Top 5 MOST SIGNIFICANT Areas of Your Game

So you've made a decision to plunge yourself into the world of game development, have assembled a team of mighty warriors to tackle all the big issues and are ready to create the next best game in the market... trumping WoW, Guild Wars... (you get the point). You've chopped up all of your brainstorming and assembled some really keen concepts for a storyline and you're all set. But amongst all of the programming, the type concepts, the dungeons, and the quests - what exactly are truly the main areas of your game that will determine whether someone enjoys themself? Read on, and allow me to share what I think.

When we do decide to take that plunge into the development of a new game, there are five things you should think about meticulously, and pay a lot of attention to. There are probably more of these which will hinder or assist you to along your way, as well as your ordering may be unique of mine, but they are what I always hold to be the most important. Over the next week we will reveal each aspects, and at the end of the week culminate with the complete article. For today we'll begin at the very top, with # 5 5.

idoslot : Storyline

When crafting your game, there is no better inspiration for features and activities, quests and dungeons, than your very own highly developed and custom tailored storyline. Some may balk at this statement, claiming that storyline is easily overshadowed and un-necessary once you have intense graphics that produce your fingers tingle, or when you have combat so intense you are literally ducking out of the way from behind your monitor. While these things definitely contribute to an awesome game, and can lead to lots of excitement (in fact, they're on the list too!), they can not make up for a lack of storyline. A very important factor many players crave whether consciously or not, is really a strong storyline leading them into caring concerning the game - it entices you - and enables you to feel as though your wildest dreams may actually be possible in this environment. Storyline can be simple and to the idea while being so flawlessly done that it serves because the crux of the entire game (EVE Online: We're flying through space, blowing people from the sky...) and at exactly the same time being so rich and deep with lore (the complexities in lore and story surrounding EVE is so great that it entangles even the standard ships and inventory items) that it compels players to write their own histories.

Not merely does storyline help players become engaged with all that you've slaved over and worked for, nonetheless it helps you the developer along the way. If you've been smart, and from the beginning dreamed up an intoxicatingly deep history of one's game setting, it'll constantly serve you throughout development. It'll provide clues into what features want to be a part of the overall game, what doesn't must be included, and what does or doesn't fit. An architecture professor of mine once said, when referring to the site analysis portion of architecture that we may find out a good deal about what we should be building on the building site by simply visiting the location, and "envisioning the invisible building that wants to be built". That is true in architecture, in fact it is especially true in game development and dreaming up your storyline/game setting.

Storyline may be important, but could it be more important than a snazzy game setting so rich and vibrant that your tempted to stay indefinitely? Well, maybe - in the same way long as your 3d representation isn't bogged down by hundreds of thousands of nasty polygons or quads. Why on the globe is Artwork important, anyway?

Number 4: Artwork

I've heard many, many times that the artwork/3d models/characters within your game won't make or break things. I agree with this in that it will not make or break the entire game, but artwork and professional looking/feeling models definitely help you out along the way. Think about any movie you've seen recently where in fact the sets were absolutely incredible and stunning - one such example (but not necessarily as "recent") will be the Lord of the Rings movies. Throughout the entire set of movies, rich and diverse settings are abound, and help the immersion factor like you wouldn't believe. Would the movie have been "broken" by less awe-inspiring scenes? Most likely not, because regarding GOD, THE FATHER of the Rings, there have been lots of other incredible aspects. Did the awe-inspiring scenes make the movie just that much better, and present it that much *more* to drool over? Yes, Definitely. Exactly the same kind of effect is seen in the game industry. I play games which have incredible graphics (EVE Online) and other that don't (Dark Ages). I'm however, addicted to both these games for different reasons, but you can bet that the stunning environment in EVE certainly really helps to inspire its large player base.