Game Development Glossary

Essential terminology for game developers, studios, and stakeholders. Every term explained in plain language, with links to our relevant services.

Development Models

Co-Development: A partnership model where an external studio works alongside your internal team as an embedded unit. Unlike traditional outsourcing, co-dev teams integrate into your workflows, tools, and communication channels. This provides flexible capacity without the overhead of permanent hires.Our Co-Development Services →
Staff Augmentation: Temporarily expanding your team by bringing in external specialists who work under your direction. Often used interchangeably with co-development, though staff augmentation typically implies individual contributors rather than a coordinated team.Our Co-Development Services →
Outsourcing: Contracting an external company to handle part or all of your game development. Can range from specific tasks (art production, QA) to full turnkey development. The key distinction from co-development is that outsourced work is typically managed by the external partner rather than embedded in your team.
Turnkey Development: A development model where the external studio handles the entire project from concept to delivery. The client receives a finished product without managing day-to-day development. Best suited for organisations without in-house game development expertise.
White-Label Development: Building a game or app that the client publishes under their own brand, with no visible attribution to the development studio. Common in corporate training and educational game development.

Development Phases

Pre-Production: The planning phase before full development begins. Includes concept development, market research, technical feasibility studies, Game Design Document (GDD) creation, and prototyping. A thorough pre-production phase reduces risk and prevents costly changes later.Our Game Design Services →
Prototyping: Building a minimal playable version of the game to test core mechanics before committing to full production. Often called a 'greybox' prototype because it uses placeholder art. Prototyping validates whether the gameplay loop is fun and technically feasible.Our Game Design Services →
Alpha: A development milestone where all core features are implemented but the game is not yet content-complete or fully polished. Alpha builds are typically used for internal testing and feedback. Expect bugs, placeholder art, and missing content at this stage.
Beta: A development milestone where the game is feature-complete and content-complete but still undergoing testing and polish. Beta builds may be released to a limited audience (closed beta) or the public (open beta) to gather feedback and identify issues at scale.
Gold Master: The final, approved build of a game that is submitted for distribution or platform certification. On console, this is the version sent for TRC/XR compliance testing. On mobile, it is the build submitted to the App Store or Google Play.
Game Design Document (GDD): A comprehensive reference document that describes every aspect of a game: mechanics, UI flows, progression systems, narrative, monetisation, and technical requirements. A living document that evolves throughout development and serves as the single source of truth for the team.Our Game Design Services →

Platforms & Porting

Game Porting: Adapting a game from one platform to another, such as PC to mobile or mobile to console. Porting involves more than recompilation - it requires reworking input systems, UI, performance profiles, and often significant code changes to meet the target platform's constraints.Our Mobile Development Services →
Console Porting: Specifically adapting a game for PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch. Console porting requires devkit access, platform-specific SDKs, controller input remapping, and passing the platform holder's certification process (TRC for Sony, XR for Microsoft, Lotcheck for Nintendo).Our Console Porting Services →
Cross-Platform: Developing a game that runs on multiple platforms (mobile, PC, console) from a shared codebase. Requires abstraction layers for input, rendering, and platform-specific features. Unity's cross-platform support makes this more achievable, but each platform still needs dedicated optimisation and testing.
Platform Certification: The approval process required by console manufacturers (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo) before a game can be published on their platform. Each has specific technical requirements covering performance, accessibility, save data handling, and user experience that must be met.Our Console Porting Services →
TRC / XR / Lotcheck: The certification requirement checklists from Sony (Technical Requirements Checklist), Microsoft (Xbox Requirements), and Nintendo (Lotcheck) respectively. These define the mandatory standards a game must meet before it can ship on each platform.

