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An MVP in the gaming space is a complete demonstration of your core gameplay loop. For example, an MVP Pokemon game would have one urban and one area with tall

by ermir 5y ago

An MVP in the gaming space is a complete demonstration of your core gameplay loop. For example, an MVP Pokemon game would have one urban and one area with tall grass, 2-3 Pokemon, 2-3 NPCs with dialogue, 2-3 NPCs with that challenge you to battles, a working battle system with 2-3 moves (no need to to stuff like status effects, buffs, types, resistances, etc), wild random encounters. It's quite more comprehensive than an MVP in a consumer product, but even the description above can be cut down substantially. An RPG MVP for example could be just a player character walking around a city. All the graphics for the game above can use placeholders, or even solid colors.

mikepurvis 5y ago
Interesting comparing the answers here that are for a "looks-like" vs a "works-like" prototype, ref: https://predictabledesigns.com/the-essential-guide-to-prototyping-your-new-electronic-hardware-product/ https://predictabledesigns.com/the-essential-guide-to-protot... Having no experience in gamedev, I could imagine that as in other fields these milestones are a bit orthogonal. You need a works-like prototype for internal use to confirm the basic questions like "is it fun" before committing to polish, and you need that vertical slice looks-like prototype to do demos, make a sizzle reel for Kickstarter, convince investors, etc. The excellent NoClip doc on Horizon Zero Dawn talks about them actually making a handful of prototypes that explored various aspects of the game's mechanics (combat, traversal, etc) and then having to figure out how to integrate those concepts into a single entity. There are a few clips at https://youtu.be/h9tLcD1r-6w?t=1186 https://youtu.be/h9tLcD1r-6w?t=1186 that show a very early demo of the Thunderjaw concept, with the destroyable parts just as big colored boxes. On the other side of things, it's wild when you look at a game like Hollow Knight: Silksong, for which there was a reveal trailer over two years ago that showed seemingly dozens of fully finished environments, enemy encounters, etc— but in terms of the overall stage of the project, it must have been in alpha or pre-alpha at that point (unless it's encountered some significant unforeseen development barriers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFAknD_9U7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFAknD_9U7c
- HideousKojima 5y ago
  IIRC Silksong was originally planned as a DLC for the original instead of a sequel, which may be why they had so much ready
  - mikepurvis 5y ago
    True, and maybe there's been a significant reworking of the overall structure since that teaser was produced. At the same time, you can't shake the feeling that that video is pitching something available in a few months, not that's years away.
- ermir 5y ago
  You go for a looks-like prototype when you have a team and want to inspire them to move forward, when you want to impress investors or when you are planning a Kickstarter or similar. You go for a works-like prototype when you're experimenting with concepts or want to try out something new. You're completely correct in your assessment.

by ermir 5y ago

mikepurvis 5y ago

Interesting comparing the answers here that are for a "looks-like" vs a "works-like" prototype, ref: https://predictabledesigns.com/the-essential-guide-to-prototyping-your-new-electronic-hardware-product/ https://predictabledesigns.com/the-essential-guide-to-protot... Having no experience in gamedev, I could imagine that as in other fields these milestones are a bit orthogonal. You need a works-like prototype for internal use to confirm the basic questions like "is it fun" before committing to polish, and you need that vertical slice looks-like prototype to do demos, make a sizzle reel for Kickstarter, convince investors, etc. The excellent NoClip doc on Horizon Zero Dawn talks about them actually making a handful of prototypes that explored various aspects of the game's mechanics (combat, traversal, etc) and then having to figure out how to integrate those concepts into a single entity. There are a few clips at https://youtu.be/h9tLcD1r-6w?t=1186 https://youtu.be/h9tLcD1r-6w?t=1186 that show a very early demo of the Thunderjaw concept, with the destroyable parts just as big colored boxes. On the other side of things, it's wild when you look at a game like Hollow Knight: Silksong, for which there was a reveal trailer over two years ago that showed seemingly dozens of fully finished environments, enemy encounters, etc— but in terms of the overall stage of the project, it must have been in alpha or pre-alpha at that point (unless it's encountered some significant unforeseen development barriers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFAknD_9U7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFAknD_9U7c

HideousKojima 5y ago
IIRC Silksong was originally planned as a DLC for the original instead of a sequel, which may be why they had so much ready
- mikepurvis 5y ago
  True, and maybe there's been a significant reworking of the overall structure since that teaser was produced. At the same time, you can't shake the feeling that that video is pitching something available in a few months, not that's years away.
ermir 5y ago
You go for a looks-like prototype when you have a team and want to inspire them to move forward, when you want to impress investors or when you are planning a Kickstarter or similar. You go for a works-like prototype when you're experimenting with concepts or want to try out something new. You're completely correct in your assessment.