Layers of Design in Game Development

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Layers of Design in Game Development
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Layers of Design
Game Design
Software Design
Technical Design
(Graphics, Artificial Intelligence, Animation,
Physics, Networking, )
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Technical Design

• These compose the core technologies and
  foundations that are used to support the game.
• This includes
• Graphics, animation, artificial intelligence,
  networking, physics, and so on.
• While each technology is relatively independent,
  they must work in unison to provide a complete
  gaming experience.
• This unity is provided by the higher layers.

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Software Design

• A good software design pulls the various
  technical elements together to form a functional
  software base to support the game.
• This layer must keep in mind the best practices
  of software engineering.
• Abstraction, modularity, encapsulation,
  portability, reusability, dependability,
  testability, localization, robustness,
  maintainability, correctness, scalability,
  usability, and so on.
• We must also follow standard software engineering
  processes during development.

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Game Design

• With good software and technical design, we have
  all the foundations for a game.
• Having good foundations, however, is not enough
  to produce a good game.
• Good games require careful and thoughtful design
  of the structure, content, and approach to
  gameplay.
• In addition to gameplay design, we must also
  consider the design of the story, levels, and
  challenges faced within the game.