Benefits of Prototyping Without Assets- Game Dev Series 14
What I have learned from game development lessons is, core function is the key.
Previous: From Prototype to Work of Art
One of my teachers said, game design is like peeling an onion from inside. Starting with core function and getting your project bigger and bigger. However, if the foundation is not quite solid, everything would collapse faster than you think.
To develop a game, we always start with an idea of play. That is what and where we starting all the progress. Then we can build up our ideas into a simple model or playable conception, that is a prototype. We create a prototype to make sure our ideas go right. And also fix some part that we might not needed or even impossible to exist.
Speed of designing
What’s more, prototype can speed up your development. It would be easier to design the function if everything looks easy to you.
You will never want to fix the action function of a well-polish model with high quality texture instead of a capsule player. That will help your job quicker with prototype.
Efficient teamwork
If you work in a team, you probably don’t want to waste you the time of your art designer. Go and get your basic function moves smoothly with simple looks. Makes sure everything works nearly perfect before importing the great art design.
Build without limit
Prototype is also a good step for you to explore any possibility. Everything is fresh, that is also why you can play with anything. You would never get tangled from assets if you create everything from your hand. Start building your structure and polish it in your way.
Conclusion
Prototype is always a good start to build a project, it helps you in many way, especially your ideas of gameplay.