Performance & Optimisation

Performance Optimisation: The process of improving a game's frame rate, load times, memory usage, and battery consumption. Particularly critical on mobile where hardware varies enormously. Techniques include draw call batching, texture compression, LOD systems, object pooling, and shader optimisation.Our Performance Optimisation Services →
Draw Call Batching: A rendering optimisation that combines multiple draw calls into fewer, larger ones. Each draw call has CPU overhead, so reducing their count improves frame rate. Unity supports static batching (for non-moving objects) and dynamic batching (for small, similar meshes).
LOD (Level of Detail): A technique that renders distant objects with simpler meshes and textures. As the camera moves closer, higher-detail versions are swapped in. Reduces the GPU workload for scenes with many objects at varying distances.
Object Pooling: A pattern that pre-creates and recycles game objects instead of instantiating and destroying them at runtime. Avoids garbage collection spikes that cause frame rate stutters, especially important on mobile where GC pauses are more noticeable.
GPU Instancing: A rendering technique that draws many copies of the same mesh in a single draw call, with per-instance data (position, colour, scale) passed via buffers. Ideal for dense game worlds with repeated elements like foliage, crowds, or projectiles.
Profiling: Measuring a game's runtime performance to identify bottlenecks. Tools like Unity Profiler, Xcode Instruments, and Android GPU Inspector reveal where CPU time, GPU time, and memory are being spent, guiding targeted optimisation.

Multiplayer & Networking

Server-Authoritative Architecture: A networking model where the server is the single source of truth for game state. Clients send inputs to the server, which validates them, updates the game state, and sends results back. Prevents most forms of cheating because clients cannot directly modify game state.Our Multiplayer & Networking Services →
Client-Side Prediction: A technique where the client simulates the result of player input locally before the server confirms it. This hides network latency by showing immediate feedback, then reconciles with the server's authoritative state when the response arrives.
Netcode: The collective networking code that handles communication between game clients and servers. Includes serialisation, state synchronisation, lag compensation, and connection management. Good netcode is invisible to players; bad netcode causes rubber-banding and desync.Our Multiplayer & Networking Services →
Matchmaking: The system that groups players together for multiplayer sessions based on criteria like skill level, region, latency, and party size. Good matchmaking balances fair competition with fast queue times.
Dedicated Server: A server instance that runs the game simulation independently of any player's machine. Provides better performance, fairness, and anti-cheat capabilities than peer-to-peer models, but requires hosting infrastructure and ongoing operational costs.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P): A networking model where players connect directly to each other without a central server. Lower infrastructure cost but more vulnerable to cheating, latency asymmetry, and NAT traversal issues. Suitable for smaller-scale multiplayer or co-op games.

Monetisation & Live Ops

Live Ops (Live Operations): The ongoing management of a game after launch, including content updates, seasonal events, balance changes, bug fixes, and community management. Live ops transforms a game from a one-time product into a continuously evolving service.Our Monetisation & Live Ops Services →
Games as a Service (GaaS): A business model where a game generates ongoing revenue through continuous content updates, subscriptions, or microtransactions rather than a single upfront purchase. Requires robust live ops infrastructure and a long-term content roadmap.
Free-to-Play (F2P): A monetisation model where the game is free to download and play, generating revenue through optional in-app purchases, ads, or battle passes. Requires careful design to ensure paying players get value without alienating non-paying players.Our Monetisation Services →
In-App Purchases (IAP): Digital goods or currency sold within a game. Consumables (gems, energy) are used once; non-consumables (skins, characters) are permanent. Both Apple and Google take a platform commission (typically 15-30%) on all IAP revenue.
Battle Pass: A seasonal monetisation system that offers a tiered reward track. Players earn progress through gameplay and can purchase a premium tier for additional rewards. Drives both engagement and revenue by combining FOMO with tangible value.
Remote Configuration: The ability to change game parameters (pricing, difficulty, event timing, feature flags) without releasing an app update. Essential for live ops, A/B testing, and rapid response to player feedback or market conditions.

