WHAT ARE GAME DEVELOPERS?
Game developers are to the video game world what Disney is to the animation world. In short that is. "Oh Great! You just had to scare me out of doing something like this!" Not at all. That's not the reason why I said what I said. It's actually the truth. In modern times video games are made by a team between 3 to 2,000 people or more, each responsible for specific tasks during a game's production progress from start, which is the initial concept, all the way to the final product, which would be the games we choose to purchase and play. It can take anywhere from a few months to a few years for a single game to be ready for the public to view and play. During the Atari days most games were done by one person, sometimes a few more, but nothing on the scale of what is used today. So, just for simplicity sake we will stick with a single imaginary person named Joe.
THE GAME CONCEPT
Joe has a game idea in his head inspired by two of his favorite games and he thinks a collaboration of both would make for a great new game that he would enjoy playing. He grabs some scarp paper and begins drawing out a few character designs along with short notes saying things like colors to use, what this or that is for, what this or that is suppose to be, and other things. Before Joe knows it he has created a whole universe centered around one game idea. What Joe doesn't realize at this point is he just gave birth to a game world that is his and his alone. Only he knows about it, only he has seen it, only he can revisit it anytime. He also has the ability to change or modify this world. It's his to control and give life to.
And that's why the concept portion is the most important part of game designing. It is at this part in game development where ideas are born, characters are made up, environments, and even entire worlds and universes, are made up, along with the stories that make each part of the game's design come together. Everything thought up at this point should have some relation to other objects or environments put down. If something doesn't make much sense at the moment don't scrap it but instead set it aside because it might come in handy later. You might make a killer looking UFO with no purpose starting out but realize later that one of your levels in a space shooter is missing a level boss. Ah HA! Now try to put that UFO in your game to be used as that missing level boss.
This part of game design comes from the story made in the first part of this guide. It's why I waited so long to get the second part down. It was to give time for stories to be made and for them to make some sort of sense, have a purpose, have a goal in mind, things like that. It also allowed myself time to come up with a game idea I could use to get ideas across. The concept building part is going to be the hardest portion because of transferring ideas from imagination down on to a sheet, or sheets, of paper. What is seen by the imagination is not always easy to get on paper exactly as it was seen.
GAME DEVELOPERS ARE MORE THAN DISNEY ANIMATORS
It's true. All Disney animators have to do is draw, frame by frame, the artwork that makes up an animated movie and make sure the animation flows well and is in time with the soundtrack. I'm sure there's more to it than that but that's the basics. A game developer has a lot more to do, however, because not only do they have to come up with the concept but they will also be involved in getting the game programmed, putting the artwork in a form the targeted hardware can understand and use, get any sound effects and/or music just right, make sure controls work as intended...the list goes on and on.
Why? Because unlike a Disney animated film a video game is an interactive form of art. All of the visuals on the screen have to be drawn by someone, all the sounds and music someone has to make, someone has to animate what needs to be animated like a ship firing or enemies flying around, someone has to make sure the controls work as planned. And once that is done there are bound to be bugs or issues to have to resolve along the way and someone will have to deal with that. It doesn't matter how old or new a game is someone, somewhere, put their heart and soul into the work they are presenting in a single game for others to enjoy. In most cases of modern video games most of the work and artwork goes by unnoticed. If you are playing a game sometime where you can actually stop for a second to soak in the artwork of the environment by all means stop and take a good look. It took my wife and I playing Borderlands 2 over and over for a couple of years to see a few details we never seen before. And they were cool to look at.
Getting back to Joe...in Joe's case he is most likely going to be the artist, animator, musician, sound studio, environment creator, game tester, and game debugger all rolled into one. In short, Joe is going to be the only one making the game so he will be doing everything. This may not be the case for everyone but we are going to just say Joe is making his game by himself.
GRAPH PAPER AND PENCILS ARE OUR FRIENDS
Two things I highly recommend keeping around are graph paper and pencil. Graph paper especially. With graph paper you can easily draw out art to be used in a video game in a pixel-like form by shading in the squares on the paper. When the shaded boxes are combined the visuals of what was in your imagination should be seen. Sometimes you might have to look at the graph paper from a distance when you are finished drawing but it should still be somewhat visible. Use the eraser to remove some areas that are not quite right, shade in others that might help, make use of the eraser and empty squares to get the details right. These two items will never go dead from a drained battery, the paper can never get attacked by malware or viruses, however the paper can run low and the pencil will need to be sharpened or, if using a mechanical pencil, may need lead refills. That's about the extent of what can go wrong using paper and pencil...unless you have a goat that likes to eat paper.
TO SPRITE OR NOT TO SPRITE?
Sprites? No not the soft drink. A sprite in video games is the artwork that makes up a single character to be used in a game. Let's use Centipede for an example. The player's character called "The Wand" is a sprite, the spider and scorpion are sprites, the mushrooms are sprites...even the Centipede is made up of a series of sprites. Those are all sprites. Don't let it confuse you because not everything in a video game has to be a sprite but the controlled characters in a video game are almost always sprites.
