Ludo Atlas · Getting Started · Game Development at a Glance¶

Getting Started. This page answers four questions: how games get made, what each kind of person on a team does, where the money comes from, and the six assumptions beginners most often get wrong. Read it before deciding which direction to go.

1. How a Game Gets Made¶

The process at a mature studio looks roughly like this. Indie development trims it down, but the order barely changes:

Stage	What happens	Typical output	Time reference
Concept	Get clear on "who it's for, what you play, and why it's fun"	One-page kickoff doc, prototype goal list	Days to a few weeks
Prototype	Validate the core loop in the crudest possible way	A playable prototype that runs but looks bad	1–4 weeks
Vertical slice	Bring "one short stretch of the full experience" to near-final quality	One complete, presentable level	1–3 months
Production	Mass-produce levels, assets and systems	All of the game's content	3+ months solo, 1+ year for a team
Polish	Game feel, balance, performance, bug fixes	A release-ready build	1–3 months
Launch	Store page, marketing, platform review	A product live on storefronts	1–2 months
Live-Ops	Updates, bug fixes, community management, post-launch content	Long-term revenue and reputation	Ongoing

The details of each step are spread across the handbooks in this repository; this page only gives the map:

What you want to get right	Where to look
Gameplay, systems, balance	Game Design Handbook
Code, architecture, performance	Programming Handbook
Art and audio production	Art & Audio Handbook
Scheduling and scope control	Production Handbook
Levels	Level Design Handbook
After launch	Live-Ops & Growth

2. Who's on the Team¶

Work in the game industry can be roughly split into eight tracks. For each role's full skill stack and entry path, see the Roles & Skills Map; here is the one-line version:

Track	Roles	One-line responsibility
Programming	Gameplay / engine / tools / server	Turn design into working reality, and keep it smooth and crash-free
Design	Systems / balance / levels / narrative / combat	Decide "what you play" and "why it's fun"
Art	Concept / 2D / 3D / animation / VFX / UI / TA	Decide what the game looks like, and how everything you see moves
Audio	Sound design / composition / audio implementation	Decide how the game sounds; carries half the credit for game feel
Production	Producer / project manager	Get the right people doing the right things at the right time, and cut what isn't needed
Testing	QA	Find problems before players do, and hold the quality line
Publishing	Marketing / business development / platform relations	Make sure the target players know about the game and can buy it
Live-Ops	Community / data analysis / monetization	After launch, keep players around and playing longer

Indie developers usually cover programming, design and some art on their own; small teams first fill in the "programming + art + design" trio.

3. Where the Money Comes From¶

Business model	How it earns	Commonly seen in
Premium	One-time purchase	PC, console, polished indie titles
In-app purchases (IAP)	Skins, items, gacha, battle passes	Mobile games, some PC online games
Ads	Rewarded video, interstitials	Mini-games, hypercasual
Hybrid	Premium + DLC / IAP + ads	Many commercial titles
Subscription	Membership-based content services	A few products and platform services
Crowdfunding / grants	Pre-orders or funding up front	The startup phase of indie projects

Differences between platforms and form factors (PC, console, mobile, mini-games, web) directly shape the business model and development budget; see the Multi-platform Launch Playbook and the Legal, Patents & Competition for details.

4. Three Scales, Three Approaches¶

Scale	Headcount	Process traits	Biggest risk
Indie development	1–2 people	No meetings, decide as you build; speed first, use ready-made assets	Scope out of control, project never ships
Small team	3–10 people	Light process, weekly iterations; people wear several hats	Communication overhead, direction drift
Company	10+ people	Dedicated roles, stage reviews; documentation and pipelines come first	High cost, slow decisions

The larger the scale, the more it depends on process and documentation; the smaller the scale, the more it depends on picking the right scope. More on teams and collaboration keeps being added under Teams & Scale.

5. Extra Things to Watch for in Mainland China and Going Overseas¶

Publishing in mainland China involves game licenses, anti-addiction rules, channel revenue splits and record-filing; see the Legal, Patents & Competition for details.
Mini-games are a distinct engineering form (build size, performance and platform rules all differ); see the Mini-Game Development.
Going overseas means Steam, consoles or overseas mobile stores, each with its own hurdles in testing, ratings and taxes; see the Multi-platform Launch Playbook.

6. Six Common Misconceptions¶

"Anyone who plays games can make games": playing is consumption, making is production. Between the two lie the engine, process, and ten thousand debugging passes.
"If you can't do art, you can't make games": art can be bought, collaborated on, or stylized. The real bottleneck is finishing.
"Pick the wrong engine and it's over": any mainstream engine can get a game finished. The cost of switching is far lower than the cost of never building anything.
"Indie development is free and easy": the freedom is real, the ease is not. It is high-intensity self-management.
"Coming up with a hit idea comes first": ideas are cheap; building it and pushing it out is what's valuable.
"AI is here, one person can make AAA": AI significantly speeds up coding and asset production, but it doesn't make your trade-offs for you. See the AI Workflows.

7. Where You Are Now¶

Where you are	Next stop
Wanting clarity on the industry and roles	Roles & Skills Map
Ready to start making something	Engine Selection Guide → Your First Game
Committing long term, planning years ahead	Learning Paths
A project in hand, wanting to avoid pitfalls	Pitfalls & Anti-patterns · Indie Survival