According to statistics, less than 1% of all games that started launching reached commercial launch: novice developers often mistakenly believe that the idea of the game is the main thing. But an idea becomes a value only when two conditions are met:
Preparation
The preparation stage includes the formation of an idea (vision), the search for a strategy, a preliminary analysis of the market, the search and formation of a team, the choice of management methodologies.
Market analysis is one of the most important stages in preparation. The key is understanding your audience: who will play your game? Why will it stand out in the market? These questions need to be answered precisely at the preparatory stage, otherwise after the release of the game it may turn out that it is not interesting to anyone.
Vision is the most important thing you have at the initial stage of development. A good vision occupies one A4 page, which should contain a description of the game (platform, genre, setting, distribution model, gameplay description, main features and mechanics, player goals), references, USP (1 killer feature + 2-3 unique / new features, etc.) Any person who reads the vision should immediately understand what kind of game you are doing.
In game development, there are two main approaches to team / project management: Agile and Waterfall. Most companies use hybrid methods that take elements from both of these approaches. Waterfall is a team management approach based on a sequential, linear development cycle. Agile is based on flexibility and iteration in product / project development. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. SCRUM is one of the most popular methods of practical implementation of Agile philosophy in IT teams, it defines roles, responsibilities and key “ceremonies” in the team. The iterations in SCRUM are called sprints.
Preproduction
Pre-production includes preparation of documentation, concept, feature-list, art-style doc, budget, business plan, project plan, adaptation and “work” of the team, building processes. The most irreplaceable document is a concept, which later “grows” into a game design document. It is also not worth neglecting the budget and business plan, because without them it will be difficult to understand how much you earned from selling the game, whether it is profitable for you to sell the game for the amount that the interested publisher will offer. The result of pre-production is a prototype or demo version of your game for demonstration.
