Abstract
We’re aiming to produce one complete level for Shadows on Deck, or what is often called a “vertical slice” of gameplay. In a professional game development studio, it is quite common to create a small section of a game like this in order to prove the concept’s worth to a publisher. Console games often cost many millions of dollars to develop, and these days it is usually only the big-name publishers who can afford to pick up this kind of bill. Nonetheless, they don’t just hand over that kind of money based on a design document, however good it may be. Publishers are always looking for AAA titles, but the truth is that it is actually impossible to design such a game on paper! The art of game design is an interactive, step-by-step process and quality games evolve into being; they are not simply implemented according to a meticulous plan.