Game Types & Genres

Serious Game: A game designed primarily for a purpose beyond entertainment, such as education, training, health, or social impact. Serious games apply game design principles (engagement, feedback loops, progression) to achieve measurable learning or behavioural outcomes.Our Educational Game Services →
Gamification: Applying game mechanics (points, badges, leaderboards, progress bars) to non-game contexts like corporate training, education, or marketing. Distinct from serious games in that gamification enhances an existing activity rather than creating a standalone game experience.Our Educational Game Services →
Hyper-Casual: A mobile game subgenre characterised by minimalist design, instant onboarding, and extremely short play sessions. Monetised primarily through advertising. Low development cost but highly competitive market with short product lifecycles.
MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online): A game that supports hundreds or thousands of concurrent players in a shared persistent world. MMOs require significant server infrastructure, database architecture, and anti-cheat systems. Among the most technically demanding game types to build and operate.Our Multiplayer & Networking Services →
Idle / Incremental Game: A genre where the game progresses even when the player is not actively engaged. Players make strategic decisions about resource allocation and upgrades, then return later to collect accumulated rewards. Popular on mobile due to low session demand.

Technical Foundations

Game Engine: A software framework that provides core systems for building games: rendering, physics, audio, input handling, and scripting. The two dominant engines are Unity (C#, strong mobile/cross-platform support) and Unreal Engine (C++/Blueprints, strong for high-fidelity visuals). Choosing the right engine is one of the most impactful decisions in a project.Our Unity Development Services →
Unity: A cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies. Known for its accessibility, extensive asset store, strong mobile performance, and C# scripting. The most widely used engine for mobile game development and our primary development platform at Ocean View Games.Our Unity Development Services →
Legacy Modernisation: Updating an older game or application to modern platforms and technologies. Common scenarios include migrating Flash games to HTML5 or Unity, upgrading outdated SDKs, rebuilding deprecated server infrastructure, and adapting games for current device resolutions and input methods.Our Legacy Modernisation Services →
Procedural Generation: Using algorithms to create game content (levels, terrain, items, quests) at runtime rather than hand-crafting every element. Reduces art and design costs for content-heavy games but adds engineering complexity. Must be carefully tuned to ensure quality and variety.
CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery): Automated pipelines that build, test, and deploy game builds whenever code changes are committed. Catches bugs early, ensures consistent build quality, and accelerates the release cycle. Particularly valuable for live-service games with frequent updates.
Version Control: Systems (like Git or Perforce) that track changes to source code and assets, enabling multiple developers to work simultaneously without overwriting each other's work. Essential for any team larger than one person. Also provides a safety net for reverting problematic changes.

Quality & Testing

QA (Quality Assurance): The systematic process of testing a game to find and document bugs, performance issues, and usability problems before release. Includes functional testing, regression testing, compatibility testing, and platform-specific compliance checks.Our QA & Testing Services →
Regression Testing: Re-testing previously working features after new code changes to ensure nothing has been broken. Automated regression tests are especially valuable for live-service games where frequent updates risk introducing new bugs into stable systems.Our QA & Testing Services →
Compatibility Testing: Testing a game across a range of devices, operating system versions, and hardware configurations to ensure consistent behaviour. Particularly important for mobile, where the Android ecosystem alone includes thousands of distinct device profiles.
Playtesting: Having real players test the game to evaluate fun factor, difficulty curve, onboarding flow, and overall user experience. Distinct from QA in that playtesting focuses on design and engagement rather than technical bugs.

Publishing & Launch

App Store Optimisation (ASO): Improving a mobile game's visibility and conversion rate in app store search results. Includes keyword optimisation, screenshot and video design, description copywriting, localisation, and review management. The mobile equivalent of SEO.Our App Store Launch Services →
Soft Launch: Releasing a game in a limited market (typically smaller countries like Canada, Australia, or the Philippines) before a worldwide launch. Used to gather real-world performance data, test monetisation, and fix issues with lower risk and visibility.Our App Store Launch Services →
Day-One Patch: An update released simultaneously with (or shortly after) a game's launch to fix issues discovered between the Gold Master submission and the public release date. Common on console where certification timelines create a gap between final development and launch.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP): The simplest version of a game that can be released to test the core concept with real players. An MVP includes only the essential gameplay loop and enough content to validate the idea, allowing data-driven decisions about whether to invest in full production.