In theory the development process is the same for Presentation Software as it is for any other software. However, our package is different because it relies heavily on 3D graphics and animation. That means there is more time and effort spend on the "artistic" side than on the coding. I guess the same is true for games development.
We start with the specification and use it to identify the target audience. What are their common characteristics? We have to grab their attention so we need to know what will appeal to them. We use several personality profiles to help define those key elements.
Next, we develop a "scenario". This is like a group of related scenes in a movie. We sketch each one up so we have a clear idea of what is going to happen. Then we fine-tune the entire scenario on paper before we start coding anything.
Traditional animators (those who developed the early cartoons ) used an "X-Sheet" or a "dope-sheet" to identify the timing for each character in a scene. We use something similar to make sure that each element is where is should be.
Then we start the development of the individual animations. Unfortunately, there is no single piece of software that will do the entire job. We use up to six different packages to develop each scene. That's because each package has it's own strengths and weaknesses.
At this stage we develop individual models, then we modify them so they will carry out specific actions. We add textures or shaders and position them in 3D space. Then we add props, backgrounds and lights and animate them. When everything is working as it should - and it can take a long time to fine-tune everything - we position the cameras and render the scene.
If that sounds long-winded you’re right - it is. To give you an idea of timescale - if a traditional animator worked for a week he would be very happy to produce 5 seconds of footage. In other words, one week's work equated to 5 seconds on the screen! We do better these day but if there are a lot of individual elements in a scene then we are not that far away (think Lord of the Rings on a smaller scale).
If you get a chance have a look at our website – I’d welcome any feedback. This is the direct link to the presentation software page – to read about the package. You can also read about presentations in general on our home page.
