Every good game starts with a brilliant idea. However, creating gold out of those brilliant ideas is a collaborative work where different experts interact in building a polished product. The perfect combination of functions creates a dynamic and healthy creature. Each piece must work smoothly to assure the safety of this being.
Following this analogy, we can say that each team has a significant role in maintaining the health of the creature. However, some departments go the extra mile to keep it alive. Today, we will take a trip to one of these organs that keep the entity balanced and pumped, the piece that establishes a rhythm and is constantly optimizing the blood flow: the heart of a game, also known as the development department.
Developing in games
The development of a game is a complex process that can take years until its complete end goal. Most games are divided into pre-production, production, and post-production. The ideas are conceived in the first stage, along with the answer to the most relevant questions like genre, characters, gameplay, etc. Then in the production phase is when the development team comes to play.
The development includes a series of tasks that may vary from gaming engineer to AI specialist, as well as specific technical duties like choosing the right programming language and an adequate game engine. However, in small companies, the developers are in charge of all these tasks making the design a real challenge. They create the source code that runs the product, the algorithms, and the technologies that facilitate the concept, integrating everything into a final product.
In Codyfight, there are some unique perks when it comes to its development. Firstly, Andrius and Danas, the co-founders, share the rhythm of development as both of them are coders. Therefore, development was always a key aspect in building the game, not only as professionals but also as gamers.
“We created Codyfight because there isn’t anything like it before. Danas and I met gaming and ever since then, we have worked to come up with something that can be challenging for developers but also a way to integrate AI into the game sphere, where everybody can enjoy and showcase their skills”.
Andrius expresses that he lacked games and challenges for developers in the sphere. The grinding, the educational games, everything seemed off and did not offer any real value for people with their backgrounds. The plan was to make the rhythm of the heart; the rhythm of the whole creature.
Uniqueness in the rhythm of the heart
Andrius and Danas worked on coming up with a project that had a different beat than other enterprises in the industry. The heart of Codyfight was able to achieve that different rhythm through its very unique premise. The project breaks all stigmas previously established in games and solves pain points that have been manifested for years.
Firstly, it allows users to automate their gameplay and avoid “grinding” through the deployment of AI bot farms. The result is not only a higher success rate in battles and an increase in rewards, but it also serves as a challenge for developers to create complex algorithms for their bots, challenging other developers and themselves.
“Nobody focuses on developers. We do. Our game is a challenge for developers and a great incentive for new people to explore this area if they want to. Coding can be competitive as well as immersive, and we are offering a playground to do so. Codyfight is essentially a platform where everybody can learn and have fun”.
Learning possibilities are on the table but also a taste of freedom never seen before. The game allows users to code with any programming language of their choice and interact directly with its code without the need to use a browser, thanks to its real-time API, a web endpoint that accepts player HTTP requests. Players can even spectate battles on different websites, creating a personalized way to experience the game thanks to its embeddable nature. Codyfight can be played everywhere as long as users have an internet connection.
In addition, developers can find rewards in the game through competitive games but also through the marketplace where there are possibilities to show off their expertise and rent their code or create dev guilds, empowering a bond within the community that challenges and encourages developers to learn and increase their abilities.
Day-to-day tasks for the heart
The uniqueness of the heart could not be sustained without the correct maintenance. The development team works hard on a polished game and a high-quality functionality of the website.
The communication between the team flows smoothly thanks to the constant feedback between the different developers. As a start-up, the team is small, but they have achieved great results thanks to their efforts and desire to expand their knowledge in more areas.
Tomas Balsys works in the development team but also fulfills the role of the game designer in Codyfight. He understands that personalities can sometimes cause differences in the workflow but are also a common point for inspiration.
“In our department, different people are working together with different backgrounds. We are all very involved and passionate about the idea behind the game, but sometimes we need to re-think and, especially, discuss many issues. In this regard, our meetings help us to understand what are the priorities and goals that should be fulfilled”.
When asked about his day-to-day tasks in the development department he insists that brainstorming and reflection are the keys to creating a quality game.
“It’s not an easy task to design a game. I spend a lot of time thinking and gathering concepts. I become very passionate and try to incorporate a lot of my ideas into my tasks. We try to find a way to involve our audience emotionally in the game, and that requires a lot of teamwork and a great effort in the development area”.
During the MVP project, Tomas was also very engaged behind-the-scenes, providing many ideas and helping to bring them to life. Testing the game was also an important milestone for Tomas as he mentions that it is a sign of maturity and a fresh way to approach work, where every day the development is progressing and heading closer to a fully ready-to-play game,
“I see our team improving daily and coming closer to a final product. The ideas are there, and soon there will be more things implemented that the audience can enjoy. We just need more time, conversations, and a lot of coding”.
Each day the heart of Codyfight pumps faster and the mechanisms that keep it alive are passionate and ready to carry on optimizing the game. The creature will be kept in full shape and may even shift into a new powerful being. You will have to keep an eye on it and find out what its journey will be.
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