glutted by similar builds or, on the other side, spiralling development costs.

The production process has tightened up immensely in the last few years. Note the super-tight organisation that went into Halo 3, as opposed to its immediate, and chaotic predecessor.

But there is still a way to go. Generally, individual developers cannot afford to be satisfied with whatever systems they have in place, and so must experiment with new working practices, a process that carries risk and expense.

You Know…the Obvious

Being, that the game industry is only ever strong when it’s making great games. There have been times in the past when this industry has seemed to forget this truism. Thankfully, now is not one of them.

A quick check of the games that shone at E3 shows many that are new, original and fresh. Whether creating unusual sensory experiences or telling engrossing stories, games are getting better.

This is not some accident, or historical inevitability. Consumers have shown, again and again, their intolerance for the sort of shit that publishers would foist on them, given half a chance.

Developers who create fun, artistic, compelling work are the ones who succeed. And, as games become more complex, those who understand the emotional connections that players have with their games, are likely to prosper to a greater degree than those who follow established models.

It’s a fact of some entertainment businesses that you can get rich making crappy products, but not ours. Rare is a game that makes oodles of money, but displeases the reviewer.

Publishers, of course, are always looking for ways to minimise risk or cut costs. That’s what they do. But such thinking is short sighted and inevitably leads to demoralized staff, pissed-off consumers and diminishing returns. There are no short cuts; emotional, creative and fiscal investment is the only sustainable way to success.