How to Record a Video of your game in Action?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by DaveLev, Dec 17, 2009.

  1. DaveLev

    DaveLev Well-Known Member

    Nov 18, 2009
    161
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    Indie Games Developer for iPhone
    Derby, UK.
    Hi All,

    I'm just wondering how people have recorded gameplay videos of their games / apps and which is the best program / tool for the job?

    I've seen people playing them in their hands with a camera pointing at the screen which I quite like, but an issue is that I don't have access to a high quality video camera.

    Is their a relatively cheap pieces of software that can record gameplay from the device or simulator and display where touches occurred etc.

    Any information would be helpful :)

    Thanks.
     
  2. D-Cypher

    D-Cypher Well-Known Member

    Dave, I use iShowU HD and am very happy with it.

    The only problems that I have (and not with that software) is that the simulator runs my OpenGL games at a faster speed than on the iPhone/iTouch. I have no idea why the clocking is off between the simulator and the device, but it is. This also seems to be a common issue.

    Any tips on slowing down my games for video capture would be appreciated :)
     
  3. WunDaii

    WunDaii Well-Known Member

    I use Jing to just capture regular screen videos.
    http://www.jingproject.com/
     
  4. Notnasiul

    Notnasiul Active Member

    Dec 11, 2009
    37
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    Freelancer: Art, Design & Software services
    Canary Islands, Spain
    (Hi! first post) :)

    There's another question here: iPhone's resolution (480x320) is a little bit awkward for most sites, starting with Youtube. It's ok if your App uses the landscape orientation... but quite complicated when portrait mode is used. Two big black bands flank the video, which is not too elegant...

    How do you solve this? I even thought about using something similar to what old arcade machines used to draw around the actual screen. May be some concept art or moving pattern? We finally left the black bands (see video link in signature), but I'm sure that there must be a better way...
     
  5. I just made a background image on my desktop and positioned my iPhone simulator over top of the image where I wanted it and then recorded the video. You could include marketing content there if you want. Describe gameplay, number of levels, special features, etc.
     
  6. DaveLev

    DaveLev Well-Known Member

    Nov 18, 2009
    161
    0
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    Indie Games Developer for iPhone
    Derby, UK.
    #6 DaveLev, Dec 17, 2009
    Last edited: Dec 17, 2009
    Thanks, i've never seen that one but is actually pretty good! I can't see a way to show mouse drags rather than just mouse clicks but it's the best i've seen so far.

    Thats a nice idea, never really thought of that! Unfortunatly my current projects are all landscape so not really much room to do so, i'll keep that in mind.
     
  7. D-Cypher

    D-Cypher Well-Known Member


    Screenflow is $100. They may do it. I didn't like how it worked as compared to iShowU. Plus iShowUHD was only $29 so it was a win/win for me. Not sure what I'll do for gestures.

    Screenflow allows you to use a different mouse icon. Try it out, you might like it.
     
  8. Notnasiul

    Notnasiul Active Member

    Dec 11, 2009
    37
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    Freelancer: Art, Design & Software services
    Canary Islands, Spain
    Sorry but... your iPhone -simulator-? Could you please tell me more about that?
     
  9. You must be VERY new to iPhone development. :)

    XCode comes with an iPhone simulator that you can use for developing and testing iPhone/iPod Touch games without having an actual device.

    There are certain things it obviously can't do, like accelerometer input and compass info, but it does a nice job for a lot of categories of apps.
     
  10. Angleus

    Angleus Member

    Dec 18, 2009
    16
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    I work for no man!!
    Georgia USA
    Hey guys,

    I'm sure you know this...but I don't think anyone posted it!!! If your running Snow Leopard (10.6) then you surely have the new "QuicktimeX" right? IT can record your desktop, and it's free! Just open it up and theres an option to record your screen in one of the menu tabs at the top. If you don't want to spend $100, I highly recommend doing this and touching it up in iMovie!

    Good luck!

    -Angelus
     
  11. D-Cypher

    D-Cypher Well-Known Member

    LOL! I could have used this a few weeks ago! :) I'm always a slow adopter of new OSes because I don't want to lose any functionality or data unexpectedly.

    Thanks for the heads up. That's pretty cool.
     
  12. DaveLev

    DaveLev Well-Known Member

    Nov 18, 2009
    161
    0
    0
    Indie Games Developer for iPhone
    Derby, UK.
    Thanks! I'm not a big Mac fan so don't look at whats happening in the world and not sure of the programs to use. I'll have a look at it! Thanks.
     
  13. Notnasiul

    Notnasiul Active Member

    Dec 11, 2009
    37
    0
    0
    Freelancer: Art, Design & Software services
    Canary Islands, Spain
    Indeed! I tested my game continuously uploading it to the iPhone... I'll have a look at that thing, thank you!
     
  14. acidshaman

    acidshaman Well-Known Member

    May 5, 2009
    585
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    I used to use the free jing to record Diablo II trades, and the framerate was abysmal, not sure if your using premium...
     

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