4. Players vs. Designers
Players want the fun of playing a game as well as the
enjoyment of being with their friends.
Game designers are focused on how the game
works:
How do you make it, and how to you break it?
What are the different elements and how do they
fit together?
What skill level does a player need to
successfully play and win?
Does each player have an equal chance of
winning and a fair chance of experiencing all that
the game has to offer?
5. 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 then
open your doors to guests to
see what happens.
9. Stage 1: Consumer
We all begin our game
designer lives as game
consumers. To consumers,
game design is pure magic.
Consumers believe that a
game designer imagines a
game, then creates it exactly
as he or she envisioned it.
10. Stage 2: Tinkerer
Tinkerers tend to imagine new
games in terms of modifications
(often additions) to existing
games, sticking closely to their
underlying rule sets. Or by
making game levels. However,
Tinkerers begin to realize that
game design is not magic, but it is
a lot of work.
11. Stage 3: Masher
Mashers envision new
games as collages of
existing game genres,
mechanics and themes.
They tend to focus on these
elements rather than on the
player experience.
12. Stage 4: Creator
Before long, a game designer will shift
his or her focus and work style. Instead
of having visions of a specific game, the
designer will be interested in exploring
broad or incomplete ideas.
Designers at this stage approach new
games with a healthy emotional
distance. They know that the initial idea
is very rarely the best implementation,
so keeping an open mind and keeping
nothing sacred will tend to result in
better final games.
13. Design Specialties
Lead Designer
System Designer
User Interface Designer
Technical Designer
Level Designer
Content Designer
Game Writer
15. Discussion
Why is communication the game designer’s
core skill?
What other skills does a game designer need?
Why is “idea guy” a poor definition for what a
game designer does?
Why shouldn’t game designers get too
attached to their ideas?
What is the number one cause of failed
games?
16.
17. The Iterative Design Process
Every game takes
its own journey
from concept to
product, but
skilled designers
use the iterative
design process
Teale Fristoe
18. Ideas
All games start out as
ideas. It’s very possible
that initial ideas will be
(or should be)
abandoned, and lots of
new ideas will be
considered during the
process.
19. Inspiration
Ideas don’t come out of thin air. Game designers are
influenced by personal interests and hobbies.
Spend a significant part of every day doing something
other than playing games:
Read a book
Go see a play
Listen to music
Exercise, draw or sketch
Take a class
Volunteer at a neighborhood organization
21. Stages of Creativity
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes
the classic stages of creativity:
Preparation: Becoming interested in a topic
Incubation: Period where ideas “churn around”
in your subconscious
Insight: The “aha!” moment, where an idea
comes together
Evaluation: Deciding whether the insight is
worth pursuing
Elaboration: Fleshing out the idea
22. Game Idea Sources
Brilliant Inspiration
Licensing Hook
Technology Hook
Filling A Gap
Following Coattails
Orders From Above
Sequels
23. Brainstorming
A group creativity technique
to find a solution to a
specific problem by
gathering a list of ideas
spontaneously contributed
by its members. In games,
brainstorming is used to
generate a large number of
ideas about game's concept,
mechanics, setting,
characters, etc.
24. Brainstorming
Osborn’s method of brainstorming
has four general rules:
Focus on quantity
Withhold criticism
Welcome unusual ideas
Combine and improve ideas
Alex F. Osborn
25. Advice About Ideas
Come up with more ideas than you’ll need
Never rule out an idea as bad until you’ve tested it
Never accept an idea as good until you’ve tested it
Do not get emotionally attached to ideas
26. Planning
Once a designer has promising
ideas, it’s time to test them. Here,
the keys are minimalism and focus.
Identify what the most important
questions you want to answer are
and figure out the quickest way of
discovering those answers.
27. Prototype
Create a prototype that answers the questions at hand.
A prototype is an early playable version of the game,
section of game, or game system.
A prototype, whether paper
or electronic, should be:
• Playable
• Quick to Make
• Easy to Change
28. Playtesters
Playtesters are the people who play your game
and provide feedback on the experience.
