Excursion to the chocolate factory / / Block i-istory

Excursion to the chocolate factory

- Kids! Do you like chocolate?
- We are not children!
- But something you love chocolate? You know, from what and how to do?
- Yes. No children now! Everyone knows that chocolate grows on special trees. Some people collect it, while others are sold in shops in the beautiful covers.
- Wow. Know a lot. And where do the beautiful wrapping?
- That's what we do not know. Tell?
- With pleasure! Moreover, we take an unforgettable tour of a real chocolate factory, and you will see everything with my own eyes.
- And you can substitute chocolate to learn how to make a video game?
- Of course. Where is the difference?

- Pretty simple. The first thing necessary to collect a small team and immediately come up with it some super-duper name. Something in the style of �CyberCrew�, �Papa's games studio�, or, in extreme cases "IgroStroy. On the same day should be immediately registered in the DTF Ltd, to great uncle immediately began to take you for their own. As a result of these little creative manipulation commands are born of two types:

1. Plans, like all beginners, grandiose. Hopefully the results will be consistent with them. Money for the development of no. Experience of development there. All somewhere or go to school or work part time or even live with their parents. Therefore, theoretically, time igrostroy somewhere can find. Ideas - car.

2. "In August 2007, our team has released the first game, which, although not brought worldwide fame, but was warmly received by ordinary players. Money to develop a new game there. Experience in development, thank heaven, there is. The main income-generating activities to this area has nothing to do, but they all want to change it to produce greatest hits. (How naive! "In our time more profitable to trade with minced meat and frozen cabbage rolls). Eden is, the technical possibility of implementation - in theory - too.

Do not want to upset anyone, but about the team first type of talk is not even worth it. Chances in our cruel world and in our ill they have no time.

So let's talk about others.

And it's time to invent another game. Yes! We must invent its own and unique with a capital letter! Game Dreams �. This is the most important. Here, for example, let's go straight to melt in his mouth is: "In the middle of a vast ocean is a solitary stone island. On it, except moss and bushes, nothing grows. But there is a solitary military base with the shaft of tactical nuclear weapons, one megakosmichesky radar and a few points of combat air defense (PVO). A player's task - to protect the island. Target PC - bomb from a military air base. "

The game should be made in full 3D on a modern level, and even that it can be sold under the bourgeois Hbox 360.

- We want this game! Make the game too, want!

- Excellent! Now consider that our team to do this. First need a true artist with a great imagination, who could find materials to work, and it appears that it is possible to implement with modern gaming technology. He paints for us the whole island: looks like from the sea and from a great height. It would be great to draw what it has beautiful bays and separate protruding rocks. It was here that have already proved useful to game designer, scriptwriter or Level-designer, and sometimes all three at once. Or one-man-ship band. They (or he) will decide what databases and how they should be located on the island, that the weapons are there and what kind of radar to protect it all. And, most difficult, they (he) should solve everything so that all buildings and weapons consistent with not only the game logic, but logic at all. Therefore, all aspects, not only to specify, but the detail raspishut yes raschertyat a separate document, which will kick off what will carry the proud name of "Dizayndokument (I remember happy days when it was enough to have a beautifully painted and thick Dizayndokument to its author, together with the team invited to work in ~~Hollywood~~ Geymdev). Then the artist must again take up the work, rendered buildings, fences and all constructions. For the sake of training, he will come up with a couple of parallel planes, which must then attack the island, and game designer - a minefield on the beach and head of the image database. At the same time, the team with the feet straying in search of 3D-modelers. They, as it may seem as if all three rings and the corner. But that someone could not drum and shamanic dances correctly and to the drawings, sketch, sculpt - very little. As soon as such a hero is, it comes from and understanding that we must have more than one, and everyone should be able to have and texture, will have to find another artist teksturschika. And modelers not to blows and then drove his mind programming tools should work in a 3D-editor, and not everyone in his way. After all this remains to be - oh, horror! - Have several experienced programmers well versed in the necessary technology and ~~Unreal Engine~~ game engine, able to realize all my dreams. Programmers ... well, they either have or untimely absent. Even if some of your colleagues and will consider themselves as such. No programming is not a game. General. About the same engines must generally speaking separately, loudly and off the stage - with them all is not so fluffy and silk, as we would like, but not the essence.

Found artists and modelers? Game designer rooted concept? Google suggested to the engines, physics and mathematics students are advised programmers neighbors? Well, let's rock, starts working out.

At this stage the main stumbling block is our daily bread. Who, if anyone not in the subject, we should have. Or, rather, be aware that ~~smoking~~ is a must, so far will be the mystery of the creative process. If funding is available, this item will be skipped. Otherwise, the most real - this is driving them out of the Publisher. Publisher - this is such a terrible and vicious mob, who should sit on ~~a stake~~ bag with money, to publish all sorts of other people's games and give the gold to get into his cave your wonderful game dreams. As more delicately and painless to do when something should be told separately.

