Eight Rules for Making Your First Great Game

Eight Rules For Making Your First Great Game
Nick Prühs

About Me
“Best Bachelor“ Computer Science
Kiel University, 2009
Master Games
Hamburg University of Applied
Sciences, 2011
Lead Programmer
Daedalic Entertainment, 2011-2012
Co-Founder
slash games, 2013-2016
Technical Director
Daedalic Entertainment, 2016
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Game Development
“Games are insanely complex.”
- Warren Spector

Rule 1
Make testing as easy as possible!

Make testing easy!
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At the beginning of Campus Buddies, Christian had the idea of creating
a debug web page containing links for several debug functions
 creating and logging in a test user
 adding points for the current user
 unlocking achievements
 and many, many more

Make testing easy!
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This was arguably the best idea we had throughout the project.

Make testing easy!
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• Debugging can be a pain in the ass
 especially when network communication is involved
• Our debug page saved us lots of blood, sweat and tears
• The earlier you set up your debugging tools, the more you’ll benefit
from them

Deploy often!
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Creating a new version can involve a step or two:
 Accessing source control
o Syncing working copy
o Creating tags
 Writing version numbers
 Performing the actual build
 Packaging the build result
 Publishing the game on a build page
 Running unit tests
 Sending email notifications

Deploy often!
You wouldn’t wanna do all that by hand.
Every time.
Do you?
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Rule 3
Use a bullet-proof, feature-based
project structure!

Bad Example
• Assets
 EMHQ
o Data
– Icons
– Images
– Sprites
– Textures
o Resources
– Icons
o UI
– Common
» Sprites
 EMHQ_gfx_export
o Textures
 GUI
o Assets
– Images
21 / 79

Bad Example
• Assets
 EMHQ
o Data
– Icons
– Images
– Sprites
– Textures
o Resources
– Icons
o UI
– Common
» Sprites
 EMHQ_gfx_export
o Textures
 GUI
o Assets
– Images
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Bonus Objective:
- Find the icon for the Main
Menu button.

Bad Example
• Assets
 EMHQ
o Data
– Icons
– Images
– Sprites
– Textures
o Resources
– Icons
o UI
– Common
» Sprites
– Base
» HUD
• Sprites
 EMHQ_gfx_export
o Textures
 GUI
o Assets
– Images
23 / 79
Bonus Objective:
- Find the icon for the Main
Menu button.

Feature Folders
• Project Root
 FingerGestures
 FreudBot
 HOTween
 NGUI
 NData
 Unity Test Tools
24 / 79

Feature Folders
• Project Root
 FingerGestures
 FreudBot
o Animations
o Atlases
o Fonts
o Localization
o Prefabs
o Scenes
o Sounds
o Sprites
o Scripts
 HOTween
 NGUI
 NData
 Unity Test Tools
25 / 79

Feature Folders
• Project Root
 FreudBot
o Scripts
– Ads
– Analytics
– Comics
– Core
– Debug
– Dialogue
– IAP
– Mobile
– Progression
– Sound
– UI
26 / 79

Feature Folders
• Project Root
 FreudBot
o Scripts
– Ads
» Components
» Events
» Systems
27 / 79

Feature Folders
This way, features and plugins can easily be updated
or removed without having to scan the full project
tree.
28 / 79

Rule 4
Listen to your players!

Analytics
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This is okay. (Endboss)

Analytics
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This is not. (Intermediate level)

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Why you should always start debugging immediately

Why you should always start debugging immediately
• Code entropy says your code will get worse, all the time, unless you
actively invest in preventing that
• Broken windows theory says the worse your code is, the worse it will
become
• Tracking down bugs is harder in a larger code base
• Tracking down bugs is harder in a buggy code base
36 / 12

Code Quality Tools
39 / 12
/// <summary>
/// Attaches the passed component to the entity with the specified id.
/// Note that this manager does not check whether the specified id is valid.
/// </summary>
/// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">
/// Passed component is null.
/// </exception>
/// <exception cref="InvalidOperationException">
/// There is already a component of the same type attached.
/// </exception>
public void AddComponent(int entityId, IEntityComponent component)
{
if (component == null)
{
throw new ArgumentNullException("component");
}
if (this.components.ContainsKey(entityId))
{
throw new InvalidOperationException(
"There is already a component of type " + component.GetType() + " attached to entity with id "
+ entityId + ".");
}
this.components.Add(entityId, component);
this.OnComponentAdded(entityId, component);
}

Pair Programming
48 / 12
Source: University of Utah, UIT

And if nothings helps …
49 / 12

And if nothings helps …
50 / 12
Try again tomorrow!

Some are really nasty …
• Remote systems
• Race conditions
• Mobile development, embedded systems, drivers
• “Release Mode only” bugs
51 / 12

Quoting My Tutor
“If the bug is not where you expect it to be,
you better start looking for it where you’re not expecting it to be.”
- Hagen Peters
52 / 12

You need a repro. Period.
How can you be sure you’ve fixed it?
53 / 12

Gameplay First
55 / 60
Erich Schaefer. Postmortem: Blizzard's Diablo II.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131533/postmortem_blizzards
_diablo_ii.php
“First, we make the game playable as soon as possible
in the development process. Our initial priority was to
get a guy moving around on the screen and hacking
monsters. This is what players would be doing most of
the time, and it had to be fun.”