Observe their experience
Pay attention to what
interests or frustrates
them
They are your guide and
it’s your mission to let
them lead you
29. Playtesting
OTHER TESTING
Alpha Testing
Focus Group Testing
Closed Beta
Open Beta
Playtesting is an iterative process where the game is tested, the
designer makes changes based on feedback, and the game is
retested, over and over.
31. Discussion
How soon should you begin playtesting
your game?
Why is listening so important during
playtesting?
How much talking should a designer do
with playtesters?
Who is the worst playtester? Who is the
best?
32. Evaluate
After you playtest, consider your data.
How does it answer your questions?
If you were testing the quality of an
idea, did it pass the test, or should it
be thrown out?
If you saw problems, what caused the
problems, and what can you do to fix
them?
33. Done?
Knowing when a game is finished
can be even more difficult. A game
is never finished, it’s just due.
But you often won’t have external
due dates, so it can be tempting to
go on making tiny tweaks ad
infinitum. Eventually, you’ll have to
accept that a game is as good as
it’s going to get.
34.
35.
36. Game Concept
Defined by four elements:
Hardware Platform: Determines the controller
configuration and technical limitations
Genre: Determines what the gameplay will feel like.
Genres can be categorized by along two dimensions:
Action vs. Strategy and Exploration vs. Conflict
Core Mechanic: Determines what the player will
actually do in the game
Key Features: Determines what makes the game
different or better than other games in that genre
37. Pitch Presentation
A pitch is a concise verbal
(and sometimes visual)
presentation for a film, TV
series, or game, made by
the producer to an executive
in the hope of getting the
financing to do
development. "Pitch" is a
contraction of "sales pitch."
38. Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a short summary used
to quickly and simply define a product and
its value. The name "elevator pitch"
reflects the idea that it should be possible
to deliver the summary in the time span of
an elevator ride, or approximately thirty
seconds to two minutes.
The term itself comes from the scenario of
accidentally meeting someone important in
an elevator. If the conversation inside the
elevator in those few seconds is
interesting and value adding, then the
conversation will continue after the
elevator ride or end in the exchange of a
business card or a scheduled meeting.
39. Example Pitch
Somehow it always falls to
Mustachio to rally his friends for
their many adventures. Run and
jump through a side-
scrolling world made of and
inhabited by blocks. With
mustaches. A world full of action,
puzzles and arbitrary danger that
Mustachio faces boldly with his
mustache-fueled power to
make block duplicates of himself.
What? Cloning AND mustaches?!
You betcha!
Elements:
• Game Title
• Genre
• Target Customer
• Play Value
• Competition
• Differentiation
40. Mood Board
A Mood Board is a type of collage
that may consist of images and
text that graphic designers use to
visually illustrate the style they are
pursuing. Mood Boards can also
be used to visually explain a style
of writing or an imaginary setting
for a storyline. They serve as a
visual tool to quickly inform others
of the overall "feel" (or "flow") that
a designer is trying to achieve.
41. Greenlighting
To green-light is to give
permission to go ahead to move
forward with a project. In the
game industry, to green-light
something is to formally
approve its production finance,
and to commit to this financing,
thereby allowing the project to
move forward from pre-
production to production.
42. Game Design Document (GDD)
The lead designer is the principle
author of all the game design
document.
To a programmer and artist, it is
the instructions for implementation.
However, design documentation
should be a team effort, because
almost everyone on the team plays
games and can make great
contributions to the design.
43. GDD Topics
High Concept
Background Story
Tone
Objective
Gameplay
Interface
Camera Perspective
Story Structure
Multiplayer
Difficulty
Completion Time
AI
44. GDD – Other Topics
Characters
License
World
Controls
Menu Structure
Levels
Graphics
Cut Scenes
Music
Sound Effects
45. The Soul of the Game
A good GDD describes not just the
Body but the Soul of the game.
It should convey the feel that the
game should have, the purpose
behind each element, the
experience each user will have,
and any other aspects of the
game's look and feel the designer
can envision and describe.
