Current Events > Most game development starts out on PC, right?

(+) Yeah! (+)

So, in theory, a developer could make their game playable on a PlayStation, Xbox or anything else they choose.

I saw a trailer for The Directorate Novitiate and it looked good, then I noticed on the name bar it only mentioned PC. I can't afford a high end gaming PC so hoping one day it comes to either PS or XB.

Typing in code using the on-screen keyboard, navigated with a controller is not a marketable job skill.

I'm reminded of that cop show where they had to beat level 10 of Prince of Persia to unlock the file explorer on some killer's XBox.

And there's a bit where the head police guy says a game console is like a computer and someone has to tell him, "It's not like a computer. It's just a computer with games on it."

Most game development is done on PC. However, it's entirely possible it's built for consoles from day one.

Console games these days are usually written for PC first before being converted. Even console exclusives. But that doesn't mean any PC game can be converted to consoles.

008Zulu posted...

Typing in code using the on-screen keyboard, navigated with a controller is not a marketable job skill.

i remember seeing movie once where they wrote out the code with pen and paper

They're basically all made on computers these days. On top of that, modern consoles are effectively PCs with custom operating systems, it's not like the old days where stuff would be made specifically for a single system.

On paper there's no reason a PC game couldn't go to console so long as it wasn't too demanding. In practice it depends whether they can expect to make a return on the investment.

pegusus123456 posted...

I'm reminded of that cop show where they had to beat level 10 of Prince of Persia to unlock the file explorer on some killer's XBox.

Oh God I hate that episode so much. They played PoP like it was an arcade game with levels and such. Extremely infuriating

I always wondered. When they play test is the testing environment an emulator or do they somehow pipe it over to a custom console rigged up to the computer?

HudGard posted...

I always wondered. When they play test is the testing environment an emulator or do they somehow pipe it over to a custom console rigged up to the computer?

You can connect to a dev kit console from a PC and install the game from there. You'd then play it like any other game.

Trelve posted...

You can connect to a dev kit console from a PC and install the game from there. You'd then play it like any other game.

Ah ok. Funnily enough before I read your response my other question was what dev kits even are. Like just instructions and software or what. So it includes a special console then.

pegusus123456 posted...

I'm reminded of that cop show where they had to beat level 10 of Prince of Persia to unlock the file explorer on some killer's XBox.

And there's a bit where the head police guy says a game console is like a computer and someone has to tell him, "It's not like a computer. It's just a computer with games on it."

I remember that episode. The killer's sister had to beat the level for the cops.

HudGard posted...

Ah ok. Funnily enough before I read your response my other question was what dev kits even are. Like just instructions and software or what. So it includes a special console then.

A dev kit is the console but it'll include more memory, storage and more ethernet ports, and comes with a slightly altered firmware compared to a retail console that allows it to connect to computers and allow for debugging.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/05cdaa02.jpg
They also look different to the retail kit. This is a PS4 dev kit for example.

Sunburst posted...

I remember that episode. The killer's sister had to beat the level for the cops.

i remember them going like
"hey, can you beat this game?"
"i'm a loser virgin who lives in his moms basement, of course i can play games"
and then he couldn't do it,
and they got the girl to do it cause she was doing like muscle memory mimicking moving a controller

008Zulu posted...

Typing in code using the on-screen keyboard, navigated with a controller is not a marketable job skill.

You say that, but controllers are actually gaining use as alternative control mechanisms for military hardware. Which is to say, purpose built stuff, not just plugging an actual game console controller into a badly designed submarine. The controller as a concept is actually a pretty sound mechanism for controlling things, as the name would suggest.

ROBBAN posted...

i remember seeing movie once where they wrote out the code with pen and paper

I remember reading about the development of some classic game, I want to say the original arcade Donkey Kong, but Im not completely certain. The team only had one computer, so they would have to take turns with it. So they work out all of their code with pencil and paper so when it came to be their turn on the computer they just had to type it up, and then make sure it was working properly. And if it wasnt, figuring out why was once again done on paper to not hold up the next persons turn on the computer.

rick_alverado posted...

I remember reading about the development of some classic game, I want to say the original arcade Donkey Kong, but Im not completely certain. The team only had one computer, so they would have to take turns with it. So they work out all of their code with pencil and paper so when it came to be their turn on the computer they just had to type it up, and then make sure it was working properly. And if it wasnt, figuring out why was once again done on paper to not hold up the next persons turn on the computer.

Oregon Trail had a similar development. They were trying to finish it in a couple weeks but had only one computer to work on.