Once my familiar developer (who has long since developed the video games), got a couple of messages in ICQ from Pipeline (someone who just wanted to make games, but instead of studying it, already considered himself a developer). Not spending the time to introduce myself, he is very original chatting on the theme "There is an idea. I want to make a megahit ":

Conver: Mlyn ... So.
Developer: I am what can I help?
Conver: I'm just not familiar with all this ...
Developer: I am what can I help?
Conver: I understand that games are not made for two days ... And this issue is resolved for months.
Developer: And? What should I do specifically?
Conver: Well, as some kind of agreement, so it was considered
Head of projects, or whatever it is all done.
Developer: From this it was necessary to start ... There are specific people who do this .... SCHA redirected question ...
Conver: Yeah, thank you!
Conver: Like written! Waiting for an answer!

I-Story on Game-space

Developer: One is you're not behaving ... We must find a chela, team or company that is engaged in producing, prepared a letter with a full description, pictures attached (without demos now no one wants it really do) and sent to the mailbox ...

But suppose the money is already there, the team - also, enthusiasm and did a little wagon and stroller - it's time to tackle the problem. It is reasonable to make all processes in parallel. Write "dizayndokument" and the script, draw sketches, make models and textures, to write software code. But first - to be ahead of all other processes in two steps, and the second - on one. In our example, is useful in advance to understand how and what is controlled by base, to know its structure, resources. Know everything about technology, not only the island, but those who attacked him. It is necessary to calculate the formula on which the fly and planes, and air defense missiles, which they should knock down, and would be a good idea to release noted that they are the same, and correct. This, if anything, far from all. Knowing would still, what events and adventures to take place during the game, so it was not boring to those who sit for it.

Artist, if not two, or more, must be in the details of all traced. This will not only accelerate tenfold subsequent modeling, but will come across a lot of mistakes and miscalculations of game design is at the entry stage. Of course, it is not easy, and many young teams in different ways trying to get away from the normal presence of artists, because programmers do not draw against the interfaces, and modelers eager to invent characters and equipment. Needless to say, Release or assembly, similar to a simulator of a beta-tester, then calls for collective righteous bewilderment.

We are trying to trace the fate of the dialogue of the young and inexperienced with the old, tired and has seen all:

Conver: It's me again!
Developer: Hi.
Conver: I was told that you are not looking at projects at the stage of ideas. I was told to prepare a technical demo and assemble a team, but for such a global game should be very, very much experience, does not suggest how should I be?

I-Story on Game-space

Developer: How it all (if the Pope does not oilman):
1. Settle into a normal game office recruits.
2. Work out there for 3 years, constantly studying all aspects.
3. Achieve leading positions in a particular studio.
4. When moving to a new project to try to persuade the authorities to implement the feasibility of their ideas ...
Conver: In this and the whole catch. By the time this project will not be such a masterpiece, the more so now, will the PS3 and XBOX360, which will come sverhtehnologichnye game, and after 5 years, I generally keep quiet! Well thanks, that at least said that now do not! Then we have to wait at least 5 years!

Is not it easier and modeling. It only seems - lepi for something out of "polygons" and mustache not DUY. About the astronauts the same can be said - sit in his armchair pilot and not parsya. But modelers have so much to know and be able, that the uninitiated horizon shrinks from embarrassment. There is, however, this is just more difficult. With the advent of all-consuming nextgen'a the word is quickly fell into desuetude, but the requirements for models and technologies nowhere gone. Only the terms normal mapping, displacement mapping, parallax mapping, high dynamic range, level of detail and global illumination will drive crazy the uninitiated, and yet this still should be able to work. Needless to say the correct anatomy as a requirement by default to current models of the characters.

But moderates righteous doubt and imagine - the process of working on the game in full swing. Sea you "sausage", an island in the middle of it stands on its military base and radar in a wonderful heart. Do not forget to remind every day about themselves in blogs DTF Ltd: �� finally our website," Do not forget to update the pictures of staff, arranged the forum photos from our trips, "Today our company 2 years!" " Our game took 15 th place in rating projects !!!�, etc. etc.

