General Campaign Development

I'll break up the aspects of Campaign Development into several sections, with each section dealing with a different area.

Development of any Campaign requires a lot of planning and preparation work before any scripting is actually done. (In fact, scripting a campaign is generally considered the 'mid-way point' of development). We'll take each aspect of campaign development in the order which it is generally agreed that it should be done in.

Planning

Before any development, a clear strategy should be formulated. Goals and milestones should be worked out as soon as it's realistic to do so. Organize who will be working on what, when will it be worked on, and how will it be accomplished? Planning ahead is key.

Of course, the driving force behind any new campaign for Warzone 2100 should be a great story. That's really what it boils down to – and what will keep your own interest going through the development process. I break it down as follows:

Who – Who are the active participants in the storyline?
Where – Where does this all take place at?
Why – Why is this occurring in the first place?
When – When is just as important as Why, since it can dictate to a very large degree the 'Who, Where, Why and How'.
How – How do these events occur?

The next thing is to document everything. Open-source projects benefit everyone because they're open. Others may see your work and wonder how it was done, and may have questions for you that could benefit their own work in some way. All of this works because of documentation.

So, as you can understand, planning and good organization will be helpful.

Primary Development Phase

Let's say your Team has written a great story that fits into the Warzone scheme of things. Your Team has created a really interesting map (or maps) to go with that story. The Team has written mission overviews, complete with a good overall sense of what you all want to do. If one or more of these things hasn't been done, then this is the phase in which the bulk of that work gets completed. This phase is actually the most difficult, takes the most time, and what potentially can break the whole project.

Some words of wisdom during this phase of development:

Submit changes/additions for Team review frequently, before it becomes set in stone and unchangeable.
Small changes can add up over time, so don't expect to have everything done over a weekend!
Be open and flexible, but don't settle for less .. unless there's no other choice.
Don't be afraid to research problems, as you are likely pushing boundaries. Don't give up at first (or even third) glance!
Sometimes an hour or two away from the project will be the greatest solution to a problem. Come back to it with a fresh perspective, and beware of burnout!

Finishing Phase

This is the time when all outstanding issues with your new Campaign get resolved. Your release is being Alpha or Beta tested, and you're receiving feedback or making small changes as needed. 'Spit and Polish' is the key here. Making it the best it possibly can be.

Release Phase

Now the hard work begins. You're fixing bugs and adding new features to your new Campaign.

In the next chapter, we'll discuss the guts and bones of actually putting a campaign together from a solid foundation.