46.
47. Game Genres
Action
Ball and Paddle
Beat’em Up
Fighting Game
Maze Game
Pinball Game
Platform Game
Shooter
○ First Person Shooter
○ MMO FPS
○ Light Gun Shooter
○ Shoot ‘Em Up
○ Tactical Shooter
○ Rail Shooter
○ Third Person Shooter
Action-Adventure
Stealth Game
Survival Horror
Adventure
Real-Time 3D Adventure
Text Adventure
Graphic Adventure
Visual Novel
Role-Playing
Western/Japanese RPGs
Fantasy RPGs
Sandbox RPGs
Action RPGs
MMORPGs
Rogue RPGs
Tactical RPGS
Simulation
Construction/Management
Life
Vehicle
Strategy
4X Game
Artillery Game
Real-time Strategy
Real-time Tactics
Tower Defense
Turn-based Strategy
Turn-based Tactics
Wargame
Other
Casual Game
Music Game
Party Game
Programming Game
Puzzle Game
Sprots Game
Trivia Game
Board Game
50. Game Genres
Defined by gameplay interaction
Classified independent of their setting
Most fall within one genre but some are a
combination of two or more genres
52. Discussion
When combining genres, what should you
focus on?
What is wrong with the hacking minigame
in BioShock?
What’s right with the combat in
PuzzleQuest?
53. Core Game Elements
Player Format
Objectives
Procedures
Rules
Resources
Theme (for some games)
54. Player Format
Single Player vs. Game (Player vs. Environment)
Player vs. Player (Head-to-Head)
Multiple Individual Players vs. Game
Unilateral Multiplayer (One vs. Many)
Multilateral Competition (One vs. One vs. One…
or Free-For-All)
Cooperative Play
Team Competition
56. Player Roles
Sports: Team Leader vs. Team Mate
Mastermind: Codemaker vs. Codebreaker
D&D: Fighter, Magic User, Cleric or Thief
MUD: Achievers, Socializers, Explorers or Killers
57. Objectives (or Goals)
Objectives give players something to
strive for. They define what players are
attempting to accomplish within the
rules of the game.
Ideally, they should be:
Obtainable, but challenging to reach
Worthy of obtaining
Immediately replaced by new goals
60. Procedures
Procedures are the methods of play and the actions
players can take to achieve them.
One way to think about procedures is:
Who does what, when, where and how.
61. Types of Procedures
Set Up or Starting Action: How to put the game
into play.
Progression: Ongoing procedures after the starting
action.
Special Actions: Available conditional to other
elements or game state.
Resolution, or Resolving Actions: Bring gameplay
to a close.
62. Rules
Rules define game objects and allowable actions by the players.
In digital games, rules can be explained in the manual or they
can be explicit in the game itself.
Too many rules might make make the game too complicated for
the players to understand.
Leaving rules unstated or poorly communicating them might
make players feel confused or alienated.
Rules should be consistent with the game’s theme.
63. Rule Hierarchy
Rules
Mechanics
Systems
Scoring
Progression
Economics
Examples of
Systems
Combat
Artificial Intelligence
Multiplayer
64. Resources
Resources are assets that are used to
accomplish the game’s goals.
Resources must both be useful and be
scarce (or they lose their value).
Managing resources and determining how
and when to control player access to them
is a key part of a game designer’s job.
65. Examples of Resources
Lives
Health
Currency
Actions
Energy
Mana
Time
Moves
Turns
Power-Ups
Building Materials
Combat Units
Inventory Items
Spells
Territory
Special Terrain
Information
66. Theme
Setting: The time and/or place where a
game takes place
Characters: The people in the game setting
whose actions cause the game (or game
story) to progress
Story: A series of game events related to the
game’s setting or characters that presents
the player with an initial problem to solve
near the game’s start and brings closure
near the game’s end
Helps players become engaged
Makes game easier to learn
Tells a compelling story
67. Abstract Games
While many games are thematic, some are
abstract, meaning that they don’t have a theme.
