Pre-production

Unit: task a Pre-production to games design and media: pre-production for a game is the most important thing to do before making the game come to life. However pre-production isn’t just for games it is for every type of media art out there.

Type of production

There are many types of media production out there that any one can use if they want to get their product there and known by the public such as:
Film
Television
Advertising(photo-imaging, cinema, television, print)
Games development
internet
Radio

Press
Interactive media
print
All of these are types of production anyone can use to get their product out there to the public to see. however production does not just mean media because there are productions for marketing the product after it has been designed and finished. you can apply these productions to your game when it is finished and when you want to market it such as Batch production which is where you decide to release your product/game in groups of small quantities such as 10, 20 or 35 copies at a time. This is only used as often when it is required. An example of this type of production is bread or chocolate because they are dispatched and sold in batches or small groups. Another is one-off production which is where you release a product once and only once but game developers won’t usually go with that type of production unless they do a special edition but hey usually come in batch production. An example of this production is a chair that a very famous designer makes and puts up for sale worth millions because it is the only one to ever exist. Continuous production is what most game companies do which where you make thousands of copies usually on a production line that runs for 24hrs, seven days a week in order to maximize the production and to eliminate the extra costs of starting and then stopping the process of production. The production process only requires a few workers and is highly is a highly auto-mated way of production. Mass production is similar to Continuous production. An example of this production is electrolysis where electricity is being made. Mass production is where you make hundreds of copies on a production line. It also often involves the use of sub-assemblies of individual components. There are automation tasks which enables a smaller number of workers to output more of the product/game. An example of this type of production is metal or coal because they being massively produced in mass quantities.

                                                                              Finance
The finance is a major part of designing a game because you have a certain budget that you have to spend on your game that you are developing and you must make sure you do not over spend. You are going to be spending this budget on advertisement, software, staff, concept artists, computers and game engines. Advertisement: advertising is important because it will help get your game noticed by the public so more people will buy and play your game/project. Software: the software is very important if you want to make a best-selling or good game. If you have old software then it will not be able to handle the graphics or handle the up to date designer games. The more advanced your software is then the more better your games will be with the graphics, performance and the overall gameplay of your game/project. Staff: The staff you have will be very important because they will be the people that allow your game to come to alive and become playable for the world. The staff can be concept artists, programmers and the designer for the game that you want to become real. So you will want to make sure you save and then invest in your staff because they are your most valuable resources. Computers: Having computers is an obvious object for designing your game. If you have a rubbish or low quality computer then your game won’t sell well and you will not make any profit out of it. Game engines: The game engine is what decides what your game will look like in graphics, visual effects and the smoothness of the game. GTA V had a budget of £170 million or $265 million which is a very high budget to work with when making a game. You can also get some finance from sources outside of your work place such as kick starter which is what most people use if they want a good amount of finance for their project. Kick starter allows you to put your work on the internet so people from the public can look at your work and see if they want to donate any money too you. If your game looks and sounds good then you will most likely receive a lot of money for your project and then you will have enough finances to make your

                                                                         

                                                                           Time

Time is the most valuable resource that does not last long so you will have to work on schedules to insure you finish your product on time so the public gets it on time and then they are pleased. Also you are timed to get the game/product finished in time which is known as a deadline. Many artists and companies have deadlines that they work to insure their product is released on time and so they can work on the next sooner and quicker. If you hire equipment then you will have a specific time and date for it to be returned so you and the staff will be rushed to make sure you use that hired product as much as possible before it has to be returned. Transport is also a time constraint because if you have hired a bus/coach to journey to a location then you will be timed to make sure you arrive back in time in order for the transport to be returned without you being charged for delay return. Time scales for clearances are also an important because you will not be able to continue the production of your game if you do not do a certain amount of work in a scheduled amount of time. A clearance is where you have the money you need to make your game and then you split it with a different group so then when you finish something in a game in the time limit then the next group will give the money to continue and it is a continuous process until the game/product is complete.

