Open2Study Summary

Since I had to re-enroll into the Game Development course on Open2Study, I decided to redo the first module; so now I'm about to summarize the entire module into this one article. 

What is a game design document? 

A game design document describes the game from the player's point of view. It could describe what can you do in the game, how the characters fight, how they interact with their environment, and other things. 

What is an interaction matrix? 

An interaction matrix is a graph of all entities; interactions in your game. The score, the rock, the gun on the floor, your character, and other objects. An interaction matrix will allow you to describe the interaction of between all the objects and entities in your game.  

It's basically a grid and both axis have the names of the game objects. You can put on the graph the interactions between objects; such as when a bullet hits a guy, you reduce a certain amount of Health Points (HP). 

What is a game design bible? 

A game design bible is similar to a game design document, but it has all of the information on the game. All of the stats, characters, interactions, NPCs, features, and other things. It is not suggested to make a game design bible because either you will probably have to change certain aspects (And disobey the game design bible) or you will not be able to change anything (And eventually bore your players). With a game design document, you still have the option to change what you need to, and not bore your players. 

What are the three stages of game development? 

The three stages are pre-production, production, and release (Or maintenance). Pre-production is when they devs (developers) make a prototype game based on the game design document. During this stage, the team can make any changes that they need to; and it won't be costly since the team is still small. Production is when they make the game more playable, add more content, and begin making the game ready for release. Release, or maintenance, is when the game is done being built, and players have full access to it (Of course, if it's paid, you still need to buy it). After release, the team can continue to add to the game to keep the players interested. And they can also expand the team and/or begin making they next game. 

What is agile game development? 

That is when the dev team have a game design document, and they build up the game from there. Every now and then, the team review the game to make sure that the game is still as it is supposed to be or even better. During this stage, all members of the team can make suggestions to make the game as good as it can. On Open2Study, this is the suggested way to do it. But the best way to make a game, is with other people (MORALS!).