69. The Player’s Journey
“Great games are compelling because the
player’s experience and expertise changes
over time in meaningful ways.” – Amy Jo Kim
70. Experience Phases
Therefore, a good game designer will look at one game as 4
different games, which emphasizes on the 4 Experience Phases
of a game, as defined by Professor Kevin Werbach:
Discovery
Onboarding
Scaffolding
Endgame
71. Discovery Phase
This is when people first discover your
game.
How did they find it? Was it from a friend?
Through the news? Or a clever marketing
campaign?
How do we entice players to enter the
Magic Circle and experience the other
phases?
72. Onboarding Phase
This is when you train them to become familiar with the rules
of the game, options, mechanics, and the win state.
This is what most designers focus on because everyone
thinks once a player plays their game for some time, they will
fall in love with it.
Mastering the Onboarding Process can get your users to
start participate in your game with excitement and interest.
73. Scaffolding Phase
This is the phase where players use all the rules and options
they learned during onboarding to try to achieve the win-
state.
This is where the most “fun” should happen.
Once you have a well designed win state in scaffolding, you
will start to see player engagement and motivation.
74. Endgame Phase
This is when players have done everything there is to do at least
once and are starting to see more repetitive actions to get to the
win-state.
In this phase, if the designer didn’t create a good endgame, people
easily get bored and quit the game.
But a good endgame can be achieved through evergreen
mechanics as well as creating a system where the game producers
can easily add new content in a system consistently.
If you mastered the endgame, you will create a lot of contributors,
evangelists, and long-term customers.
75. Game Design Goals
Fun
Interactive
Social
Easy to Learn
Hard to Master
Well-Paced
Immersive
Replay Value
Affordable
Manageable in
Scope and Time
76. Flow
Flow is the mental state of operation in which a
person performing an activity is fully immersed in a
feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and
enjoyment in the process of the activity.
When players experience flow, time stops, nothing
else matters and when they finally come out of it,
they have no concept of how long they have been
playing.
77. Flow
Psychology professor Mihayli
Csikszentmihalyi identified some key factors
that could lead to such a phenomenon:
Clear goals and progress
Constant and Immediate feedback
Balance between the perceived challenge
and the perceived level of skill needed
79. Flow
If a challenge exceeds
the abilities of the
current skill level, it can
lead to frustration
If the skill level is
increasing faster than
the challenge, it leads to
boredom
Both of these will
normally end with the
player leaving the game
80. Flow
If we combine the ideas of
Flow and Player Journey,
you can begin to see how a
game, in theory, should
behave in an ideal world.
You start off with a
challenge that is acceptable
for a new comer who is
starting in the game – on-
boarding.
Over time, you increase the
challenge as skills
increase. Most games tend
to build up each level to a
boss battle of some type.
81. Flow
Not all games have this
“ideal flow”.
A game like Tetris would
have a flow like the top line.
Tetris. There are no lulls in
the progression with Tetris.
It just gets faster and faster,
and you might feel
frustrated until you achieve
Mastery.
A game like WOW would
have a flow like the bottom
line. You must endure
grinding until you get to the
interesting sequences.
85. Discussion
Why were early video games so difficult to
play?
How did the game industry transition to the
philosophy of “Everyone Wins”?
Why are we seeing more difficult games
now?
What’s the difference between “difficult”
and “punishing”?
86. Difficult vs. Punishing
Rules should be consistent
Players should be given enough resources
to solve challenges
Players need to be given enough
information to make decisions
The player’s choices should be meaningful
87. Difficult vs. Punishing
Randomness should only be used for
variety and uncertainty (replay value)
Low iteration time for trying again
Create useable control interfaces
When the player fails, they should feel they
could have done better
88. Balance
A balanced game does
not give an unequal
advantage to any player
(or the game system).
The relative strength of different resources,
mechanics, objectives and starting states.
89. Are these two characters balanced?
The fighter, on the left, can do 6 points damage,
but the archer, on the right, does only 1 point of
damage.
