featured image

Developers don’t hide things from you, I promise

In the wake of the GTA VI last week a lot of people leaked online very clearly that they don’t know anything about how video games are made and they are ashamed online. One particularly egregious comment stated that visuals are the first thing to be completed in game development – which is just laughably inaccurate. Look, I’m as familiar with making false assumptions as the next person, but “fans” who go out of their way to harass game developers for refusing to use Google’s most basic functionality is nobody’s fault except their own fault.

I don’t want to be harsh, and it’s true that game development can be exclusive and gatekeeper – especially for those from marginalized backgrounds. But when it comes to situations where player expectations clash with the reality of game creation, players often seem to fall back on the argument that game developers are too secretive about what goes on behind the scenes.

There’s an endless list of reasons why leaks are worthless, but players will see early footage of a highly anticipated title before the developers are ready to show that something is up. It’s like someone comes in while you’re changing. That’s why all these takes on the game looking “unfinished” are so mind-bogglingly stupid – it’s literally is unfinished.

Then there’s the problem with social media that makes everyone feel like an expert and feel like they have to share their unwarranted opinion — something none of us are immune to. Looking for game developers online with some headlined crybaby comments about something they know absolutely nothing about is when gamers really cross the line.

Just like working in food service or retail helps you have a lot more empathy for the people who work in difficult situations, teaching ourselves about how games are actually made can help players understand what’s really going on and will save everyone a headache in the long run.

What’s with the secrecy?

I will say that larger studios working on highly anticipated projects can be particularly hesitant – not only are the contents of their games confidential, but many proprietary tools such as engines or assets are trade secrets that they don’t want anyone to pass on. When your whole brand is built on prestige, you don’t want anyone seeing broken builds of your game, you know? However, once a game comes out, many things become fair game in a retrospective “this is how we made our masterpiece”.

But what really hits me is that while gamers whine about cults of developers deliberately hiding secrets from them, there’s been a wealth of resources describing every aspect of how development is exactly right under their noses – and none of it is that hard to find. find.

Let’s start with the fact that many developers took to Twitter in response to the leaks (and the response to the leaks) to assure the belligerent players that having incomplete visuals is indeed the hallmark of a game they are still working on. While this sort of thing is less common at larger studios because of all the corporate bureaucracy, indie developers do it for fun always.

When you join an indie game community, be it on Twitter, Reddit, Discord, Tumblr, etc., small developers and teams are constantly releasing up-to-date footage of how they’re making progress in making their games. This includes everything from art and animation, lighting, implementing new gameplay features and more.

Sharing is caring

To take Squirrel with a gun, for example – the idea for the ridiculous indie title started as a joke because someone thought it would be funny to give a photorealistic squirrel a gun (it’s very funny, by the way). Dan DeEntremont continued to develop the idea into a full-fledged game, showing his followers updates at every step of new features he was adding. When the game is over and out, the developer Twitter feed will serve as a cool kind of time capsule where you can see the progress of the idea from its inception to its full implementation and release.

Then there is the wealth of lectures and presentations given by the developers themselves. Every spring, there’s a huge industry conference called the Game Developers Conference, or GDC, where developers from all kinds of studios, backgrounds, and even countries come together to talk about how they make games. This isn’t an E3 like thing where they put on a show to entertain potential players – it’s an industry-focused event for professionals to showcase their findings in one of the most academic environments you can get with games.

The talks cover every topic under the sun, from in-depth discussions of how a programming team implemented state-of-the-art enemy AI, to light artists discussing innovations in their fields, to narrative writers presenting possible new frameworks to revolutionize interactive narrative techniques.

GDC talks are full of the brightest minds in games putting all their work on the table for all to see, and while the full archive of virtually every GDC lecture ever given is unfortunately behind a hefty paywall (something I understand, but should be completely free in my opinion), there are still hundreds available for everyone to watch for free on YouTube right now.

If you’ve never heard of Noclip Documentaries, these are also an absolute must-see. Together with game journalists such as Jason Schreier, they are currently doing the most important investigative work in the industry. They have some of the content we would expect, such as developer making-of interviews and coverage of fun news, such as a player Bloodborne to look like a PS1 game.

But what they’re best known for are some of their harder pieces, like a documentary-style investigation into what happened in Telltale’s final hours that led to its shutdown, or an exposé of abuse at some of Annapurna’s smaller indie studios. Noclip always does great research and has interviews with those who are actually involved in what they cover – overall it’s just good journalism.

Full disclosure

Some studios make outright documentaries about how they make their games. A favorite of mine is Grounded: The Making of The Last of Usincluding interviews with designers from virtually every discipline describing how they brought their own passion to make the game what it is.

I’m also a big fan of the developer comment that Valve added to Portal 2, which lets you hear stories about the game’s creation while actually playing the game. Studio MDHR also released some in-depth footage of their making process cupmy favorite being a peek into a recording session for the game’s soundtrack.

Do you think that’s more than enough to get players started? wrong. We haven’t even talked about printing yet. There are so many great books on game development. The art of game design: a book with lenses by Jesse Schell is a great book for anyone interested in the fundamentals of game design.

Jason Schreier’s Blood, Sweat and Pixels: The triumphant, turbulent stories of how video games are made and Press Reset: Ruin and Restore in the Video Game Industry are some of the most accessible resources for players to understand how game studios actually work.

Former Naughty Dog developers got together to publish an entire book on how they made the AI ​​for The last of us, which goes into great detail – including some scary-looking math. There are books from the makers of classics like Tomb Raider and demiseand game writers wrote a series of articles about the team that made the SEGA Dreamcast.

There are some great podcasts that also interview developers, such as Game Maker Notebook or Advice for game developers: the game developer’s podcast — GDC even has its own podcast. The thing is, if you want to learn more about how a particular studio made a particular game, there’s something on the web for you.

Long story short: do your research and don’t bother people

Nothing compares to actually working in a studio with other developers, but gamers have no right to complain that studios keep them in the dark when it comes to the development process. When a studio doesn’t tell us something, it’s usually because they want to make sure all their ducks are lined up before going public. Making games is so volatile and things change very quickly that if you’re too hasty about disclosing your information, it can easily backfire. We see this all the time with delays or games promising more than they can actually deliver.

I understand that patiently waiting for games can be difficult, but part of the reality of being in this industry, whether as a professional or a fan, is tempering expectations in the realization that making games takes a very, very long time. takes time, and developers don’t owe us anything during the development cycle.

I know I’m only yelling at a small, loud minority here, but if nothing else, it can be a lot of fun browsing resources like this for hobbyists who just want to know more about what goes into the games we love. to play .