{"id":345974,"date":"2022-09-27T16:00:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T21:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/?p=345974"},"modified":"2022-09-27T14:42:56","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T19:42:56","slug":"game-development-is-more-transparent-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/game-development-is-more-transparent-than-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Game development is more transparent than you think"},"content":{"rendered":"

Developers aren’t hiding things from you, I promise<\/h2>

In the wake of the GTA VI<\/i> leaks last week, a lot of people online made it very clear that they don\u2019t know anything about how video games are made<\/a> and embarrassed themselves online. One particularly egregious comment stated that visuals are the first thing finished in game development \u2014 which is just laughably false. Look, I\u2019m as privy to making false assumptions as the next person, but “fans” going out of their way to harass game developers because they refuse to use Google\u2019s most basic functionality is no one\u2019s fault but their own.<\/p>

I don\u2019t mean to be harsh, and it is true that game development can be exclusive and gate-keepy \u2014 especially to those of marginalized backgrounds. But when it comes to situations where player expectations clash with the reality of what it\u2019s like to make games, players often seem to revert to the argument that game developers are too secretive about what goes on behind the scenes.<\/p>

\"\"<\/p>

There\u2019s an endless list of reasons why leaks suck, but players seeing early footage of a highly anticipated title before the devs are ready to show something is up there. It\u2019s like having someone walk in on you while you\u2019re changing. That’s why all these takes about the game looking “unfinished” are so mindbogglingly silly \u2014 it literally is<\/em> unfinished.<\/p>

Then there\u2019s the issue with social media making everyone feel like an expert, and feel like they need to share their unwarranted opinions \u2014 which is something none of us are immune to. Seeking out game devs online with some entitled crybaby comments about something they know absolutely nothing about, though, is when gamers really cross the line.<\/p>

Just like how working in food service or retail helps you have a lot more empathy for the people working in tough situations, educating ourselves about how games are actually made can help players understand what’s really going on and will save everyone a headache in the long run.<\/p>

What’s with the secrecy?<\/h3>

I will say that larger studios working on highly anticipated projects can be particularly withholding \u2014 not only is the content of their games confidential, but a lot of proprietary tools like engines or assets are trade secrets they don\u2019t want anyone passing around. If your whole brand is built on prestige, you don\u2019t want anyone seeing broken builds of your game, you know? However, once a game comes out, a lot of stuff becomes fair game in a retrospective \u201cthis is how we made our masterpiece\u201d kind of way.<\/p>

But what really gets my goat is that while gamers are whining about cults of devs deliberately hiding secrets from them, there have been a wealth of resources detailing every aspect of how development works right under their noses \u2014 and none of it is all that hard to find.<\/p>

Since graphics are the first thing finished in a video game, and CONTROL won multiple awards for excellence in graphics, here is footage from the beginning of development \ud83d\ude42<\/p>

Full video here: https:\/\/t.co\/l2g7oPhtk7<\/a>
\ud83d\udd3b pic.twitter.com\/cGnmJZXF5E<\/a><\/p>

— Paul Ehreth \u2693\ufe0f\ud83c\udf31\ud83c\udf3a\ud83e\udd40\ud83d\udc80\u2728 (@bacon_sanwich) September 20, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>