Then you remember about the publisher who not only gives you money, but virtually required to control the whole process, often by a father, sending him to a more suitable (from his point of view) channel. He comes to you, looks and asked: "Where is the moss?", "Why the bushes in the wind do not move?", "Change of day-night will be?", And winning: "And why on the basis of the military did not go?". Opanki! But you naively thought - why do you people? Enough fighting and towers. So talk. And you answered: "Lost? 21 in the yard! What is - not enough players! All they want realism. " And what to do now? Nothing, break through! Just let the artist scribbled three dozen skits than heroes, but you still find people willing to do the same characters and animation that will make the game a skeleton below them and simply bind to it thirty models, after which he will do easily under a hundred pieces of the desired animation. Programmers will rewrite the code and create intelligence warriors, game designer to think of what those characters do there. Year fly by. Here again the evil Publisher will visit almost finished the game, praised for moss, bushes, a shift of the day and night to rejoice, as the scatter soldiers missed during the bombing of the island, and suddenly asks: "A bird on the island died of radiation?", "In this Sea Storm at least occasionally? "," only three types of aircraft would bomb? ", and winning:" Why is the base only with the air attack? Sea why? A couple of ships and one submarine to do - forgotten? 21 in the yard! What is - not enough players. There is no choice, we must do, because after a few announcements in gaming magazines and websites notable players overwhelm you with requests hotelkami and angry at the very pipe on your roof, which, by the middle of development, will boil from accidentally heard a combination of the words "game of your dreams . Another year will pass unnoticed.

From ICQ-blah-blah-blah of another friend (talk about a young but very promising team):

Developer A: How many projects are behind?
Developer B: Zero. This is a team, but the founders - the experience did not sour.
Developer A: What do not say, but 33 square meters decide.
In the Developer: Lead programmer - the former head of the famous studio. Lead artist - led there art department, sometimes printed in the steep gourmet Artbukah.
Developer A: U! How high all.
Developer Q: So once the draft class AAA *!
Developer A: How little finger batteries directly.
Developer B: Uh-huh. But that's something no batteries Class B ** and C **.
Developer A: Well, it's understandable .....
Developer Q: I am about the fact that AAA games from Russia and the CIS came little and little has come out ...
Developer A: In our game, probably in the category XXX ***

* AAA - these letters in the price lists indicate the game of the first class, with the highest demand, under that trap in the stores most convenient access to the regiments.
** B and C - the game of the second and third grades. The latter, however, may be placed in stores in such distant shelves, that they usually can find only real fans.

I-Story on Game-space

*** XXX - This is usually denoted by the abbreviation of pornographic material. Nowadays, however, the combination of symbols of these things can be put on 80% of Russia's cinema and igroindustrii regardless of the degree of disclosure "theme boobs".

The last period of development - the most cheerful. There is some irony - the closer to the finale, the more one remembers such nice things about which no one thinks (and not even know) at the beginning. Sound and Sound, Music and Composer, PR (PR - Public Relations) and Betatesting. The game, steadily working on the equipment inside your studio, oddly behaving in what is called "Mid-range zoo. And, incidentally, we all have different monitors.

But here comes a happy moment - the final development of the greatest in the world Games. All folded up and running. Works! Although, for some reason, happiness fills a publisher. And so, that he is forcing you to show the game in the West, promising to all the NATO countries, that it will be on Hbox 360. All would be good, if not fit the code, and all models under the prefix. And then the inevitable regime Apruvinga. Improving-the passage of your game through all the barriers and improve the quality of audits. And not only bound to produce a foreign publisher, but also through the barriers of certification for Microsoft to avoid problems with their attachment.

It's all up to the last betatestera know that the console memory are too little, nextgen-video there outrageously outdated, the game must work on the configuration without screws, and, for some reason, the Western testers found so many new bugs that they are, in principle, much more than lines in the code. But still, you see colors the whole picture in America does not fit their tastes, and soldiers negros should not die in the first place. But ... At some point, sooner or later - all behind. Game printed, razvezena in warehouses and even begins to sell. You frantically again writes a blog DTF Ltd: �pleasing fact that our game is bought up heavily. To date, many stores already, and Russia is no more. But only the first day of sales! ". Although the sellers did not know about you, it just is not booked. You are looking for, wherever possible, only mention of it on any resource. Rejoice, as small. Everyone who can, and do not need to constantly remind you: "Here is an overview of our game," "On" Ozone "the game came in the Top-20 bestseller," send all link to "patch number 4, informal, even those whom he has not fallen oak. In response you all send addresses torrents, where you can freely find your work, and links to the tops, which provide ways to compromise security. "Lost? 21 in the yard! "On many occasions the audience was divided between" Masterpiece. But why not pump up the defense towers of magic "and" The Game shit! Where to download? ", And most any of you or your game does not even have heard. "Abydno, yes?" But you, as a true Razrab, waiting for the most important events in your life: reviews and ratings Saito-zhuranov.

That's the end of the fairy tale, who was not listening - fellow. Ran for chocolate. Hope ...

- Chocolate you do not like?
- I love chocolate. But do not do it myself in the kitchen and do not teach him to cook chocolate factory.
- And why? You can take the cocoa and sugar, and butter, and cook!
- Well, this is will be just a sweet peanut butter, very similar to chocolate. And this one should be able to do special ingredients must be no less special equipment, and even a culinary college of them could use.
- And a videogame is also true?
- Of course. Where is the difference?

Mood: ver. 0.99
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Location: 55 � 45'0 "N 37 � 37'0" E