                                                     personnel
The size of your team is important because the bigger your team then the more work you will be able to do and the quicker as well. If you have a small team of people then you most likely have less work to do as a team but if your team is a big team then you will more works to do and you should also be expected to do quicker but not that much because you will have a small amount extra work to do. Your personal will have different roles such as concept artists, programmers, designers and script writers. Some people in the same team will also be doing the same tasks if they have the same roles. Each role will have a specific time and date to finish the task they are on.

Skills and experiences are also very important because if your staff has no skill and little experience then they will not be very good at designing or programming and your product will suffer and not sell well. Resourcing your personnel will allow you to ration on what skills you have available to you so you can use the right skills for the right job. Your personnel will be available to you almost all of the time but sometimes they be ill or had a serious accident so they will not be available to you all of the time.

The personnel may also leave you if you put them through too much work because you didn’t resource their skills. Your personnel will not come free. You will have to pay for the work they put into your project in order to make a dream become a reality and to make that reality become famous and to be a best-seller. You must look at the CVs of your personnel carefully because if they do not have any IT grade or a very poor IT grade then they may not be very useful for you and your project.

                                                                     Facilities
Your company will need good facilities for it be successful such as having the right software for the team such as Photoshop, Maya, 2D game design apps, 3Ds max and many others that will help them make the game be the absolutely best it can be. The materials is also a key part in pre-production for your game/project because the better materials you have then the better the ideas so then because of the better materials you will be able to make a better quality game because of the graphics and frame rate of the game. Post-production is a main role if you want a game/product that has no problems, no glitches and to have a good frame rate so it does not lag behind the controller actions. Post-production is where you look through your product, correct it to make sure there are no problems and then edit other stuff to it like a new movement or a slight improvement of blends. The green screen is not used in games but is used in movies for the background picture such as mountains or buildings and the green screen will make it look as realistic as possible so the viewer’s think and believe it is real. You don't just get your sources and help from the sources inside your facility you get them from the outside as well. If you want the best materials or the best piece of information then you will need to find sources outside of your usual working place because it will be providing you with even more information and it would be expanding your survey and giving you more sufficient answers that will be a major benefit to your project.

                                                                                                  Materials

Materials are the main items you will need to truly bring your game to life such as the graphics, audio, script e.c.t. Photo shopping is a material you will use often because it will help you design backgrounds for your game and also help you make more realistic and believable characters and designs that cause the public to really feel the emotion in the game.

The sound library will allow the game to become a step closer to being realistic because the more real the sound is and the more original the sound is then the more emotion the game/project will carry towards the public or target market. The sound of the music is what makes a game become a true best-seller due to it adding more tension and 'on the edge' feel to the game. If your game is a romantic or adventure one then it would not make sense to have sharp and sudden horror music so the game will suffer due to this. However if you have calm, relaxing music or inspiring, adrenaline rush type music then the game would make more sense and it would sell a lot better.

The internet is a vital material because it gives you information on your target market such as their likes, dislikes, favourites and absolute distastes so then you can work on that information and make your product the most appealing which shows them their likes and favourites. Audio is what allows the game to become realistic and understandable, If you are looking to make the 'best game of the year' then you have got to have good audio so it is more relatable. An example of a game with good audio is The last of us which to me has very good audio. The way Joel and Ellie sound when they speak is realistic and very much emotional because the way their voices change when they are put into tough situations. If every game had The last of us typed audio then I see no reason why they do not sell well.

The script is also a very important material because without a script then the game will have no story to tell and therefore no one will be interested in that game because they want a game with a story they can be involved in. The more emotional the script is then the compelling the story will be so then there will be more sales.

Animatics is a material that will allow your game to be able to move around such as lift one arm or thrust forward a leg or even to walk. So without Animatics your game will be frozen. Graphics is what will make your game look visual beautiful and realistic. The graphic material Is not the most important material you will need but it would help you sell if it looks stunningly beautiful.

