Editing Video game development (section)

=== Trade show demo ===

As a game nears completion, the publisher will want to showcase a [[game demo|demo]] of the title at trade shows. Many games have a "Trade Show demo" scheduled.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
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Depending on the stage of development, the demo will either be full of "hacks" or a scaled-down version of the game, such as containing all of the game's features, but just one special level.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Sometimes the demo can just consist of a video of potential gameplay and features.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}-->

The major annual trade shows are, for example, [[Electronic Entertainment Expo]] (E3) or [[Penny Arcade Expo]] (PAX).{{sfn|McGuire|Jenkins|2009|pp=24–25}} E3 is the largest show in North America.{{sfn|Bethke|2003|p=57}} E3 is hosted primarily for marketing and business deals.<!--24--> New games and platforms are announced at E3 and it received broad press coverage.{{sfn|McGuire|Jenkins|2009|p=24}}{{sfn|Bethke|2003|p=58}} Thousands of products are on display and press demonstration schedules are kept.{{sfn|Bethke|2003|p=58}} In the 2000s E3 became a more closed-door event and many advertisers have withdrawn, reducing E3's budget.{{sfn|McGuire|Jenkins|2009|p=24}} PAX, created by authors of [[Penny Arcade]] blog and web-comic, is a mature and playful event with a player-centred philosophy.{{sfn|McGuire|Jenkins|2009|p=25}}
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Often normal development is halted as the team prepares a small-scale, polished version of the game.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Special assets are usually required for such a demo and team members are normally pulled off mainstream production for the demo development.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} This demo may also be used as the game's official demo when the game is released.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} At the 1999 E3, for example, [[Blizzard Entertainment|Blizzard]] showcased the highly anticipated ''[[Diablo II]]'' and allowed a small number of attendees to play the nearly completed game.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} On the other hand, [[Electronic Arts]] showcased the upcoming ''[[The Sims]]'' with a looping video of segments of the game.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

Since the demo is so critical, its development can halt all normal programming efforts as it branches off in the development of the demo. Depending on the stage of development, the demo can contain illusions of features and hacks that will crash the game if used wrong. But a game near completion can portray an accurate representation of the game with sufficient polish. The demo is often responsible for a great deal of crunch time.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}-->