Every gamer dreams of creating his own computer game. We can spend hours fantasizing and inventing unique mechanics, making graphic sketches, and choosing a soundtrack. But, unfortunately, many are stopped by the need for programming.
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Game design process
However, not everyone knows that now this problem is gradually receding into the background. With the improvement of various development environments (game engines), there are more options for creating simple games without writing code.
The development of computer 3d art styles is a complex process that includes a huge number of stages. Of great importance in development is writing program code, setting up the game for different platforms, preparing a script, creating graphics, sounds, and describing gameplay.
What you need for game design
For those who do not have sufficient knowledge of programming languages (C ++, C # or Java), there are tools for the independent development of the games. As a rule, such design programs contain all the necessary elements to implement any game scenario.
You can learn to use such programs freely and move on to more complex projects in the future. To do this, simply sign up for the educational programs “Game Project Management” and “Fundamentals of Game Creation” at the Higher School of Economics, Higher School of Economics. Our teachers from leading game studios will share their experience and tell you about all the nuances of development.
Poor optimization can lead to the fact that on weak computers, and maybe even on powerful ones, games will slow down and crash.
Remove unnecessary objects
It is important to focus on the specifics of types of 3d games. In Counter-Strike, casings can be safely removed. But in a detective or sniper game, they can be an important part of the gameplay.
The problem of too many objects will persist until we learn to produce infinite random access memory. So we will need optimization for a very, very long time.
Sometimes this problem cannot be solved. For example, if your game provides a time rewind mechanic, then you, on the contrary, must store all the information for the time by which the player can move into the past.
Here you can either keep the number of objects to a minimum or use dirty tricks.
Disable display of objects
Some objects, such as static parts of the game world, cannot be deleted. But you can turn them off instead. This is most commonly used in large open-world games:
You can turn off only the rendering of an object, or you can turn off the entire object. In this case, the load will decrease not only on the graphics card but also on the central processor, because the game will not check collisions and physics.
But with physics, you still need to be careful. If the player turns away from the object while it was falling, and you turn it off (the object), a strange effect will result. The object will never fall until the player looks at it again.
However, this can be used as a feature of the game. A good example: in Doctor Who, there are creatures called crying angels. They look like ordinary statues, but when no one is looking at them, they can move.
Reduce the detail of distant objects
In older games, you may notice that objects disappear altogether, and textures appear instead.
Game creation software
Today many applications allow making a game. Most of them are versatile engines designed for PC and mobile game development.
It is believed that Unity is easy to learn. At the moment it is already a matter of habit.
Unity made popular games like Hearthstone and Ori and the Blind Forest, as well as mobile hits like Pokemon Go, Super Mario Run, and others. Both successful AAA titles, such as Gears of War 4, and indie hits Hellblade.
Working in both engines helps to get comfortable in the game development environment, understand the basic principles and logic of their creation. After that, you can already make a choice based on personal preference.
The most important thing
When optimizing, the most important thing is to understand that you cannot do this indefinitely. No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to port Death Stranding to modern mobile devices without losing quality.
Therefore, even during development, you need to decide on which devices and for which audience your game will be. Perhaps simple graphics and low hardware requirements will become your specialties?
Also, developer skills are very important: a professional write more productive code and works better with the engine. If you want to get comfortable with the Unity engine, then you should take a course in which you will not only master all the skills necessary for a developer but also create your first projects.
