Why we prototype (Game Dev Day 15)
Prototyping is an essential part of the game development process: there is not good reason to spend time on art, music, and writing if the core mechanics of the game do not work. Using a prototype allows us to ensure that the game runs correctly at a baseline level, and makes it easier to fix and clean up when we aren’t also juggling assets.
Once we know the systems work, we can spend time polishing the product into something visually pleasing.
Another benefit of prototyping is that if the system does not work, or is not engaging to use, we can scrap or modify the gameplay mechanics before we double down on them with other elements. It is always worth prototyping your game before spending the time and resources on other, later, development steps.
