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Examine the full game development cycle, key roles in each phase, and how to critically evaluate your own game.

The games production cycle

In this tutorial, you'll explore the full game development cycle, reflect on where you are in that cycle, and learn about the different roles in each phase. You’ll also learn how to systematically critique your game.

Now that the core part of your game development is complete, this is a good opportunity to step back to evaluate where you are in the context of a typical game development cycle.

Before you get started, check out the video below to find out what the full production cycle typically looks like on a Unity project.

Overview

There’s no single, universally accepted set of production phases in game development. Studios, educators, and communities can all use different models (alpha/beta, three-stage, four-stage, seven-stage, etc.). The labels often overlap and are used differently depending on team size, platform, and whether the game is premium or live service. The outline below is one practical way to think about the process; use it as a guide, not a rulebook.

The game development process can be divided into four phases:

Diagram of the four phases of production with arrows between each phase. Pre-production points to Production, which points to Post-production, which points to Operations.

This phase is where you lay the groundwork for your game. You conceive ideas, create prototypes, and draft your game design document (GDD).

Series of images from a game design document. There is a document for the Game Flow, which includes a series of colorful boxes connecting the game, main menu, options, controls, and pause screens. There is another document for the game’s User Interface (UI). There are also storyboard sketches from an animated cinematic action sequence.

In this phase, you develop your game based on the blueprint set in your GDD. This involves designing, coding, and testing.

Megacity demo shown in the Unity editor. 

Here, you're wrapping up the development of your game. This involves additional testing, refining game mechanics, polishing the art, tweaking the sound, and preparing for release.

Once the game is released, this phase involves managing updates, patches, and customer service.

Graphic with a dollar sign to indicate that you can make money by monetizing Unity games.

After releasing a game, your job isn’t done. Especially for 

which are games operated as ongoing services with regular updates, events, economies, and community operations — launching is just the start of a new cycle focused on growth, retention, monetization, and updates. This post-launch Operations phase has its own cadence, metrics, and production rhythm, which is often as demanding as initial development.

Reflect on your journey so far. Although your journey didn’t mirror the typical production process in a game studio, your project has gone through several phases.

You could consider the initial build of your 2D or 3D game with basic GameObjects as part of pre-production, since it served as a prototype or proof of concept for your full game. Creating your GDD was also a pre-production task.

Following that, you entered the production phase when you implemented the audio, VFX, UI, animation, materials, and lighting guided by your GDD.

Now, you could consider yourself entering the Post-production phase.

Diagram of the four phases of production with the third phase, Post-production, highlighted in blue.

Think about what's left to do. It's common to feel like your game is done by the end of the Production phase, but there's still much left to do in Post-production. This is the time to assess the game, implement fixes and improvements, and prepare for release.

Check out the video below to hear about the Post-production phase and why it’s such a critical part of the game development process.

For more information on the production cycle, check out 

this tutorial on the real-time production industry

What are the phases of game development?

In larger studios, different roles are assigned to specific individuals, but in smaller studios or for solo developers like you, it's necessary to wear multiple hats.

Check out the video below to learn about the diverse career paths of some of our established creators.

Now let's look at some of the roles within two major categories:

: Ensures the overall look and feel of the game is consistent and in line with the vision of the game.

: Generates the initial ideas for characters, environments, objects, etc., usually in 2D form.

: Creates 3D objects and backgrounds and works on optimizing graphics performance.

: Creates 2D objects and backgrounds, optimizes graphics performance, and creates storyboards and concept images.

: Creates and implements sound effects, voice overs, and music to enhance the immersive experience.

: Sculpts and models characters and their assets such as hair, accessories, armor, and weapons.

: Develops optimized lighting effects and creates post-processing effects such as bloom, ambient occlusion, depth of field, and color correction.

: Creates realistic and stylized visual effects, such as lava, smoke, and fire.

: Creates and optimizes high-quality animation of all moving characters and objects.

: Constructs and implements gameplay, conducts playtesting, implements feedback, and validates playability with the testers, level artists, and gameplay programmers.

: Works with artists and programmers to implement their work within the final product, helping to bridge the gap between these two key areas of development.

: Develops new features and applications, manages the release of products, and contributes to the coding foundation of the game.

: Analyzes and understands the game design documents and develops gameplay systems such as player's actions, character's behaviors, game elements, and game progression.

: Codes user interfaces to meet the intent of the project's design and flow and integrates UI systems into features.

: Finds and reports bugs, writes test cases and plans, and maintains the quality of the game.

Reflect on your journey so far and try to identify the roles you've taken on. You might find you've played at least eight of these roles. Which one has been the most interesting?

For more in-depth information on these roles and others, you can check out this 

, a mentorship and professional development program focused on helping underrepresented creators and developers grow in the real-time 3D (RT3D), gaming, and interactive content space. Feel free to explore it to learn more.

What are the roles in the game development process?

Before you embark on Post-production, you should critically evaluate your game to figure out what needs to be done.

 in the games industry involves analyzing your game from a holistic perspective, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and determining areas of improvement.

You can carry out the critique yourself or ask others for their feedback. Be open to criticism and ensure you record the notes for future reference.

To critically evaluate your game, follow this step-by-step guide:

Ensure your game is playable from start to finish without major bugs.

Find a diverse group willing to playtest your game.

Give clear directions on how to play the game and what to look out for.

Let testers play without interference, observing their experience for insights.

Collect feedback through conversation or a questionnaire, seeking honest and thorough comments.

Questions you might ask could include the following:

Did you experience any technical issues or bugs?

Were there parts of the game that felt confusing or frustrating?

Was there anything in the game that felt unnecessary or out of place?

What, if anything, would you change about the game?

Play your own game critically, imagining you're a first-time player.

Look for common trends or issues in the feedback you've received.

Prioritize feedback based on its impact on player experience, then make changes.

After making changes, start the process over again. Iteration is key in game development!

Developing your critical evaluation skills is crucial to creating a successful game.

Critique your game

refers to the ownership of creative ideas, such as the game concept, characters, and storyline. It's important to understand that while you should protect your unique game ideas, it's not always necessary to worry excessively about IP for learning projects like this one.

Stock photo with text “Intellectual Property Law” printed on a legal document, which is among other objects on a desk. 

Protecting your ideas in the game development world is a valid concern. Larger studios often take steps to ensure their concepts and designs aren't copied or leaked. One such step involves the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in situations such as new hires or collaborations with other entities.

 is a legal contract between two or more parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with each other for certain purposes but want to restrict from third-party access. An NDA is a tool designed to protect sensitive information from becoming publicly known or used without permission.

Stock photo with N.D.A at the top of a printed document.

In the context of your game development project, using an NDA is probably not necessary. If your primary goal is learning and not commercializing your game, the need for an NDA decreases significantly. Instead, open feedback could be more beneficial to your growth as a game developer.

For more information on intellectual property and how it applies to game development, you can check out our 

A note about intellectual property 

In this tutorial, you learned about the game development process and the roles involved in making a game. You also learned briefly about how to critique your game and about NDAs. In the next tutorial, you’ll step back into the Editor to learn more about configuring player input.

Unity Version 6.3