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Building the Game: Pure Evil

Now we just have to build the game and get it ready for the play testing on Friday the 22nd of August. Jeremy has already started working on the character and + & – cards. We now need to create a page with the revised instructions on it, and the board itself. 

When getting feedback for our game we were faced with the question, why use a grid? Why can’t it be in stacked card form? The answer was that it could, but that’s not what we wanted. I thought about the positives to the grid and why we chose it. Really it’s because it makes the game more visual, you can see the ending and yourself approaching it. It provides a solid ending time frame that you are constantly aware of and provides anticipation and tension because of it. 

How can I improve it? 

Jeremy came up with the…

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10 Things You Must Look Into a Game Studio Before Outsourcing Your Game Assets

Outsourcing is all about getting the work done through outsiders at cheap costs. Many industries are adopting outsourcing, especially gaming industries – looking for game asset creation. Game assets are the things go into the games like characters, game environment, etc. Being a cost effective solution, outsourcing game assets has become the favorite choice of game developers to deliver projects on time and on budget. But what about your expectations? Does outsourcing really deliver you what you want? It’s true that all companies can’t deliver higher quality results, but it’s also true that if you search for the companies with a list of important considerations, you can meet with the desired result at the end. Here are the things, you should keep in mind while browsing for outsourcing companies.

Experience:

Only an experienced outsourcing company can deliver you what you want. But how to check their experience? Just check the assets they have created in past. Examine the characters and their each movement, go through the game environment and the things inserted in it create a real experience. Is their work is enough to satisfy your needs? Are their past projects deliver a real experience for which users are seeking for? Proceed further, once you can say yes for all these questions.

Portfolio:

How to be sure about the expertise of the company? Check out the list of projects uploaded on their website as a part of their portfolio. Also, inspect the scoring of those games to see their level of success by finding on app stores full of reviews and ratings.

Test Assets:

Of course, companies pretend themselves as an experienced through fake colorful portfolios to grab your money. To demonstrate their actual experience, ability and creativity, you must test them by assigning a small task to be completed. For example, if you want to get the character created by the company, you should tell them to create one type of character just for testing. With this, you will be sure of your decision.

Infrastructure:

When something goes wrong in the infrastructure, chances for stop on project increases, leading to end with unusual reasons. Nobody would like to face situations, especially when a big amount is invested. Check their reliability through their infrastructure like dedicated servers, high configuration systems, project management systems, etc.

Communication:

Communication with developers is one of the best way to understand their capabilities. Ask them each and every question and also, get your doubts solved by them. Experienced developers will answer all your questions calmly and deliver you necessary information pertaining to your project.

Work Process:

After checking all necessary details and test assets, inquire about the process of their work. In most cases, game assets creation process start with a paper work and end to the software used to create it. Developers start with a paper work, later tend to create models, textures, materials, animations, cinematic, inserting movements in them and take it to the end. What you must inquire is that how this process will take place using which tools.

Quality Assurance:

Quality makes your game perform smoothly without any glitches. Quality assurance can only be existed through testing. For some companies, testing refers to checking the game assets via a software available to them. Later when your app goes live, you come to know about bugs which are unable to catch through any software. Real testing can only be done when someone use your app deeply. Companies assuring 100% quality where their developers go through each level of your app like a user to check everything is OK.

Cost-effective:

Surely, you have selected outsourcing because of saving some costs. Chances of risks will increase with the companies charging higher costs and companies charging lower cost. Always opt for those you can afford or those with reasonable pricing. Like the actual pricing must be around 80-90% of the cost, you have estimated.

Availability:

Always be attached to your project by receiving weekly updates of activities take place in your project. Confirm the timings with developers when they will be available to talk with you. Once they finish the project, they must be there to solve any issue might arise in future.

NDA:

Have a clear communication of your demands and what they can deliver you at what cost within the deadline. Get a Non Disclosure Agreement signed between you and the company where each and every point must be stated clearly.

Conclusion

The process of finding the game outsourcing company seems daunting, but once you have done, you will be sure for the worth of your investment. A thorough consideration will let you take the best decision for your requirements and specific circumstances. This post will tell you a structure to move further with the idea of your game assets and leave the rest on company, you choose as your outsourcing partner.

Related: Free Download eBook: Build Mobile Game Launch Strategies