                                           Contributors

Almost everyone's game or project will have contributors that allow your project to be built up and finished. The personnel you hire or employ are very valuable contributors because they are contributing their very talented skills into your game. They can be specialists at that specific talent or novices but they are still very important contributors. The public can contribute to your game due to them sharing their opinions and thoughts on the surveys you give them to complete. Then with all of your information you would have gathered from them will be put into the game. Their dislikes will be removed from the game and their likes will be added into the game too make sure they are completely happy with the game you have made which in turn will cause them to buy it. There are great outside source websites which offers you the chance to get many public contributors that are donating there money to your game so it comes too life and becomes playable for the rest of world. You can also get game design student loans which you do have to pay back but it is a lot easier to get than, lets say a car loan, but it does also have a deferment period. Which means you don't have to start repaying the loan back until after you have graduated and in some situations its up to nine months after you graduate. This then gives you the chance to find and start a job in the gaming industry before you are responsible for the loan repayment.

                                                                Locations

You will need to identify the locations you need so then you can easily travel to that location to be inspired with new ideas and new design that will then be put towards your project/game. However there will be limitations for the locations you have chosen such as the amount of access you are allowed. You might be able to get to a certain point of that location due their being access restraints. Risks are also a major limitation because if you and your employees are at risk of danger then you will not be allowed to access part of that location or in fact any of that location. The weather on the day of travelling may cause you to be limited on what you can do because if there has been a lot of rain then you would not be allowed to go on a muddy mountain because of the slippery surface which links in with risks. The cost of travelling to locations is also a limitation because if the price is to much then you will be able to travel at all and then you will loose a location that might have gave you the bets ideas and designs for a game. The distance to the location can limit you because if the distance is very far away then the more it will cost due to the petrol money. Recces is reconnaissance which is were you scout out a location too make sure it is safe, accessible, and to make sure it is not a private piece of land which is owned by a landlord. The producers and designers of the game 'Sleeping dogs' went to Hong Kong to get inspirations for their martial arts game and that is also why the triad was a big part of the game. The designers also saw an old man with one arm and 2 toes while in Hong Kong and that gave them the idea to put him as a resident in the game. You can see walking around the map moving from place to place. This is what he looks like...

Codes of practice and regulation

Codes of practice and regulation include copyrights, health and safety, insurance such as public liability and completion insurance. Copy right is the assignable and exclusive legal right which is given to the original creator for a certain amount of years. It will allow them to publish, print, edit and share their product. Health safety is what insures the personnel that they are working in a safe work environment and that the products they are using will not effect their health in anyway. If your business has not had a safety inspection then it not be wise to continue on your product otherwise your business could potentially get shut down because your personnel/employees health and safety will be at risk. The public liability insurance is vital if you don't want to pay for injury claims that the users of your product make when they get injured or if they suffer loss of an item. Public liability will insure that if any of your users suffer a loss or get injured due to your product then the insurance will cover it and pay it off for you. This is good for the customers because they could have their property repaired, lost items replaced and have their medical costs paid for. what is Completion insurance or often known as 'delayed completion'. It is where you have insurance for any loss of income for your product which causes your product/game to be delayed for its release. It covers income loss or specified additional expenses that are a result of a delay in the completion of a project that is being constructed when the cause of the delay is by a covered property damage. There are other insurances that you may want to consider for your business such as employee liability insurance- if you employ staff then you must take out employee liability insurance by law. This insurance is designed to protect the interests of employees in terms of illness or an accident at work. If you decide to hire a professional then you may want to consider professional indemnity insurance- if you do hire a professional, for example an accountant or a project manager, to work for you or your business you may want to check that they hold adequate professional indemnity insurance. This will then enable your company to meet the cost of claims against them for any of the following:

• Any negligent act, error or omission
• Implied statutory terms (e.g. sale of goods act 1979).
• Unintentional Infringement of intellectual property rights.
• Loss of documents/data entrusted to the insured.
• Unintentional libel, slander, defamation.
• Unintentional breach of confidence, confidential duty or misuse of information.

