The untold secrets of game development

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Clint Hocking, the designer of Splinter Cell, left Amazon Game Studios this week and joined Ubisoft, his former employer from 2000 to 2010. When Hocking was interviewed by foreign media and asked what projects he would be responsible for in his new position, he said: "I can't reveal what games I'm developing."

Coincidentally, Jade Raymond, the former Ubisoft producer who joined EA in July, also remained tight-lipped when asked about new projects and was unwilling to reveal any information. At a time when top game producers such as Koji Igarashi and Keiji Inafune raise funds for game development through Kickstarter and disclose game content and development progress to players, and Dutch independent game developer Rami Ismail even tries to live stream game development to players, why do Hawken and Jade Raymond keep their mouths shut about new projects? Are all large game companies like this?

The reporter of this article invited an overseas game producer to share his views on this topic.

Q: During the development of game products, do you feel that this industry is too secretive?

A: In fact, within the game development team, we rarely hide any information. Generally speaking, we know what our colleagues are working on, and even if we don't know, we can ask. In most cases, we only know the information we need to complete our work, but we can also learn other information about the project.

There are many occasions where different development teams can share information, such as industry conferences such as GDC, E3, and Cologne Gamescom. Developers will not share confidential information about the company's ongoing projects, but are happy to share professional skills and experience.

But yes, if players ask us to disclose the development progress of a game, we will be secretive. I think there are several reasons why we cannot be more transparent and tell players more information.

1. If the player's first impression is bad, there is nothing you can do to change it.

First impressions are really important. We can't show players all the content in the game development because it may be ugly, have bugs, and have a very high frame rate. In order to make the game sell well, we must ensure that players can see the best side of the game. Some games in the Steam Preview program provide players with too many bugs in the trial version. After a bad first experience, players will never consider buying the full version of the game again.

2. Timing is critical.

The task of the marketing department is to ensure that when the game is released, it attracts the attention of as many players as possible. Therefore, the marketing team needs to promote and warm up the game, while ensuring that players do not become bored due to information overload. If the public's interest in a game reaches its peak too early, then once their enthusiasm fades, the sales of the game will suffer when it is officially released. Different game companies have different marketing concepts, but the goals and means are generally the same-they need to release information step by step at a steady rhythm to maintain players' interest in game products; in addition, they need to prepare massive promotional activities for major game exhibitions such as E3, Cologne Game Show, Tokyo Game Show and PAX.

3. Game development is scalable, but player expectations are not.

During the development of a game, the development team may cut a lot of content due to various factors such as technology, budget, and authorization. But if these contents have been made public, then this practice will be seen as a violation of the promise by the players.

Core gamers take every word a developer says as a promise, so during the game development phase, we dare not make any promises. This means that we have to be extra careful when speaking publicly, because core gamers are "detail freaks" and will take every word we mention as evidence in court and act as judges in game forums. If we say we will develop a feature but don't do it, then we become liars, no longer trustworthy, and the worst game developers on the planet...

4. People don’t really understand game development, but think they do.

Anyone can be a puff critic, but frankly, gamers don't really understand game development. It's like how diners don't really understand how a restaurant is run. They may have cooked at home and have their own opinions on ingredients or spices, but that's completely different from managing a restaurant. Of course, diners don't really care about the details of cooking skills, heat, order of serving, etc. For the same reason, I don't believe that most gamers really care about the details of game development.

In the development process of a game, planning, art, execution and other links are closely linked, and the limitations of technology and time schedule may have a significant impact on the project. Even for a game like Star Citizen, which has an "open" development process, careful selection will be made before showing the content to crowdfunding supporters. After all, no game company wants to become the object of scorn by all players because of a careless word.

All in all, I don't think game developers are too secretive. I think it's just the right way around: we'll never be completely transparent with our players. That would be too costly and we can't afford it.