Cinematic Game Secrets for Creative Directors and Producers

Inspired Techniques From Industry Legends

Rich Newman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136138539
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Programming Games
• Index: Computer Science

Cinematography for Games covers the space between the game and film industries by pointing out the most relevant cinematic techniques in today's hottest games, and including interviews with the game industry's greatest luminaries (including Will Wright: Sims legend, Harvey Smith, legendary game Deus Ex, Warren Spector creator of one of the original game companies, Origin).The convergence of games and film is a widely discussed and debated topic in the game industry. Many major publishers, along with some high-profile directors (John Woo, James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Tony Scott) are exploring the middle ground between the industries. This book introduces game producers and directors to the tried and true techniques cinematographers have relied on for years.Game developers learn how to create compelling video games by: developing quality stories and characters; visualizing scenes within the game through the eyes of a cinematographer; using tried and true film industry methods for casting, voice-over, direction, and production.The book will also feature screen shots from some of today's hottest titles that illustrate key cinematic concepts, as well as advice from successful game industry professionals already using these techniques.

Part 1

Game Industry Primer

1

The Production Process

Upon initial contact with the game industry, you may feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of responsibility involved with creating a new game title. In addition to the pressure associated with creating a game that will sell well and be received with enthusiasm by the gaming public, the actual work involved with development weighs in heavily. These responsibilities include working with the game’s budget, streamlining the production process, and managing a team and assets that grow and change on a daily basis.

A typical game title can cost many millions of dollars and involve a very long-term commitment (sometimes as long as four to five years), so the pressure to create a franchise or successful title can be massive indeed. Understanding the production process allows you as a game producer to roll with the inevitable changes and challenges that come with the development of a game and empowers you to manage your project efficiently. More importantly, it will allow the game to be completed, which is always a plus when dealing with game publishers!

Utilizing the cinematic skills of a filmmaker in addition to the usual game development model within the various phases of game development allows you shape the project into a more marketable and, hopefully, more enjoyable title. But first, let’s take a look at the typical development cycle.

1.1 Lifecycle of a Video Game

Like most creative processes (such as making a movie, creating a graphic novel, and so on), the game industry has a definite process and lifecycle involved with a new project. In the video game industry, the process of creating a new title pretty much follows this cycle:

• Concept/R&D
• Preproduction
• Production
• Testing/QA
• Postproduction

Each of these phases will be discussed in greater detail in later chapters, but here is a quick rundown of what’s involved with these various stages of game development:

The concept phase of game development is time spent defining the game that you are about to create—both creatively and technically. This time involves choosing the type of game you are going to make—RPG (role-playing game), FPS (first-person shooter), MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), and so on; determining the game elements and features that will be involved in game play (story, characters, game options, and so on); and working out the details for the future marketing of the title, such as the genre of the game (horror, adventure, and so on), the platforms/consoles the game will be played on, and the game’s projected rating. This collaborative process usually involves the producers, lead designers, and the creative director of the game.

The concept phase usually ends with the creation of a tangible risk analysis report, a mission statement that will unite the production team in creating the design, and possibly a prototype version of the game (sometimes called a “vertical slice”). In most cases, these elements are compiled into an overall production plan that will be pitched to the perspective publisher to get a green light for the project. A typical pitch includes the materials listed earlier, along with a design document, a project plan, and a budget (sometimes called a “cost forecast”). Once the budget and schedule have been approved by the publisher, the game then moves on into pre-production.

The preproduction phase most closely mirrors that of the film industry; it is at this stage that the story is developed and honed, the look of the project is fleshed out using art and previsualization techniques (like storyboarding), and the budget and schedule are defined for the coming production cycle. Although this is called “preproduction” in the film industry as well, in the game industry, preproduction also includes defining all the technical requirements of the game (such as design, art, and features), prioritizing features and specifying constraints (usually influenced by the budget and schedule), and creating a basic design document. These steps constitute the very roadmap that the production team will follow during the many months of development.

If you have not yet developed a prototype of the game, this is also done during preproduction. Though the finished prototype will be a playable level of the game, which can begin as simply as mapping out the game idea on paper. Once the prototype is honed to a coherent representation of the game concept, it is developed into an actual demo.

Another key element of preproduction is hiring the team that will be involved with production. Beware: the hiring process can be a long one—and it’s not uncommon for larger production studios to tackle the lengthy task of hiring prior to the creation of the game’s concept! At the very least, allow for a reasonable amount of time to be used in getting the right members of your team. Once the design document is in place with the prototype, and all the personnel have been hired, the game can then move into production.

The actual production phase of development is usually composed of coding, generating, and implementing assets into the game; also, any unfinished details regarding the game’s design will be finished as well. It is during this phase that any required motion capture/voiceover work, music, and basically anything else that is involved with making the actual game comes together. This is the longest phase of game development and usually tests the strength of the overall production plan. Keeping the production team on point and out of meeting overload can be the biggest challenge for a producer as the need to keep up with current gaming trends becomes increasingly important. Sometimes the woes in a schedule revolve around the discovery and implementation of new features in the game—this is called ‘feature creep’ and can cause studios to spend an excessive amount of time and money during production.