On an Atari console/computer a single sprite is usually made up of 8x8, 16x16, and 32x32 sprite grids. What is a grid? Oh, I guess I'm jumping ahead of myself. A sprite grid is the enclosed area used to draw an object to be used in a game project. We will use the 8x8 grid as our example. In the 8x8 grid are 64 "dots" known as pixels. Each square on the graph paper within a 8x8 sprite grid represents a pixel. A pixel is the single dot of a TV screen that is lit up. The first number, 8 as an example, is the number of squares or pixels from left to right or horizontally. The second number, 8 again, is the number of squares or pixels from top to bottom, or vertically. In our 8x8 sprite grid we have 8 squares horizontally and 8 squares vertically giving us a total of 64 squares we can place any pixel or series of pixels.
To create a sprite grid on a sheet of graph paper draw a vertical line on one side eight blocks down. Double check your counting because it is very easy to miscount the squares on graph paper if they are really small. Next, starting at the top of the line you just made draw to the right eight squares. If done correctly you should have somewhat of a triangle made. Now starting at the right end of the line you just made across go down eight squares. When finished you should have a box with an open bottom. Finally, close the box...make a line from the bottom of both lines on the left and right. VIOLA!! You just created an 8x8 (pronounced eight by eight) sprite grid. This small grid gives a total of 64 squares that can be used to design characters, objects, and other aspects of a game.
Depending on your project's requirements, and the targeted hardware's abilities and limitations the project is being designed for, sprite grids can be many different sizes. Some systems allow for 8x16 sprites, some allow for sprites much larger than 32x32, it all depends on finding that fine line between what your imagination wants to see and the abilities of the hardware you are wanting to design for.
The bigger the sprite grid in both directions the more detail that can be expressed. If you have ever wondered why Mario on an NES game is not as detailed as Mario on the Super NES it's because of the sprite grid size. Granted, sometimes Mario looks good, sometimes he doesn't, but it's all down to the grid size that was used to create him. The same goes for Atari games, too. Just be sure to research the max sprite size the targeted hardware can handle or you may find yourself going back to the drawing board.
BONUS TIME: Atari Fonts, as well as most computerized letters and numbers, are small sprites preprogrammed into the computer's hardware. These are usually 8x8. However, have you ever wondered about the extra small sprites found on some Atari games, especially on the Atari 7800 games? Those are on a 3x5 sprite grid. Try it out sometime...make some 3x5 sprite grids on graph paper and try to draw out every letter and number of the English alphabet in those. Also, the Atari 2600 & 7800, unlike the Atari computers and 5200, do not have any fonts programmed into them. Those have to be done by the programmer and put in their games. So if you are designing a game for the 2600 or 7800 you might as well start making your own letters and numbers to be used in your game now.
HOW TO USE A SPRITE GRID
Now that you have a sprite grid how do you use it? This is the easy part. Using your pencil...fill in a square somewhere in the grid. That square you just filled in represents a pixel you would like "on" on the TV screen during the actual programming phase of your game project. Each one of those squares on your graph paper inside that sprite grid represents a series of pixels that will be used by the hardware to put your sprite on the screen at some point. If you want an airplane draw an airplane as best as you can. It doesn't have to be perfect and you can add and erase any shaded square at any time. This is why this part of a game's development is so important. This is laying out all of the artwork that will make up the visuals of the game. It's your game, your world, your baby, get it all out. If you find yourself stuck take a break and come back to it later. Ideas will hit you when you least expect it.
HOW TO MAKE ENVIRONMENTS
To do an environment, say like a side scrolling level like in Mario for example, you would put multiple 8x8 sprite grids together all the way across the paper from left to right. Each 8x8 sprite grid will be a small puzzle piece used later to build up the environment. You can use larger grid sizes later but for now let's keep it simple. Use 8x8 sprite grids and I would probably limit yourself to using a total of eight sprite grids. Are you starting to see a pattern here?
END OF PART 2
And that concludes the second part of this guide. We actually went over a lot of stuff. Hopefully that will be enough to get started. It should be enough to get the game imagined inside your mind on paper and closer to reality. Remember...it's your world. Build it up as you see it and as you see fit. Again, if something doesn't fit right away set it aside for future use. And, above all, have fun!
I'm going to post this now and then I will come back later to add reference images. I still need to make those 😉
I just now seen this but I couldn't help but notice how the area where Snoopy's dog house sits looks a lot like a baseball field. This actually looks like a cool game.
You're welcome but I won't be teaching programming this time around. What I'm after is those interested in making video games to have the basic knowledge and understanding of what it takes to make a game. I'm also going to be expressing what making a game should be all about. I don't want people coming in full force and making games just to make money. Money should never be the reason behind making games. Those that do that don't and never will care about the video game community and we don't want that. I want people that want to make a game because of their passion for video games and the machines whether it be one or many.
If people coming here because they want to make a game but they haven't got a clue on where to begin then I hope this guide will point them in the right direction to having all of their ducks in a row. It is soo much easier to come to the programming stage after spending time putting together everything conceptual on paper from the story to character designs to world appearances that are to be put in the game. There is a reason to my madness for doing it this way that will all come together in the end.
