Have you ever wondered how much work goes into the creation of your favorite game?

We have too, which is why we approached Ubisoft about breaking down the making of Rainbow Six Vegas. They were kind enough to explain the timelines behind the scenes and each of the major steps behind the game’s development.

CONCEPTION [ 11 MONTHS ]

• Ubisoft gives a core design team composed of five people (producer, senior producer, creative director, art director, and lead programmer) a mandate outlining the project’s objectives and the target audience.
• Since this is Ubisoft Montreal’s first next-gen title, the team is given more time than is usually allotted for conception.
• The creative team brainstorms to outline the game’s plot, location, and player experience.
• The technical minds decide which engine and tools will be used to create the game.
• The team then comes together to build cheap prototypes to test core gameplay ideas like the new cover mechanic and multiplayer.
• Once the concept and prototype are ready, the team presents them to management in hopes of receiving a green light.

STORY DEVELOPMENT

• One of the big differences between how a story is created in games as opposed to film and literature is the amount of people involved in the process.
• Crafting the story is largely a team effort; while the creative director is responsible for the overall vision, the screenwriter, art director, and level designers are all involved in the process.
• The team brainstorms to draft a general synopsis, then writes the dialogue and fills in the minor details right down to each level objective.

RESEARCH

• Because popular casinos weren’t interested in being targeted by terrorists in a video game, Ubisoft Montreal was faced with the unique challenge of recreating Vegas without destinations that make the city famous.
• The producers sent a team to Vegas for two weeks to capture the essence of Sin City so they could use it to create a believable Vegas doppelganger.

PREPRODUCTION [ 8 MONTHS ]

• The team now brings in a larger production team to build what’s called a “vertical slice” of the game.
• One single-player and multiplayer level are created and polished so they are nearly final.
• The goal is to ensure that the engine and tools are mature enough to incorporate all the ideas brainstormed during conception.
• This test level gives the producers a general idea of how to schedule production, and confirms that the idea will work before Ubisoft commits more money and staff to the project.

PRODUCTION [ 10 MONTHS ]

• As Rainbow Six Vegas enters the production stage, the development team now ramps up to maximum capacity, nearly 150 people.
• The team has answered all of its questions about the game, and now it’s all about execution. Levels are built, code is refined, and art is sculpted.
• The producers have defined the scope and number of question marks facing the game, but must remain flexible to overcome the unforeseen challenges.
• The first major milestone is the alpha stage, where a rough build of the entire game comes together.
• This allows the team to begin the six month process of play testing, during which quality assurance and quality control teams will comb over the game to balance the game mechanics and make sure objectives are clear to players.
• The team continues to fine tune the graphics, audio, and game engine until it reaches the beta stage, which is a complete build with finalized art and audio.
• Now that the game has reached beta, programmers optimize the framerate while the play testers continue to hunt down the remaining bugs.

MARKETING

• One of the major decisions discussed in the first conception meeting is how the game will differentiate itself from the hundreds of titles on the shelves during the holiday.
• Ubisoft decided to keep quiet about Rainbow Six Vegas until it had something that would blow people away.
• That something was the gameplay demonstration unveiled during E3 2006.
• The game had a great buzz around it after the unveiling, so the team decided to create a demo for the public so players could experience Rainbow Six Vegas firsthand before it was released.
• This was a major production challenge because the team needed to pull some people away from the main production schedule to finalize the demo level.
• In the end, Ubisoft believed the exposure paid off.

SUBMISSION & RELEASE [ 3 MONTHS ]

• Once the game finishes beta it goes ‘gold.’ At this stage it is sent to Microsoft and Sony for final approval.
• Each company has its own teams of testers to make sure the title meets quality expectations for the console.
• Once the game is approved, Ubisoft can begin manufacturing discs and shipping to retail.
• The development team can then take a well-earned vacation before starting its next big project.

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