It is important to track and monitor the progress of the game throughout the game’s production; publishers demand up-to-date reporting on schedule and budget concerns, as well as on any issues developing with the game’s production. Usually, a project management program (such as Microsoft Project) is used to assist producers with tracking the game’s progress, though you may have to tweak the program in order to fit your needs (you will want to spend the bulk of your time actually managing your project rather than working with the software). There will usually be an online version of the game’s production cycle as well that the team can access to see what is happening in the other departments of development (for instance, the art department may want to see the status of coding the assets into the current build of the game). Setting small milestones or goals for each production task is a great way to determine whether a particular item has been completed and is the industry standard measure for tracking completion.

The next step in the production cycle, the testing/QA phase, is very different than that of the film industry. Where a film may undergo a series of audience tests, screenings, and so on to get feedback (sometimes referred to as “research”), a game is thoroughly evaluated throughout the production phase by a quality assurance (QA) team for bugs within the title. Every time a new asset is introduced to the game, the QA team gets a crack at it. Any time a new tool or game element is introduced, QA quantifies its value. At the end of development, a title must get approval from the QA team during the code release process before it is sent on to the publisher (in a form sometimes referred to as a Gold Master) for approval.

Though testing/QC is often thought of as a process that occurs at the end of production, the truth of the matter is that the testing of a game occurs throughout the development cycle. As a matter of planning, it should be determined early in the production process whether an internal or external QA team will be utilized during the development of the game, as this decision can affect the schedule and budget immensely. This phase usually ends with the QA department comparing the final product against the original game plan to determine its validity (Alpha and Beta testing), and the release of the final version of the game (sometimes called “code release” or the Gold Master). At this point, your moves on to various locales for approval.

In addition to getting the game to the publisher, the manufacturers of all consoles the game will be played on must approve the title as well. All major platforms will have their own sets of criteria that must be met for the game to be approved for release on their console. Also, the game must be sent to the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to receive the game’s rating. Without a rating, most major software vendors and retailers will not carry your title. If the game is being released in other countries, it will also have to be sent to the appropriate ratings boards in those locales. Once the game has been give the thumbs-up by all concerned and you have received the official rating of the game, the final version of the game can now be sent to the publisher. The next and final phase of development is known as postproduction.

The postproduction phase in the world of game development is slightly different than that of the film industry. Although this phase is generally typified by filmmakers as the editing and cutting of a movie, in the game industry this phase signals to the team that the game is pretty much finished. Postproduction in game development means creating “closing kits”, which archive the title (sometimes games get rereleased at a later date, so it’s important to keep the game and all its elements intact), discussing the aspects of the production process that went right/wrong in lengthy postmortems, and documenting the creative process that was involved with creating the title so that future games can be developed more smoothly within the studio.

Depending on the features of the title, the complexity of the programming, and the size of the team and budget, the production cycle for a video game can be anywhere from a few months to several years. Usually the length of production is based upon the choices you have made in the game design. One of the earliest decisions you will make when producing a game is the type of game that the team will be developing.

1.2 Types of Games

The evolution of games is a fascinating subject. With origins that are deeply rooted in arcade-style games, the game industry has evolved over the last few decades into a realm of many different game styles and genres. Though most of the game types we commonly see today originated in the 1980s, there are still new game styles emerging on a regular basis. The types of players/ gamers have also evolved during this period.

Gamers today have a way of micro-organizing game genres—as the field becomes more diversified, more and more types of games are appearing on shelves. It is important to know these various types of games, if for no other reason than to realize there are many different types of gamers; a player who loves first-person shooters will not be as attracted to a football game as a sports gamer. Although this is not a complete list, here are the several major types of games that are being developed:

• First-person shooter (FPS)
• Role-playing game (RPG)
• Massively multiplayer online game (MMOG)
• Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)
• Third-person shooter
• Real-time strategy (RTS)
• Sports
• Action (racing, fighting, and so on)
• Simulation
• Casual/arcade

The FPS is hands down one of the two most popular genres. With origins deeply rooted in the early games of id Software (Doom, Quake, and so on), the shooter has come a long way. Developers like Ubisoft and Bungie have made titles like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, Halo, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six household names. The entire concept of the FPS is that you are always looking down the barrel of your weapon from a first-person perspective. Usually, this means a military/gunman-themed game or a hunting title.

It is arguable that games that utilize the first-person perspective typically get more of an emotional payoff when the game is completed, so developers love to create these types of games. But don’t let this dissuade you from choosing one of the other formats; every player has his or her own preferences and there have been successfully produced titles in every style and genre.

Blacksite: Area 51 by Midway Games is an Example of a First-Person Shooter. Reproduced by Permission of Midway Games. All Rights Reserved.

The RPG is also a popular game type, though it is slowly being usurped by the MMORPG. With its history firmly rooted in the world of the PC gamer and old-school pen-and-paper games (like Dungeons and Dragons), the RPG appeals to players who want to interact with more of the world around them in many detailed ways. This style of game is also popular because of the many ways that a gamer can approach a level, customize characters, and create their own in-game stories (usually because of a more open, “sandbox” style of game play). Typically, this game is tailored to the fantasy/sci-fi crowd,...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table Of Contents
• Introduction
• Part 1 Game Industry Primer
• Part 2 Incorporating Cinematic Skills
• Part 3 Creating Your Own Cinematic Project
• Postmortem
• Appendix A: Extras
• Interview Credits
• Bibliography
• Glossary
• Index