90. Perfect Inbalance
Slight deviations from
perfect balance so players
can discover what choices
will give them an edge
Cyclical Inbalance: When
players gravitate to a weaker
gameplay element looking
for ways to defeat a stronger
one.
91. Metagaming
Metagame literally means 'beyond the game' and refers to
any planning, preparation, or maneuvering that a player
does outside of actual gameplay to gain an advantage.
Strategic decisions to exploit the game’s rules
Strategic decisions to exploit an opponent's or map's
style of play
Strategic decisions to exploit a player's reaction or
weakened mental state in the future. This is also known
as 'mind games' or 'psychological warfare'.
92. Complexity
The greater the
complexity, the
harder it is to
learn how to
play the game.
The number of rules or the number of elements
with which the player interacts.
93. A cluttered or non-intuitive interface can also
make a game too complex.
94. Complexity ≠ Difficulty
Difficulty Complexity
How much effort or skill is
needed to accomplish a task?
How many different steps or
skills are needed to
accomplish a task?
How many people can
accomplish a task correctly?
How many different ways can
a task be accomplished?
Easy or Hard Simple or Complex
95. Depth
The greater the
depth, the harder
it is master the
game.
The ability to find enjoyment in a game as one’s
skill improves.
96. Depth
Tic-Tac-Toe has few decisions, but it also
has few rules
Chess has more rules and elements, but it
has many interesting decisions
Monopoly has even more rules and
elements, but relatively few meaningful
decisions
Depth is directly related to the number of
interesting decisions the player can make.
97. Complexity vs. Depth
You want to create as much depth without
too much complexity.
Depth comes from complexity, but too much
complexity also reduces depth.
Elegance in design is therefore something
that is high in depth to complexity ratio.
98. Ways to Reduce Complexity
A well-crafted tutorial
Don’t require the player to learn all the rules
before they start playing
Intuitive user interface
Lower the rate at which player’s must make
decisions
99. Pace
Pace is the speed of play, or how quickly the
player receives information and takes action
or makes decisions.
Turn-Based Real-Time
101. Proper Pacing
Grab the player’s attention at the start, but keep it
short
Give them a breather to set the proper baseline for
the experience
Oscillate engagement level in a steadily increasing
manner
Intermittent reinforcement is more powerful than
constant reinforcement
Bring player’s down after an intense experience so
that they feel closure
102. Engagement Segments
Arc: The game as a whole
Scene: A subsection or level of the
game (this has its own engagement
curve)
Action: A specific moment of player
experience (even this should follow
an engagement curve)
103. Replay Value
Play Value: The reason a person plays a
game
Replay Value: The reason they play a
game over and over again
Designers increase replay value by:
Adding more choices to make and things
to discover
Increasing depth
Multiplayer gameplay
105. Sid Meier: Everything You Know Is
Wrong
Game design is a psychological experience in
which the designer needs to make the player
feel good about playing the game
Winner Paradox: Player gladly accepts a win,
but complains about an (unsatisfactory) loss
Unholy Alliance (between designer and player):
It’s important for the designer to make the
player feel good about their ability, while the
player needs to suspend their disbelief
The First Fifteen Minutes: Needs to be very
engaging and foreshadows the rest of the game
Sid Meier
Hinweis der Redaktion
Game designers take on many different roles:
Builders make worlds to explore.
Engineers make systems and mechanics that link together into a complete picture
Scientists test new ways to improve the play experience
Teachers teach players what to do and how the rules of the game work
Dreams create new, unique, amazing experiences.
A game begins with a concept. Most, everybody already has lots of ideas for games they want to work on. And not just the designers. Programmers, managers, artists, executives, testers, marketers, salesmen - they ALL have game ideas. Perhaps they all chat up their ideas, perhaps some of them have written concept papers to present their ideas.
Some examples of possible sources of game concepts:
Brilliant inspiration - a designer or artist or someone on the team has an idea for a game, usually one that's revolutionary and not yet done to death in the marketplace. Most industry outsiders probably think this is the main source of game ideas, but that ain't necessarily so.
