Wireframe 2019

Advice

Toolbox

A vertical slice can help realise your design ideas

and much more besides, Jeff writes

Indie reflections:

AUTHOR Making Anew Part 5
JEFF SPOONHOWER
Jeff Spoonhower is a
developer, artist, and college
professor who’s been working
on triple-A and indie games
for over 17 years.
anewthegame.com
resources, which means you may not be able
to afford to prototype your game’s visuals,
gameplay systems, and mechanics. That’s OK!
You will work through these design challenges as
you build your vertical slice. Creating a vertical
slice is a lot of work and will take time, because
you’ll need to get many of your game’s main
systems up and running.

REASONS TO SLICE

There are several reasons to create a vertical

slice. Most of your design ideas are theoretical

• they seem promising, but haven’t been
  proven yet. Creating a vertical slice forces you
  to make these ideas real, and in the process,
  allows you to evaluate their viability in context.
  Since creating a vertical slice will also involve
  all members of your team, you’ll be able to
  figure out the best ways to collaborate and
  communicate as a group.
  For example, building, testing, and iterating
  your player character’s design and controls
  can take months to complete. You’ll learn what
  works, what doesn’t, and make adjustments and
  improvements based on playtesting. Creating
  the art assets, AI behaviours, movement
  patterns, and combat animations for a few

 The overall art

direction for Anew

was hammered out

in our vertical slice.

ou have a solid plan in place

for your indie game, its creative

direction, and gameplay features.

How do you begin doing the actual

work? This is where the concept

of a vertical slice comes in. Let’s look at how it

can help shape your designs, clarify aesthetic

and mechanics, aid in marketing efforts, and

more besides.

A vertical slice involves designing and

implementing the core features of your game

from top to bottom, in a confined gameplay

segment, to a high degree of polish. The

end product is a fully playable segment that

represents the larger vision for your completed

game. Let’s say, for example, you’re making a 2D

puzzle platformer. An appropriate vertical slice

would involve the creation of one or two levels

where the player would experience key aspects

of gameplay such as running, jumping, solving

a puzzle, and fighting enemies. These playable

spaces would be fully fleshed out, just as you

see the full game being in your mind’s eye.

You may be asking yourself, “Shouldn’t I

prototype all of this before fully developing it?”

The answer is, “Ideally, yes.” However, chances

are you’re working in a small team with limited

Y

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