How Weyrdworks Game Development Studio Creates Top-Quality Games
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Ever wondered what went on behind the scenes from your favourite games at Weyrdworks?
Ah, game development! The laborious process of writing black-and-white code in a dark room, sipping cup after cup of coffee. SCRATCH THAT! Contrary to popular belief, game development is actually a highly creative process that involves market research, ideation, design and testing. Yes, coding in a dark room is a HUGE part of this, but ultimately, a team coming together to design a game targeted with an audience in mind is an all-encompassing process, or at least that’s how we get it done in Weyrdworks.
Ever wondered what motivates someone to keep playing the same game over and over again? It’s the simple desire of wanting to live a life we would not experience in a typical setting. Waiting for a real-life unicorn and robot to storm into your life and make you the main character is frankly not going to happen.
“Game development is a clown car moving through tall grass”. It’s a little out there as, ultimately, neither are we clowns nor are we travelling through the grass. This quote is by Ken Rolston, American computer game and role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series The Elder Scrolls.
He describes the game development process as an amalgamation of highly creative people embarking on a journey in which the destination is unknown. It might seem a little harsh, but believe it or not. It’s bang-on about us at Weyrdworks! The passion to create uniquely fun games helps brings us to the finish line.
Source: Weyrdworks
The game development process is a complex process that's nevertheless done by our passionate team.
The 4 Stages in Game Development
Stage 1: Ideation & Design
We take our pre-production seriously, starting from our very first game, Super SteamPuff, right up to Monster Nest. Each of our games is created with a core audience in mind, with market analysis being conducted for us to be able to understand the needs and desires of the players. From there, a game design document (GDD) is born. A game designer lists the core pillars of the experience, the features of the game, the detailed mechanics of a system, narrative breakdowns, artistic vision and more! Game design is a problem-solving process, and what we seek to achieve at Weyrdworks is to deliver maximum fun using unexplored mechanics and technology.
Stage 2: Prototyping
Once the core aspects of the GDD have been finalized, a prototype is developed to test the concept. This is where we identify major issues with the mechanics. Prototyping typically takes a few days to 2 weeks at most. Once the prototype is complete, a playtest is done to assess the viability of the idea.
Stage 3: Development:
After the prototype assessment and resources have been allocated, it’s time to hunker down and get work done. Development is a long process that breaks down into more sub-milestones such as building a vertical slice, building towards an MVP (minimum viable product), weekly sprints, alpha, beta, AB Testing, and platform compliance, up to GOLD where we have a release candidate.
Stage 4: Post-Release
Unlike the film industry, games don’t typically have an ending or a post-production phase. Like any artistic piece, no game is ever done. Game development is an iterative process where more things are added even after release. Early Access is a popular release model where games are launched early with expectations of bugs and incomplete features to gather feedback from players. Some games stay in early access for 5 years just to perfect the game experience.
These days, game development is operated as a live service where additional content is added to extend the longevity of the game. These are things like new levels, characters, or even new features that allow the players to experience the game in a new way.
Phew, game development is not a straight road, unfortunately, as we would like to believe. It’s an arduous process filled with tears, laughter, breakthroughs, and frustrations. At the end of the day, our quintessential goal as a game development company is to create a gaming experience we see ourselves indulging in.
Game development in Malaysia has made major strides since its inception. Our team of experienced professionals strives to combine stunning visuals, captivating stories, fluid controls and engaging gameplay mechanics into one unified gaming experience.
Have all these talks about game development got you hankering to create a game of your own? Fret not, contact the lovely geniuses at Weyrdworks and let us take the idea right out of your head and transform them into a full-fledged game!