How To Know When Your Game is Ready for Production

The uncertainty curve

A problem I often see developers make, and one I have made myself, is moving from pre-production to production too soon during development.

This causes a messy development plan and high levels of stress for the developer. The project quickly becomes unwieldy, and progress slows to a torturous crawl.

Pre-production and production should be 2 distinct phases, as I lined out in my recent video and post. Check them out to learn more about the two phases.

Here is the pattern I see developers falling into:

1. Make a prototype during pre-production

2. Send it to players and get feedback

3. Realize that the game has potential, but the systems or mechanics still need work

4. Move to production because you “know” what needs fixed and “know” how to fix it

I’ve fallen into this same trap myself. My most recent offence was with Demonlocke (one of my current projects). I got great feedback from testers, and it seemed to have so much potential (there’s that word again). I was certain that I could take the feedback and fix the game, rewriting the entire project form the ground up of course.

It can be easy to let the potential of a project blind us to the remaining uncertainty that still exists.

Pre-production is all about removing uncertainty

This graph represents the uncertainty of a project on the y axis, and the action we can take to remove uncertainty on the x axis. As we take appropriate action, we can reduce the uncertainty of the project. Once we reach a point of diminishing returns for our actions, it is time to move to production.

What are some questions that might represent this uncertainty? Well, it depends a lot on your project and experience, but here are a few that come to mind right away:

• Do the systems and mechanics of this game create an engaging experience for players?

• What does the process of adding content look like for this game?

• Do I have the skills to make this game?

If you can’t answer these questions with high certainty, you shouldn’t move to production.

Most developers jump the gun, though. I get it. After receiving feedback on a prototype, it can feel like you have all the answers. However, there is a rule in pre-production; if you haven’t done it, you don’t know it.

And if you don’t know it, you need to stay in pre-production and rework the prototype until you do.

You’ll know you're ready for production when the feedback from your testers is primarily “give me more of this!” mixed with some quality-of-life requests.

Don’t rush to production. Ask yourself honestly, how much uncertainty have I removed? Could you remove more by taking action? Are there things you think you know but haven’t actually done yet?

Of course, if you are an experienced developer, maybe you have done it before. If you’ve added a save system to 5 of your previous games, you likely don’t need to add the save system in pre-production. You have the option to move into production and add saving there. Examples like this are the exception, though, not the rule.

Take your time during pre-production. It’s such a fun part of the process. Don’t rush it and I’m certain your game will not only be better for it, but you’ll have a more enjoyable time in production, as you make consistent progress towards completing your game.

Thanks for reading,
Ben