Video games are one of the modern forms of media that have emerged. While TV was once seen as a lower-class thing to indulge in, this was taken over by video games in the 1980s. Just like TV before it, video games have developed from a very simple form of media to one of the most complex types. It means that the days of bedroom coders creating best-selling video games are largely a thing of the past. These days most of the top name games are Triple A titles that have huge budgets and even bigger development lifecycles. So, why is this the case and is it always the case?
Exceptions
There are some exceptions. They mainly come in the indie gaming world. Over the last few years, there have been some fantastic indie releases. While they’re generally not on a par with the Triple A titles, they still offer excellent gameplay with well-designed, stylistically-consistent graphics. The indie market is just the tip of the iceberg. Possibly the most prolific development niche is the casino gaming market. Here, players who use a casino bonus finder can access one of the biggest lists of new releases available.
In fact, there are often multiple releases a month from the same software house. This is because casino game players tend to be hungry for new titles, but also the design and development phase isn’t as in-depth as traditional video games. There are a lot of different reasons for this.
Design phase
The design phase for traditional video games will entail several different areas. There will be level design, character designs and story design just as a starting point. All these aspects will take months to put into place. That isn’t the case with a casino game which will often have a design phase of around a week. Video games can sometimes be six months into development before a line of code has even been written. Story is something that has become increasingly important in recent years. That is because even the most violent games require a story to keep players invested in the long term.
As such, it’s important for software developers to manage their time effectively. Development companies will have to work hard to keep each aspect of the game in synergy with the others. It stops there being a funnel holding up development at any point.
Once the actual game development begins, it’s a much more involved process than in the past. Gamers require a lot more from their games than before. It means that the gameplay must be smooth, the visuals need to be realistic and high definition and, finally, the story must be engaging. It’s this higher level of quality that has made video game development such a lengthy process when compared to the past. While it might seem frustrating having to wait, the increased quality of game makes it worthwhile.
