MISADVENTURES IN RAPID PROTOTYPING

hello, my name is

SARA

and I am a

Junior Designer

Boomzap is known for its virtual office environment

-Malaysia

-Indonesia

-Philippines

-Russia & Georgia

-Singapore

-Japan

Our games:

tGAME RECEPTION

tOur adventure / hidden object franchises

• Dana Knightstone Series

tOur adventure / hidden object franchises

• Awakening Series

how’d we do those?

THINGS WE DO

• DAILY BUILDS

• SELF-MANAGED TEAMS

• SOME DOCUMENTATION

• PROTOTYPING

• KNOWING WHEN TO SAY:

All of this leads to rapid development.

a self-managed organization

TEAM XDESIGNER

LEAD ARTISTARTISTS

ANIMATORS

PRODUCERS

This pattern is applied to any other team, though size and roles vary depending on need.

SOUNDPROGRAMMER

How we manage ourselves (and not each other)

• MONDAY: Tasking• FRIDAY: Deadline• Small, manageable chunks of progress• If you plan...

– Too far ahead – too many unknowns– Too near - micromanagement

- We’re rewarded for working SMART, not working HARD

Daily Builds

DESIGNER

LEAD ARTIST

ARTISTS

ANIMATORSSOUND

PROGRAMMERFEEDBACKEveryone is welcome

Daily Builds

• Daily builds are daily without exception

• Good for discipline

• Artists can test their own concepts

Documentation: bare gdd

Prototyping

prototype

We move stuff around while prototyping.

power of ft

P^FT

power of ft

• Basically means NO.

• Anyone can refuse a task if he or she has a valid reason not to. (eg. It contradicts the gameplay, doesn’t sound reasonable, is not worth it.)

• Requires trust that both parties are committed to the game.

Problems?Of course.

BREAKING THE BUILD:The designer’s most common problem.

BORING GAMEPLAY:If you can’t escape it...

No.

A closing note:

No. 2 -ism.

(Even if you’re No. 1)

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Thanks for listening!