Production
The production phase 1, which lasts between two and three years 2 for a large, commercial virtual world, is when the bulk of the programming and data creation takes place. Code must be produced for the client, the server, and for tools. It all has to be done in order, according to a production schedule 3 set by the producer. Tools are usually written first, because other activities are dependent on them and because some of the code can usually be re-used for the server or client. Tools are required for things such as world generation, artificial intelligence (AI) scripting, and customer service support. It’s also a good idea to build some analysis tools, too, so that once the world is running it will be possible to determine what the players, the software, and the hardware are doing without having to ask.
The amount of server-side code needed depends on the chosen architecture. It includes driver functionality at the level of LAN networking (to connect the server to its peers) and communications modules (to connect the server cluster to the Internet). It usually includes a mudlib layer, to support the world physics and AI system. Whether it includes a world model layer depends on what the scripting tools produce. If it is to run in multiple incarnations, it will not include any instantiation-specific detail (it would be too hard to make general updates otherwise).
The client-side code will be the home of a major 3D engine plus support for music and audio effects. Communications protocols to connect with the server are obviously necessary, as are software update mechanisms for when the client needs patching (which is an inevitability).
While the programmers are busy programming, the artists are busy creating object models (static and animated) and texture maps, along with other miscellaneous images (for example, for manuals, intro movies, and web sites). The volume of artwork required is so high that it will normally be stored in its own database so that the artists can keep track of it all. Scalability and maintainability issues also arise for graphics 4.
The world itself is constructed using the building tools that the programmers have created, to the specifications of the design document. There is a fair degree of creative freedom involved in this activity 5, which is why specialist designers usually undertake it rather than programmers; it’s analogous to the way that animation is generally done by artists, even though programmers created the necessary tools.
Also known as the implementation phase. ↩︎
Or less, if the investment money runs out. ↩︎
Or pipeline. ↩︎
This is what’s supposed to happen, anyway. Unfortunately, artists are often proudly nontechnical and will look for any excuse not to use such a system. ↩︎
The task is known as level design in conventional games development terminology, but there’s no real industry-standard name for it in virtual world creation. “World-building” is coming into fashion, but is somewhat ambiguous. ↩︎