The Flash Online Game Design and Development Process

We get quite a lot of enquiries wanting to know how the process of getting a custom Flash game developed works, so I thought I’d post a quick rundown with examples for anyone interested.

The example I’m going to use is the Goalkeeper Challenge Flash game we produced for the BecomeACroatiaFan.com website.

The first step after the initial enquiry is to get a budget and concept for the game agreed by the client. We usually either start from scratch and come up with ideas for the client based on their requirements or help the client flesh out a vague idea they may have. In this case the client had a pretty good idea of what they wanted. We pretty much just went with the client’s game concept as is, with just a few minor tweaks that we agreed during development to make the game play better. The game was based around the England football team’s loss to Croatia, which resulted in them failing to qualify for the European championships.

Once we have the concept sorted out in detail we go ahead and write you a written proposal and quote for the game. This puts everything in writing including requirements, timescales, price breakdown and terms. When this gets agreed by the client we can move on with actually designing your Flash game. The whole process from here to completion takes, on average, around 4-6 weeks.

Now we can start to work on the game visual, initially we produce a rough screen layout sketch which shows how all the main game elements will work on screen. This can be amended if need be, then when we get approval we can move on. Below is an example of the rough layout sketch we produced for the Goalkeeper Challenge game:

Up until this point a computer hasn’t been touched, other than to type up the proposal and scan  the layout sketch. Getting the game concept right is probably the most important part of the whole process, so we like to get this right on paper before we even touch a computer. We can now start transferring the visual to the screen. We begin by artworking a static visual of the main game screen as it will appear in the finished game. You can see the finished static game visual below:

After any minor amendments and we have approval of the static game visual, we then ask for a deposit of 50% of the total project budget. Up until this point no money has changed hands. We like to make sure you’re completely happy with the work so far before we ask you to part with any cash. Then we can begin to do the remainder of the artwork, including all animation to be used in the game. The artwork and animation typically takes around a week or two to complete, depending on the complexity of the game. Below is a sample of some of the vector artwork animation we created for the Goalkeeper Challenge game:

Once all the artwork is complete, we start to put the game together. Here the work in Flash, including all Actionscript coding begins and the actual game starts to take shape. During this process we periodically upload a work-in-progress version of the game for you to take a look at and play. This way you can see how it’s all coming together and any amendments or problems can be fixed early on. Coding of the main game typically takes around a week or two to complete.

When the main game is finished it’s time to add all front end sections to the game, including menu, instructions, scoreboard, send-to-a-friend, etc. Now the game is complete it’s time for testing to begin. Although the game has been tested through development and most bugs and glitches fixed, we put the game through it’s paces with a few days of intensive testing, which we encourage you to participate in to some degree. We can then work through a list of any problems and fix any bugs we find. At this point we’ll also insert your tracking code, if you’re using in game tracking to see details of game plays. A final round of testing and it’s time for final approval.

After final approval we invoice for the remainder and upon receipt of final payment we deliver the finished game to you. At this point, if you are using our distribution service to get your finished game out we begin that process. You can see a screenshot from the finished game below:

And that’s it, project complete. I hope I haven’t left anything out. If you have any questions please ask and make sure you go and play the finished Goalkeeper Challenge game. Incidentally, the Goalkeeper Challenge game has had over 2 1/4 million plays worldwide to date and is continuing to get lots of traffic.