Lecture presented at the event "Serra Startec" in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil on 10/04/2013. This lecture answers many questions that are common to the people who are starting on the game development area like which professions exists, the production cycle and some advice that worked to me.

1. game development
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
KLEBER LOPES DA SILVA

2. author
• Programmer, Producer, Director and
Game Designer
• Entertainment games
• Serious games
• Frameworks, engines and libraries
kleber.swf

3. professions
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN THE GAME DEVELOPMENT AREA?

4. professions
Management
• Director
• Producer
Technical
• Programmer
• Artist
• Musician /
Soundman
Design
• Game
Designer
• Level
Designer
Content
• Writer
• Screenwriter
• Translator
• Reviser
Product
• Support
• QA

5. professions
Artist Ilustrator
GUI Designer
Animator
3D Modeler
Texture Artist
Concept Artist
Technical Artist

6. professions
Programmer
Fontend Gameplay
Integration
GUI
Backend Server
Database
Physics
Render
Framework
Tools

7. production cycle
HOW THE GAMES ARE MADE

8. production cycle
• Several methodologies
• Several tools

9. production cycle
Pre
Production
Technical
Production
Tests
Post
Production

10. pre production
• 10% to 25% of the project total time
• Product idea
• Planning
• Schedules
• Game Design Document (GDD)
• Concepts
• Proof of Concept (PoC)

11. technical production
• Planning execution
• Tools and frameworks development
• Features development
• Assets creation

12. tests
• Starts during the technical production
• Extends until the product is done
• Identification and fix of bugs
• Features “playability” analysis
• Features balancing

13. post production
• Metric analysis
• Post mortem
• Filing plan

14. studies
GOING BEYOND YOUR COURSE

15. studies
• Books
• Articles
• News
• Podcasts
• Documentaries
• Post mortem’s
• Making of’s

16. studies
• Be a specialist, but know a bit about everything
• Game Designer: play different games
• Programmer: new technologies and languages
• Artist: draw a lot (digital / paper)
• Never stop studying

17. studies
• Play games. A lot.
• Good games – know what goes right
• Bad games – know what goes wrong

18. advices
WHAT WORKED TO ME

19. be known
• Participate in communities and discussions
• Write articles
• Write posts about your professional experiences
• Portfolio
• Learn to receive feedback

20. practice
• Make games alone
• Make games with a group of friends
• Make games with a group of strangers
• Make proof of concepts
• Finalize a game

21. Thank you
http://kleber-swf.com