You're welcome but I won't be teaching programming this time around. What I'm after is those interested in making video games to have the basic knowledge and understanding of what it takes to make a game. I'm also going to be expressing what making a game should be all about. I don't want people coming in full force and making games just to make money. Money should never be the reason behind making games. Those that do that don't and never will care about the video game community and we don't want that. I want people that want to make a game because of their passion for video games and the machines whether it be one or many.
If people coming here because they want to make a game but they haven't got a clue on where to begin then I hope this guide will point them in the right direction to having all of their ducks in a row. It is soo much easier to come to the programming stage after spending time putting together everything conceptual on paper from the story to character designs to world appearances that are to be put in the game. There is a reason to my madness for doing it this way that will all come together in the end.
Here's the other one. This one is the sole reason why I wanted a LaserDisc player. Wal-Mart in Branson, Missouri had a Pioneer LD setup and playing a demo disc. This clip from The Mind's Eye was playing when I discovered the setup in the store one visit my Mother and I made. I repeated that clip about 4 times on the machine. Something about was just mesmerizing to me. I loved the music especially and I thought the animation did a very good job of getting the story across without any dialog. See what you think?
On a side note, I had this on Radio Shack's version of the Mind's Eye on VHS. I never got the LD or the LD version of the Mind's Eye which I wish I could find now that I have a LD player. I absolutely LOVE the music in The Mind's Eye and Beyond The Mind's Eye videos. I would sometimes just put these in to go to sleep on.
It's not 80's but still fun to watch. I had two VHS tapes (remember those?) titled Beyond The Mind's Eye and one from Radio Shack titled The Mind's Eye. Both were compilations of early computer generated visuals set to some of the most creative music I've ever heard. This clip I'm sharing was one of my favorites from Beyond The Mind's Eye titled "Too Far". It might be from the 1990's but it retains that 1980's flare. It's also a time where computers were transitioning from being a luxury item into being a common place item in everything we do. Enjoy the short clip.
I wonder why I've only found her in Labyrinth on video? Were any of the other films she was in ever put on VHS, DVD, or some other home video format? Phenomena sounds interesting.
I have never seen Krull. I'm going to have to find a way to see that movie once and for all. And I'd love to get my hands on a CED player again. I loved those machines.
Last Starfighter is good but I think it was already mentioned.
Justin and myself took a 2-player battle to the grid. With the challenge accepted on Jr. Pac-Man for the 2600 using default settings the battle was on for 3 rounds. Playing Jr. Pac-Man on the 2600 in a 2-player battle is not an easy task because each player not only has to try to beat the other player but they also have to be completely focused on the game itself because Junior is one of the most unforgiving fast-paced games on the 2600. This was a lot of fun, Justin, and I hope we can do this again soon.
I'm ready for another challenge! Any takers?
Went at it for 3 rounds of Centipede with Kamakazi on the 7800. He won the 1st round, I won the 2nd, and he clenched it with the 3rd. Kamakazi won best of 3. This was actually a lot of fun! I know he felt the same. We'll be doing this again soon. Good game Kamakazi!
I know it's probably not the same but I still remember that mail flyer I got on the Jaguar and how it listed a bunch of 3rd party developers on it jumping on board to make games for the Jaguar. Only a small few actually did anything. If Time Warner and Midway would have actually made games for the Jaguar it might have faired better than it did.
What else is she in? I thought she only did that movie. WTH have I been doing?
#1 pick? Let's see, either Indiana Jones or Mortal Kombat. I know both had something similar to that.
If a workbench is not messy then it is not being used properly I would love to add a Saturn to my collection and I hope to someday. I liked it and thought it did do some things better than PlayStation. If only.
Well, my favorite easter egg is actually in a console. We all know about it now but i found it by accident back in 1990.
Long story short, my Mother and Grandmother both got me the same gift. I ended up with a Master System from each of them. The one my Grandmother got me had a Great Football in it and that was it for games. Out of curiosity I turned the system on without a cartridge and got the on screen instructions to plug a game in. Not thinking anything of it at the time I went back to my football game.
The one Mom got me was already on when I hooked it up. To my surprise I was greeted with a message to choose Hang-On or Safari Hunt. I wondered why the other one didn't do that. So the next time I went back to Granny's I tried again. Out of frustration I just started mashing buttons on the controller. The next thing I know the screen is scrolling over to a blue maze, music starts playing, and I'm guiding a snail to find the exit. Not impressive as a game but very impressive as a hidden game. I still play it from time to time.
Atari 5200 Guy got a reaction from Justin in Game Development Guide - Part 2
Atari 5200 Guy got a reaction from DegasElite in Game Development Guide
Atari 5200 Guy got a reaction from RadioPoultry in Favorite UNDERAPPRECIATED & FORGOTTEN '80s Movies?
Atari 5200 Guy reacted to Justin in Favorite UNDERAPPRECIATED & FORGOTTEN '80s Movies?
Atari 5200 Guy got a reaction from nosweargamer in What Are Your Favorite Retro Gaming Easter Eggs?
