Flexible tools allow you to get game ready to play the first day
As in a film studio, the development of a game begins with a small presentation speech. The team and several producers listen to various game ideas from designers (called “vision carriers” in Gameloft), decide on some projects and allocate resources. According to Forestié, “we allocate between one and three weeks per project, and for each project we create several iterations.” They usually manage to have something playable at the end of the first day and something to try at the end of the first week.
“We try to create meaningful compilations with which we say: ‘Wow, how interesting!’ and from which we obtain objective data, such as retention of users and the number of times people run the game. We deliver everything to the player in a short time. ” Last year, his team completed more than 30 projects, with between one and five compilations each. Of these 30, 12 had a green light to begin to rot. Forestié added: “To maintain this level of production, we need Unity and that is why we use it for all our projects.”
The results:
Highly operational initial compilations for players to try
Quick determination of the technical viability of a game
A set of tools and an environment that allow you to quickly discard ideas that don’t work
Constant flow of game concepts tested and ready to produce
Quick Iterations and Game Design
The player’s experience first and foremost
Guerrilla tests in the subway
Provide instant “style and aspect of play”
A large toolbox and a very encouraging cast
The player’s experience first and foremost
Forestié’s career and personality were a perfect combination for him to move up quickly in Gameloft. After college, he worked as a web programmer and art director, learned to use Flash and worked at UI / UX in several startups. However, that was not his true passion: “Creating apps for startups was not my thing. I like to create something quickly that can reflect exactly what I have in mind.” He found an online tutorial, learned to use Unity on his own and used his coding, art and UI / UX skills to produce games.
As a child I loved to play with Lego and video games, and I also drew a lot. Now I combine those interests by designing basic game elements, putting together “building blocks” with Unity and making games. It’s the perfect job. “His experience at UX is a strong influence on Gameloft, and there he puts all his attention on the player. That’s one of the reasons why his team works so hard to create compilations with a game style. authentic. “First, we create for the player and, if he has a good experience, then it is very likely that we will achieve good retention and favorable figures.”
He knows that not everyone manages to iterate a game quickly. Most projects do not pass the first evaluations and can generate a lot of disappointment. However, if they are good, keep going. About this he tells us: “With experimentation, sometimes we have a stroke of luck and discover things we did not know or expect. It is very fun.”
Guerrilla tests in the subway
When Forestié first arrived at Gameloft, his goal was to bring ideas to trial versions quickly. “We needed a tool that allowed us to work fast, and I don’t know any better than Unity for that,” he said. “At the same time, we want the game concept to be attractive, so this does not work as a standard prototype that is used internally and in which there is only programmer art. We want to achieve a certain level of prestige.”
In addition to internal reviews, Forestié goes out, literally. “I do guerrilla tests in which I give a phone to people in the subway and I pray that they don’t run away with him,” he jokes. “I observe how they play and study their faces.” It is not a formal game test, but it gives developers a valuable first impression. This rapid analysis, combined with their vast experience and self-critical nature, guides them in the rest of the development path or “we simply decide that it is not good enough and we start from scratch.”
Provide instant “style and aspect of play”
The team has its own opinion library, based on the Unity native API, so that clicking on some boxes can activate particles and screen vibrations, chromatic aberrations, frozen frames and timeline modifications, allowing them Easily create a solid style and aspect of play. Forestié defines “style and aspect of the game” as all the visual and sound information that the game uses to warn the player that something happened. “Suppose I press the activation button, my gun fires and I see a flash, I hear the rumble and the scene rewinds. I can see and feel all that, which tells me that I fired the gun.” Forestié believes that these additional effects contribute to the style and appearance that the player perceives, and that is what makes a game fun.
Also, consider that “game jams” are a great place to test, and in most of them, Unity is a favorite tool. “What I like most about the ‘game jams’ is when players do’ Let’s Play ‘on YouTube. I end up watching people I don’t know and I never talked to, and I play and say,’ Oh, I think I should cross this door or collect that energy. ” I find that great. “