Because you wouldn't use a screwdriver on a nail...
57 / 60
StarCraft II Galaxy Editor

58 / 60

59 / 60

60 / 60
StarCraft II MakeCombat

61 / 60
_diablo_ii.php
“In many cases we created tools to speed up content
creation, but then abandoned them. Too often, we
decided to keep using inferior tools because we
thought we were almost done with the game, and
didn't want to take the time to improve them.
Unfortunately, in most of these cases, we were not
really almost done with the game.“

Genre Standards
62 / 60
StarCraft II Screenshot

Genre Standards
63 / 60

Genre Standards
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Genre Standards
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Genre Standards
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Genre Standards
67 / 60

Genre Standards
68 / 60

Genre Standards
69 / 60

Genre Standards
70 / 60
Unreal Tournament 3 Splash Screen

Genre Standards
71 / 60
Unreal Tournament 3 Login Screen

Genre Standards
72 / 60
Hostile Worlds Screen Transitions

Genre Standards
73 / 60
Steam Server Browser

Genre Standards
74 / 60
WarCraft III Lobby

Genre Standards
75 / 60
WarCraft III Loading Screen

Genre Standards
76 / 60
WarCraft III Score Screen

Genre Standards
77 / 60
StarCraft II Options Screen

Open Game Sources
78 / 60
Doom 3 GPL Release on GitHub

Open Game Sources
79 / 60
Blizzard on GitHub

Open Game Sources
80 / 60
Blizzard QT on GitHub

Open Game Sources
81 / 60
Blizzard Premake on GitHub

Project Structure
82 / 60
Windows 10 - System32 Folder

Project Structure
83 / 60
> 3000 Libraries

Eight Rules for Making Your First Great Game

Project Structure
85 / 60
Hearthstone Asset Bundles

Project Structure
86 / 60
Hearthstone Data Files

Project Structure
87 / 60
StarCraft II “Mods”

Project Structure
88 / 60
StarCraft Game Folder Size

Project Structure
89 / 60
StarCraft MPQ Files

Data Structure
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPQ
MPQ (Mo'PaQ, short for Mike O'Brien Pack, named after its creator[citation
needed]), is an archiving file format used in several of Blizzard
Entertainment's games.
MPQs used in Blizzard's games generally contain a game's data files,
including graphics, sounds, and level data. The format's capabilities
include compression, encryption, file segmentation, extensible file
metadata, cryptographic signature and the ability to store multiple
versions of the same file for internationalization and platform-specific
differences. MPQ archives can use a variety of compression algorithms
which may also be combined.

Data Structure
91 / 60
Hearthstone Localization Files (GAMEPLAY.txt)
TAG TEXT COMMENT
GAMEPLAY_COIN_TOSS_LOSTYou get an extra card
GAMEPLAY_COIN_TOSS_WON You go first
GAMEPLAY_FATIGUE_TITLE Fatigue
GAMEPLAY_FATIGUE_TEXT Out of cards! Take {0} damage.
GAMEPLAY_FATIGUE_HISTORY_TEXT Trying to draw from an empty deck
deals increasing damage to your hero.
GAMEPLAY_END_TURN END TURN
GAMEPLAY_ENEMY_TURN ENEMY TURN
GAMEPLAY_YOUR_TURN Your Turn
GAMEPLAY_ERROR_PLAY_REJECTED Too late! Your turn is over.
GAMEPLAY_MOBILE_BATTLECRY_CANCELED Battlecry canceled.
GAMEPLAY_MANA_COUNTER {0}/{1} 0=unused mana 1=current total mana

Data Structure
92 / 60
Hearthstone Data Files (BOARD.xml)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Dbf>
<Column name="ID" type="Int" />
<Column name="NOTE_DESC" type="String" />
<Column name="PREFAB" type="AssetPath" />
<Record>
<Field column="ID">1</Field>
<Field column="PREFAB">Assets/Game/Boards/STW/STW</Field>
<Field column="NOTE_DESC">Stormwind</Field>
</Record>
<Record>
<Field column="ID">2</Field>
<Field column="PREFAB">Assets/Game/Boards/ORG/ORG</Field>
<Field column="NOTE_DESC">Orgrimmar</Field>
</Record>

Log Files
93 / 60
Hearthstone Log File
Platform assembly:
D:GamesHearthstoneHearthstone_DataManagedICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.dll (this
message is harmless)
Loading D:GamesHearthstoneHearthstone_DataManagedICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.dll
into Unity Child Domain
Platform assembly: D:GamesHearthstoneHearthstone_DataManagedPlayMaker.dll
(this message is harmless)
Loading D:GamesHearthstoneHearthstone_DataManagedPlayMaker.dll into Unity
Child Domain

Log Files
94 / 60
League of Legends Log File
Function: Spell::Effect::SpellFXRenderer::Update
Expression: false
001567.413| 0.0000kb| 0.0000kb added| ERROR| Assertion
failed!
File: E:/jenkins/workspace/game-code-Releases-4-18-public-
win32/code/Game/LoL/Spell/Effect/Client/SpellFXRenderer.cpp
Line: 854

Development Blogs
96 / 60
Post-Mortem of WarCraft

Developer Conferences
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Post-Mortem of Ochestrator

Commit To Quality
99 / 60
_diablo_ii.php
“The task of testing a game of Diablo II's scope, with its
huge degree of randomness and its nearly infinite
character skill and equipment paths, required a
Herculean effort. […] Would a party of five Paladins,
each using a different defensive aura, be untouchable?
After more than 100 hours of play, is a fire-based
Sorceress unable to continue in Hell Mode?”

Thank you for listening!
https://github.com/npruehs
@npruehs
nick.pruehs@daedalic.com

Eight Rules for Making Your First Great Game

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