Level 1 of the Los Angeles Film School's Game Design 1 class.

1. Level 1
David Mullich
Game Design 1
The Los Angeles Film School

2. Who Am I?
 David Mullich
 dmullich@lafilm.edu
 @David_Mullich
 www.electricsheep.biz
 Instructor at LAFS
 Game Designer at Electric Sheep
Game Consulting
 Co-creator of Boy Scouts of America
Game Design Merit Badge

4. How to Succeed in LAFS
 Be your own Career Entrepreneur
 3 Keys:
 Devotion
 Persistence
 Re-invention

5. How To Succeed in Game Design 1
 Show up for class
 Complete the assignments on time
 Follow the instructions
 Do all parts of the assignments
 Manage the scope of your work
 Remember, this is a design class, not a
programming class

6. Course Outline
1. The Player Experience
2. Foundational Elements
3. Structural Elements
4. Dramatic Elements
5. Dynamic Elements
Mid-Term Exam

7. Course Outline
6. Conceptualizing
7. Prototyping
8. Playtesting
9. Balancing
10. Polishing
Final Exam / Game Fair

8. Tests
There will be a mid-term exam during Level 6
and a final exam during Level 10.
If you see this symbol on a slide
there will probably be an exam question
about it.

9. “I just want to do the minimum to
pass this class”
Classes are not kidney
stones.
If you think about them
in these terms, maybe
you’re on the wrong
career path?

10. Creativity Within Constraints
If you can’t be bothered to:
 Strive for originality despite the rules
 Improve upon your initial idea
 Actually enjoy and actively want to do the
above
Then get used to the phrase
“Would you like fries with that?”

11. Impressions
Your classmates and faculty will most likely
be your doorway into the industry.
How do you want them to think of you?
Leave a professional and lasting impression.

12. Make It Easy To Review Your Work
Sending bosses or potential clients or instructors files in
a format they can’t open will just make them angry! And
you don’t want angry people evaluating you!
So, always send documents in PDF format!
And send game executables in EXE format!

13. The Golden Rule

16. Extra Credits, Season 1, Episode 16 - So You Want To
Be A Game Designer (7:36)

17. Roles
 Builder
 Engineer
 Scientist
 Dreamer
 Teacher
 But NOT Boss

18. Main Role
The game designer’s main role is to be an
advocate for the player.
In some ways, designing a
game is like being the host
of a party. It’s your job to
get everything ready and
create a fun experience for
the player.

19. Designer Perspective: Warren
Spector
G4 Icons Episode #30: Warren Spector

21. Why Do We Play Games?

22. Because they’re FUN!
Duh!
So what makes a
game fun?

23. Types of Players
 The Competitor: Plays to best other players
 The Explorer: Curious about the world; loves to go
adventuring; seeks outside boundaries
 The Collector: Acquires items, trophies, or
knowledge; likes to create sets, organize, etc.
 The Achiever: Plays for varying levels of
achievement
 The Joker: Doesn’t take the game seriously; plays
for the fun of playing.

24. Types of Players (cont’d)
 The Artist: Driven by creativity, creation, design
 The Director: Loves to be in charge
 The Storyteller: Loves to create or live in worlds of
fantasy and imagination
 The Performer: Loves to put on a show for others
 The Craftsman: Wants to build, craft, engineer or
puzzle things out

25. Aesthetics of Play
Game Designers Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc and Robert
Zubek divide aesthetics within games into 8 categories:
 Sensation: Game as sense-pleasure
 Fantasy: Game as make-believe
 Narrative: Game as unfolding story
 Challenge: Game as obstacle course
 Fellowship: Game as social framework
 Discovery: Game as uncharted territory
 Expression: Game as soap box
 Submission (or Abnegation): Game as mindless pastime

26. Levels of Game Experience
 Mechanics: Actions players perform in a
game
 Dynamics: Feedback in response to those
actions
 Aesthetics: Feelings players experience in
response to that feedback

27. Aesthetics of Play
Extra Credits: Aesthetics of Play (9:41)

28. Take-Away
A game designer should focus on the
aesthetics (the play experience) and pick the
best mechanics (and other game elements)
to create that experience.

30. Player Experience
A game designer does not create games.
A game designer creates experiences.
 What experience do I want the player to have?
 What is essential to that experience?
 How can my game capture that experience?
Jesse Schell, Lens #1

31. What Experience Do I Want The Player To
Have?
 Immersion: The illusion that you
are another person or in another
place.
 Novelty: New experiences or
surprises vs. the familiar and
predictable.
 Challenge: Meaningful “work”
where the player can make clear
progress and has incentive to try
again if s/he fails.

32. What Experience Do I Want The Player To
Have?
 Stimulation: The emotional
element of play - victory, defeat,
humor, suspense.
 Harmony: Player-to-player
engagement – cooperation vs.
competition, helping vs. harming
 Threat: The risk of losing progress
or face, resulting in feelings of
tension, danger, and humiliation.

33. Layers Between Designer And Player

34. For each of the following game elements,
choose a domain that use of the element
each game gives a high or low experience in.

35. Game Mechanics
How are these experiences different?

36. Goals
How are these experiences different?

37. Resources
How are these experiences different?

38. Obstacles
How are these experiences different?

39. Feedback
How are these experiences different?

40. Number of Players
How are these experiences different?

41. Theme
How are these experiences different?

42. Story
How are these experiences different?

43. Art/Audio
How are these experiences different?

44. How To Create The Experience You Want
 Immersion: story, art/audio.
 Novelty: story, art/audio, mechanics,
obstacles.
 Challenge: goals, obstacles, resources.
 Simulation: pace, obstacles, multiplayer.
 Harmony: goals, obstacles, multiplayer.
 Threat: art/audio, mechanics, obstacles.

45. Let’s Go Make A Game!

46. 1. Download Game Maker 8.1 for Windows
Installer from from the LAFS GD1 website
Level 1 page
2. Download GD1 1 Resources from the
LAFS GD1 website Level 1 page
3. Create a Bounce The Ball game