Pre-production techniques in the creative media
industry
What is pre-production?
Pre-production is the process of preparing all the elements and aspects of a project in order
to create a starting point from which you can proceed into full production, this can be
applied in any area of the creative media industry.
When carrying out pre-production for any project, you must consider the following; the type
of production; research; finance; time; facilities and personnel; materials and contributors;
location and regulations.
What is the design process?
The design process is methodical series of steps that all designers can use in creating
functional products, this is an example of the general design process. The overall process
takes on the form of 3 major stages with each containing a subset of more specific stages.
The stages are called pre-production, production and post-production. As the names suggest
the processes central objective is the creation of the game.
Pre-production – analysis of brief; research; brainstorming/ idea generation/ mind mapping;
game objectives; map development; concept art
Production - Scale & proportion; blocking out; textures; lighting; particle systems;
interactivity; programming; cinematics; menus
Post-production - testing; redesign; packaging design; promotion; launch; maintenance
Personal Game idea
Current favourite games…
Skyrim – map design; character design; gameplay; open world
Oblivion- map design, character design; open world
Fallout 4 - map design; character design; gameplay; open world
Fallout 3 - map design; character design; gameplay; open world
Fallout New Vegas - map design; character design; gameplay; open world
Overwatch- wide range of characters and designs; map design; gameplay; cinematics
and trailers
Dead by daylight – map design; mechanics; character designs; cinematics
Destiny 2- open world; cinematics and trailers; character designs; map design;
gameplay
Gta 5- open world; cinematics and trailers; character designs; map design; gameplay;
incorporates real life
Outlast- mechanics; storyline; gameplay; character designs; map design; cinematics
Borderlands- open world; character designs; map designs (Only DLC not base game)
gameplay; cinematics
Borderlands 2- open world; character design; map design; gameplay; cinematics
Devil may cry 4- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Gears of war- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Gears of war 2- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Gears of war 3- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Dying light- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Dead space- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Dead space 2- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Dead space 3- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Mass effect- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Mass effect 2- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Mass effect 3- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
The last of us - storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Left 4 dead- mechanics; character designs; gameplay
Left 4 dead 2- mechanics; character designs; gameplay
Bioshock- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design; cinematics
Bioshock 2- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Bioshock infinite- storyline; gameplay; mechanics; character design; map design;
cinematics
Personally, I believe that a game can be good without a
set/structured story as long as there is exceptional character
development; map design; gameplay and/or cinematics and trailers.
For example, Skyrim has a set story but it is drowned out by the fact
that it is an open world game with exceptional character and map
design as well as gameplay, a trend Bethesda tends to follow.
However, a really good story can keep any keen player enticed into
the game for weeks, months maybe even years.
The Awakening
Main character (you) stuck in some sort of coma in a mental asylum
without knowledge; constant change/ loop set at different times EG
soldier in ww2, assassin during medieval period etc. 2nd main
character is non-playable but is always there (Elizabeth from
bioshock infinite) and plays a massive part in the story but during
each time setting or “life” they’re just visually different yet in reality
they’re not real. Start of the game you’re in Mexico, current era and
you’re a thief and you plan on stealing from someone well known in
town – well known for being rich from “inheritance” but in reality
he’s the leader of a cartel that smuggles drugs, weapons etc. the
mission progresses until you’re captured tortured and killed however
you later wake up in a different era, this happens every time you die
(Story death not in-game death)
Ideas for eras…
Prehistoric (cavemen/stone age)
Ancient Rome
Viking age
Medieval period (assassin)
Sengoku Period (samurai)
World war one
World war two
Present (awakens)
Within each era there is a specific person you have to search for and
eliminate however they escape unscathed for the first few eras but
you begin to dawn on them in the last few until the present, this is
where you actually face said person; right now the story seems out of
order and ‘jumpy’ as a lot of the main interactions are in game.
Walker (the character you play as) and Pearl (non-playable main
character) are each unique in their own ways; walker can be very
stubborn but he is strong, strong willed and open minded even
though he has major trust issues after ‘past’ events but eventually he
begins to trust Pearl and even has a slight attachment to her.
Pearl at first seems to be an innocent, young confident girl that hides
a dark past. As the eras go on she slowly descends into a sort of rage
until eventually she begins to realize none of what’s happening is
real, how it’s all in Walker’s head and the only way to break it is to kill
their target – or so they think.
Cost/budget
Roughly a budget of £100 million should be allocated to ensure the
latest graphics; cinematics and animations, funded possibly by 2K
and Bethesda as both companies have extensive knowledge of eras
such as the medieval period. a good way of securing sponsors is
through social media such as YouTube and twitch, this way we can
reach out to the right target audience and sponsors.
Staff/team
A suitable team size would be around 60 people consisting of 3d
artists; programmers; testers etc. they’d receive their average wages
plus a bonus if they finish slightly earlier. I would assign
approximately 6 individual teams with their own projects (EG team 1
would be working on environment) and for each team I would assign
1 lead developer to manage time and production.
Location
The ideal location would be somewhere where the office would be
easily accessible for deliveries, employees etc. so a suitable place
would be within a city that is highly populated.
Timescale
Approximately, I would allocate around 100 weeks which is roughly 2
years, this means we will have substantial time to develop the game.
A small group of 5 lead developers will take control of the projects-
each assigned with their own teams to manage and control what
they work on and time management; this will ensure everything runs
smoothly and is completed at a high quality.
Profit
Making a good profit may be difficult as the cost of the game is so
large however, if the game were to sell for £50 a copy we could later
on release future DLC for the game which could boost our income. In
addition to this, any money earned through sponsors could help
massively to cover the cost of everything.
