In an effort to learn the process of video game development, one indie developer has reverse-engineered various gameplay mechanics from the Batman: Arkham series, The Legend of Zelda, and other notable titles. Many of the recreated mechanics are integral parts of the particular title they originally belong to and in some cases have even become industry standards.
Game development at all levels is an arduous process that often takes place over the span of at least a few years and sometimes even that may not be enough. COVID-19 concerns have added to this already tough process and have contributed to many announced titles have been delayed for various reasons. Though no exact cause was given, a recent casualty was announced with the delay of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League pushing the title back to 2023. These delays could signal any number of issues in the development process, especially when it comes to complex titles that utilize unique mechanics that in some cases have never been done before.
An impressive display from Twitter user and indie developer Andre Cardoso demonstrates how challenging and time-consuming the process of game development can be. Over the past three years, Cardoso has been recreating game mechanics from well-known titles in an effort to better learn the craft. To date, they have published 30 videos featuring the likes of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds' wall merge, Super Mario Galaxy's star launch, Batman: Arkham's free-flow combat, and more.
Cardoso's unique form of self-education seems to be encouraging like-minded, budding developers to share their experiences and ideas in the pursuit of creating a better product. There is also a lot of positivity surrounding the indie developer's post, which could be an additional incentive to get others to try learning in this way as well. One commenter even suggested merging all of the mechanics recreated into one game.
An interesting element of Cardoso's showcase is that it demonstrates just how difficult the game development process can be. It took this developer three years to recreate 30 existing mechanics on their own with minimal visual assets. That puts into perspective just how long it takes some of these massive titles to come into being, especially when they are extremely ambitious. When it does not work, the results can be disastrous and force the developers to play catchup like with Cyberpunk 2077. On the other hand, creating seamless, mechanically sound experiences produces titles like the Batman: Arkham series.
Source: Andre Cardoso/Twitter