What type of research methodology should be used during game development? This article explores various factors,
In this era of emerging technologies, the digital world is replacing our physical life routine. This also affects our physical games and the games we played in the past outside of our homes. Today, with the help of innovative technologies, we can play the same games on our phones, computers, and other electronic devices by just sitting at home. We can get almost the same physical reaction through digital games, especially with devices like AR and VR. Today we have many categories of digital games, like shooting, sports, arcade, adventure, and many more. The game market expansion has created a market for mobile app development in Florida and other regions to fulfill the huge demand for upgraded and enhanced games.
Research methodology
Whether commercial or non-commercial, each kind of game has many common features such as interactivity, fun, and instructions that players must follow. The research methodology should be based on the topics, questions, and requirements. After deciding the topic, reviewing the research literature helps determine if the idea is worth pursuing fully. On the other hand, it might also be practical to be realistic and consider what skills different methods require. Unit of analysis is a significant factor of research methodology.
Unit of analysis
Explicitly studying the primary data type is a target of the unit of analysis. Going through other major research methodology, the unit of analysis appears in many terms, like describing the related dimension of scale. Research questions and methods are linked with the unit of analysis. For example, observations may be a more appropriate method for collecting information about social communications than lengthy interviews. An official analysis is satisfactory to understand whether the games in the same genre have some standard systemic features. Studying the genre can also be in using a method in verbal analysis. The unit of analysis decided upon which level of data.
Pilot study
Test the idea with a small number of members and analyze the results according to the design. The pilot is the future for checking that the design work is futuristic. After the pilot study, the researchers conduct the actual research, examine and reporting the results. Therefore, it is better to read the conference papers, thesis, articles, or research papers earlier.
Qualitative approach
Games are considered data, and the research develops an understanding of games like how they will work and provide beta models and instructions to players. Playing a game is approachable through the data collection method. This shows the game that is under inspection. The technique also makes predictions about players or abstracts them in the same way. The player in a game is seen only in terms of what actions they can perform. The fundamental of much game research can be seen in these kinds of methodologies. It often needed to be able to use any other approaches in one degree. For example, it becomes difficult for the player to understand the game when they don’t know about the constitutions of the gameplay.
The topic is about the methods or theories applied in research while developing a game.
Suitable methodology for game software development
Agile
Agile is well prepared to handle the inconsistency and difficulty during the game development projects participation. This methodology was developed to solve increasing blockings and hurdles with Waterfall and other highly structural and inflexible methods. Agile values the tools of communications and relations and their individuals. That is, Agile features the collaboration of customers throughout the process of development. It listens to changing responses rather than following a single constant plan. And the motive of agile is to concentrate on presenting working software instead of focusing on documentation.
Main approach
The primary approach of agile is to design completely to accommodate changes and the need to produce software to work faster. Agile methods are being used. It builds a team in short sprints or iterations, Within no specific order, each of which contains a definite duration and list of deliverables. Through sprints, the teamwork towards the goals of delivering software that is in working. And sometimes, it provides a beta output or some other tangible stuff.
Focus
Agile is a heavy collective methodology. Mainly focused on team potentials and efficiency, along with the internal reviews from various departments and clients. The agile approach highly prioritizes the satisfaction of clients. This can be possible when team continuously deliver thee testing outputs, working, and prioritized feature.
Waterfall
If you talk about game software development. The Waterfall is the most old-style and consecutive choice. However, it is typically considered an outdated method. Yet, it is helpful to understand the actual structure and history to improve the flexibility of more modern methodologies. But it doesn’t have the potential like the Agile to handle the complexities.
How it works
The methodology of Waterfall is to develop the approach in a series of stages in which the game projects are developed. Each step leads to a succeeding stage, and each step is more complex than the previous, making it expensive. The concept is created from an idea, and this initiates the process of a project. Once the concept matches the definite requirements for the idea stage, the project will shift to the next stage.
The first stage is vital, and it requires a complete understanding by both client and developer of the project requirements and goals before taking any initiate. All steps are comparatively inflexible and often follow this sequence. That figure out the projects deploy, design, test, and demands. The purpose of this type of approach is to decrease the risk before taking a step forward. The basic gameplay mechanics are known in these typed of projects. And also, another critical subsystem. Like the engine of the game and user interface (UI) enables to be reused from the previous project.
Utility
The utilization of Waterfall is handled by a large team that has a great plan-driven. And have a clear understanding of the goals of the project. But unfortunately, the development teams are who don’t work in a vacuum will preferably find better outputs with flexibility and agility of more modern methodologies.
Extreme programming (XP)
Extreme programming (XP) is games and software development methodology by the agile framework. The motive of extreme programming (XP) is to develop high-quality software and best-performance games. The robust programming (XP) follows the set of values: communication, simplicity, courage, feedback, and respect.
Communication
Lack of communication resists knowledge from pass inside a team because software development is integrally a team game. But in extreme programming (XP) prioritizes the pressure of suitable communication.
Simplicity
What is the simple format required to do work? It is called simplicity—the reason behind discarding waste and do only essential things. For example, to keep the design of the system as simple as it is possible. So, it will be easy for developers to maintain and support it.
Feedback
The reviews have come in many formats, through continuous feedback on previous work. As a result, the team can address the improvements and revise the practice to bring the quality product. Feedback also backing simple design.
Courage
Activities are based on other values, so the results are not harmful to the team. As a software developer, all you need is the courage to raise the structural issues that will help you out to reduce efficiency. It would help if you dared to face the problems in feedback and overcome these problems.
Respect
The essential idea of extreme programming (XP) is that every team member deserves respect. The survival of technical excellence depends on care and respect.
The first thing developers need to understand is extreme programming (XP) to read the consumer’s user requirements. Other practices contain the scheduling and partition of work into iterations. Design with simple structure, code, and test it. This will help you out in creating fault-free gaming software.
Always go through the feedback for a better understanding of functionality.