Regulatory bodies such as Ofcom, Advertising standards Authority (ASA) which is responsible for regulating the content of advertisement, sale promotions and the marketing of your product in the UK. Pan European Game Information (PEGI) is a well known gaming rating company that rates age-appropriateness. It is where the game gets reviewed to see what age is suitable to play it such as "PEGI 18" or "PEGI 12". Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is the non-profit, self-regulatory body that assigns ratings for video games/apps so that the parents can make informed choices. It is also similar to PEGI where it measures the appropriateness of a game. Other regulations also include Trade associations such as The independent Games Developers' Association (TIGA). The majority of the members in TIGA are either independent game developers or in-house publishers owned developers. It has 3 major activities such as Political representation, generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the competitiveness of their members. Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers' Association (ELSPA) which a an organisation founded by a British software publisher. This then added the 3+, 11+, 15+ and 18+ and it then got supplanted by the well-known European rating system PEGI. And then the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) which exists to do four key things: support and promote the British digital industry, share knowledge and best of practice, reward great work and too encourage the next generation. So if you are involved in digital then you can benefit from being apart of BIMA and from being a member of BIMA. There are trade unions out there that are an organized associations that is in trade/group trades which is formed to protect your rights and interests.  A group from the UK game industry has established a Dev Union, which wants to encourage the debate around the establishment of a Uk trade Union for those in the games industry. The trade Union they want to make with be called 'Uk Video Game Workers Association'. A new trade union will help solve issues that isn't just redundancy. There are a lot of ethical issues that play a role here.

 

Task b

The parts of pre-production I will need for the game I am making in Wayne’s class is time because I will need time in order to make the platform game that I am planning to design in Wayne’s class. I will need time in order to make sure all of my designs are correct and accurate and I will also need time to make sure everything is up and running and working well. I won’t really need finance because I am using the free version of game maker so I can have the hardware and software to make my game. I may use some form of finance such as my own money for other materials such as a new mouse or a keyboard in case they break. The reason I won’t really use finance is because I am a student who is using a free version of game maker studio so most of the materials I will need to make my game are already there and ready for me to use I will also not need finance because  I ain’t got any personnel to pay for. I won’t need personnel because the platform game I making will only require one person to make. I may ask some of my friends if the design looks good or how to use a certain tool but that is all I will need. The only facilities I will need to use is game maker studio and Photoshop so I will be able to get some good designs for my background. The materials I will use are the computer, keyboard, mouse and the monitor. I will need the software materials so I can actually make and design the game. I will use other apps such as photo shop or audio store in order to get my sound for the game. I will use other materials to create my script for the game so it has a story for it and so it makes sense. I won’t really need contributors for my game that I am making because it is mainly a one man project that doesn’t need more than one person to design and create it. So because I will not need any contributors I will not need that much money for finance for the production of my game. I will and I won’t use location because I will use real life landscapes for the background but that is all I will need. The reason I won’t need to use locations is because my game is going to be platform so I won’t really need every detail of a location in it. However if I was going to make a 3D game then I would travel to the location that is going to be in the game so I can learn the tradition a bit more and the cultures especially if it was based in a different country which has different cultures and traditions than mine. Also because I am not traveling to locations I am not needing any finance for tour buses or for hiring coaches or planes. Codes of practice I will use but also won’t use because I will need/use some things from codes of practice and regulations such as PEGI because I will need to rate my game on what age it is suitable for so people who are too young won’t play on it and get in trouble with their parents or guardians. I will need insurance but not at the start because most of the production of my game will be free. Towards the end of the production for my project I will use and fully research the types of insurance I will need to use for my game. I won’t need any trade unions for my game because I am not going to be sharing or trading my game with the global world straight away. So towards the end of the making of my production of my game then I will look at what types of trade unions there are but that is if I decide to share it with people on a global level. That is what I will need for my game production so I can make my game.

                                                             
                                                              Jamie parker SLC