Marketing/promotion
There are many ways to promote our game but to reach a certain
target audience we must use the correct method. Advertising or
promoting through social medias such as Twitch and YouTube are a
great way of reaching large audiences. The rating of the game is not
quite certain yet but it may be a rating of either 16 or 18 due to
violence, explicit language.
Viking age info
The Loss of a Kingdom
In 878 AD Saxon England was on the verge of annihilation. At the
opening of that year Vikings, lead by Guthrum, one of many self-
proclaimed Danish kings, broke previous terms of peace between
him and Alfred and launched a surprise attack on Chippenham
(where Alfred and his houshold were housed in the winter months)
and consequently captured it. The army of Wessex was scattered and
leaderless as Alfred was forced to flee from Guthrum’s forces. He
took refuge in the marshlands of Somerset where he, his wife and
children, some of his household and a few retainers, fortified their
position and launched guerilla raids against the Danish occupiers.
Hearing news of their king’s survival and courage in fighting on
against the invaders, many from Wessex, lords and ordinary men
alike made for the hidden islands of the Somerset marshes to join
Alfred. By the spring of 878 AD King Alfred had gathered a large
enough force to meet Guthred openly in the field. It was a roll of the
dice. Instead of earning small sections of his country back, piece by
piece Alfred the Great chose to confront the Viking leader directly. If
he lost England, as it was, would be gone – replaced by a Daneland in
the annals of history. But if he won, he would regain his kingdom
with one victory.
The Battle of Edington – A Grim Ordeal
The battle was fought upon the hills by the village of Edington, namely the
old iron age fort of Bratton. Guthrum chose the ground, placing himself
between Alfred and Chippenham, forcing a pitched battle on his terms.
Guthrum’s main fort was arrayed within the old ramparts of the iron age
fort, just mounds of grass covered earth, but still an obstacle for an
armoured man to clamber up, and before it a ditch. There is little detailed
description of the battle, despite its fame and importance, but the monk
Asser, Alfred’s biographer and advisor wrote that:
‘[Alfred] moved his forces and came to a place called Edington, and fighting
fiercly with a compact shield wall against the entire Viking army, he persevered
resolutely for a long time; at length he gained victory through God’s will.’
What this does tell us is that Alfred assaulted the fort and that the battle
was lengthy. The way open battles were fought at this time was two walls of
shields pressed against each other, the sheer weight of the opposing forces
crushing those at the centre together. Where they met men screamed face
to face and stabbed at exposed feet, groins, limbs and faces in a bloody
heaving mess until one side or the other were killed or gave up. This is the
scene that unfolded upon the hills above Edington, a grim ordeal for all
involved. Many hundreds, possibly thousands would have died.
The Vikings Break
In the end Guthrum chose to flee and fight another day. As he left the battle
the Viking shield wall crumbled and…
‘Alfred destroyed the Vikings with great slaughter, and pursued those who fled as
far as the stronghold (Chippenham), hacking them down.’
With one battle Alfred had won back his kingdom and showed that the
Vikings could be beaten. The reclamation of Wessex began a series of
events for the lineage of Alfred that would see them become rulers of a
united England, but there were still many battles to come.
CRITICAL
After a lot of brainstorming and thought, I finally had a clear idea for what I
wish to do for my personal game idea “The Awakening” …
So, originally “The Awakening” was meant to be a game about things such as
time travel and consisted of different eras which seemed cool at first (and it
personally still is) but I had an idea – the time travel could be added as later
DLC to the game…it will all be made clear soon.
The new idea I had for the game was to make it a sort of story driven, Zombie
survival game which takes the player on a wild, emotional and thrilling ride
through an apocalyptic world.
STORYLINE – the storyline isn’t very clear but this is just a general idea of the
basic structure of it
The story begins out in what seems like a hospital of such (you later find out
what the place really is) and the main character (Unspecified) wakes up in a
strange medical room they have no recollection of, they look around and notice
something is odd – there is no one around and not a single sound can be heard
except their bare feet against the cold floor. They venture from the medical
room they were held in to explore the place, reaching the head doctor’s office.
They knock on the door a few times receiving no answer so they decide to
enter the office to see if anyone is in, the door opens and the office chair is
facing the window. The doctor appears to be sitting in it but upon further
investigation, the character discovers that the doctor is dead…half of his face
has been chewed off leaving a nightmarish and disgusting face. As expected the
character is leaps back and knocks into a bookcase, creating a racket, which
causes nearby zombies (the character doesn’t know about them yet) to
become attracted to the noise. Frightened, the character scrambles to get out
of the office window, only just realising how high up the office was, and they
shuffle their way along the narrow ledge that skirts around the whole building.
At this point this can showcase the surrounding landscape to the player, a vast
forest with the slight glimpse of a highway in the distance. This can help give
the player an idea of the games graphics and vast environments. After a few
more steps along the ledge, the character finds an open window and climbs in,
being greeted by quite a scene. A long corridor lined with rooms that the
majority appear to be open, only a few still closed behind secure doors; but
what makes this a scene is that there is quite a bit of blood along the walls and
floor, some trickling out of the rooms. With further inspection the character
realises that all the room inhabitants were attacked in their rooms (or so it
seems) then they decide to look through the small windows in the closed
rooms – 1 room is pitch black but a low groan/growl can be heard from within;
as they get close to the next one and look in, a grotesque and twisted face
jumps into frame (a zombie) causing the character to panic and slip on the
blood on the floor, landing next to a half-eaten carcass of what appears to be a
nurse.
