{"id":15179,"date":"2020-07-01T05:03:45","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T05:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.7generationgames.com\/game_design\/?page_id=15179"},"modified":"2022-09-14T16:58:36","modified_gmt":"2022-09-14T16:58:36","slug":"time-to-code","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.7generationgames.com\/game_design\/time-to-code\/","title":{"rendered":"8. Time to code"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’ve been following along, you’ve learned about game testers<\/a> and designers<\/a> and project managers<\/a> and the creative director<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ve met the audio engineer and artists\/ animators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it’s time for my favorite people on the team because that includes me – the developers! (I have just been informed by Maria that I am not allowed to have favorite people on the team just like I am not allowed to have favorite children. Also, if it was allowed my favorite person would be her. I take it back. You are all my favorite.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A developer’s first job in game design<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might think the first job in game design is doing some code like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

var audio <\/em><\/strong>= new Audio<\/em><\/strong>(''<\/strong>);\nfunction <\/strong>playAudio<\/em>(scene) {\n    var <\/strong>rootURL = homeDirectory();\n    var <\/strong>src = rootURL + \"sounds\/\" <\/strong>+ scene + \".mp3\"<\/strong>;\n    audio<\/em><\/strong>.src = src\n    audio<\/em><\/strong>.play();\n    return new Promise<\/em><\/strong>(function<\/strong>(resolve){\n        audio<\/em><\/strong>.onended = resolve\n    }); \/\/return a promise for when audio finishes\n<\/em>}<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Read on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don’t want to make yourself crazy, here’s your first step.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>
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Think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don’t sit down and start writing code, if you are smart. 

The first step is to think<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You come up with a file structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once that is done, you sketch out your idea, which is sort of like a “road map” to guide you in your project. That way you know where you are going. 

You can literally sketch it, like a flow chart, or you can write what’s called “pseudo code.” <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Setting up your file structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Think about it – even a fairly simple game may end up having thousands of files! 
Every character probably has a front view,  a back view,  a side view.  There are arrows and hint buttons to map out. Every single scene has a background – and that’s just the beginning of the art plan! You still have sound, scripts to control movies, or different parts of the game to plan and sketch out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This might sound complicated, so maybe this picture from a candy store will help. Or, maybe it will just make you hungry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Candy
Candy organized by type<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Okay, so this candy store organized their items in a specific way, with popcorn on the bottom shelf, gummy candies on the next shelf, then candy bars. 
The top two shelves are boxes of chocolate and teddy bears; stuff you might give as a gift. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I start on a new game, the first thing I do is set up the project by creating all the folders I’ll need. These include art, movies, sound and scripts. I do this because it’s easy to waste HOURS looking for a file if you haven’t set up your file structure right from the beginning. It’s best to stay organized from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ASSIGNMENT 1: Students will create a file structure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
All the software developers I know use some kind of integrated development environment<\/em> (IDE). An IDE allows you to edit and debug source code. Setting up a new project, I open an IDE and create the folders I need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n