ABSTRACT
THE DEVELOPMENT PERIOD AND WHY IT IS CRITICAL Before a work of interactive entertainment is ever built-before the interactivity is programmed, or the visuals are produced, or the sound is recorded-a tremendous amount of planning must fi rst take place. This phase of the work is known as the development process or the preproduction period. It is a time of tremendous creative ferment. In its own way, it is not unlike the period described in ancient creation myths when all was nothingness and then, after a series of miraculous events, the earth was formed and its myriad beings were given life.