The license hook - Perhaps the game company has acquired the license for (the rights to make a game based upon) a movie or personality or book or whatever. Star Wars, Tony Hawk, Hollywood Squares. Jackass, Junkyard Wars, Battlebots, Martha Stewart. (Okay, so nobody has made a Martha Stewart game yet, but you get the idea.) If the company has spent a lot of money to acquire a license, you can bet that they're going to want to make a game based on that license.
The technology hook - Perhaps the engineers have spent a lot of time, energy, and money to create some game technology (an engine or a way of making a game machine do something new, like water or fog). Perhaps the decision makers decide they want to make a game that takes advantage of this technology.
Filling a gap - The company's marketing wizards might analyze the market and decide that there is a genre or platform that is under-represented (either by the industry as a whole, or by the company itself) and that it would be a good idea to make that kind of game.
Following coattails - The executives look with awe upon the success and profitability of a particular game (made and published by another company), and decide to ride the tailwind of that game by making something similar.
Orders from above - Perhaps the boss gets an idea for a game (it might be his pet idea or it might just be a passing fancy), and the designer is set to work on the details.
Sequels - self-explanatory.
Alpha Testing: Playtesting done by the designer and other members of the development team.
Focus Group Testing: Playtesting conducted by invited potential customers, with an interview or survey conducted afterwards.
Closed Beta: Online testing conducted by selected potential customers, usually under NDA.
Open Beta: Online testing conducted by the general public.
Basic Concept -- What is the "high concept" of the game?
Background Story -- If applicable, tell the story of the game that leads into the beginning of the game, and tell the story that unfolds during gameplay, if any (in the case of a puzzle game like SHANGHAI, for instance, this is probably unnecessary -- but it would be necessary for something like ALIENS VS. PREDATOR).
What is the tone? What is the basic narrative? What is the "heart" of the story? Is it a linear story?
Objective -- Describe the objective of the game.
If the objective is simply "get as many points as possible," then state it so. But if the objective is "rescue the princess," then that's another matter. In either case, give as much detail as possible to aid the reader in having some basis in understanding the rest of the design document as he reads on. What is the player's goal and why would they want to accomplish it?
Gameplay -- Describe the way the game works, from beginning to end.
After powering up (or booting), is there a title screen, what does it look like, is there an options screen, what are the choices, is there an animated sequence, can it be bypassed and how...
Then, when the game begins, we see our hero appear in a scene. Describe the scene and what happens next. If nothing happens until the user does something, describe what the user's options are and what happens as a result of all possible actions. Keep in mind that most games to some extent are controlled by the user. The hero doesn't automatically do anything; the user, when playing the game optimally, might cause the hero to do such-and-such an act, which would cause the computer-controlled enemy to do this, and the user's options are to do X and Y...
Describe the A.I. of the computerized opponent(s), if any. It is sometimes helpful to write a "walkthrough" of the game to further enhance the reader's ability to visualize the game.
What is the planned interface?
What is the planned perspective (1st person vs. 3rd person)?
What is the basic interactive structure? (e.g. Chapters vs. Great Middle Section, Levels, etc.).
What is the "heart" of the gameplay? (e.g. speed, actions, style, continuous, turnbased, etc.?
How does multi-player work?
How difficult is the game?
How long will it take the average player to complete?
Characters -- List and describe the characters in the game, if any. Tell something about their personalities and capabilities, and how they act in the game. Who does the player play?
Single/multi player? Are there other key characters?
License Exploitation -- If the characters are based on a license (such as in ALIENS VS. PREDATOR), provide some discussion of how the licensed characters will exploit the popular features of the license.
World -- Describe the scene(s) in which the action takes place, if applicable. In the case of an adventure game (such as LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS 2), the design document should probably be organized primarily by location, showing all characters and objects there, and indicating what events occur there. If locations in the game can be visited in any order, then list them in either the optimum order or in the order one might visit them if traveling in the simplest path.
Controls -- Describe the user interface.
How does the user cause all game actions to occur? In the case of a cartridge game, describe all uses of the buttons on the controller. In the case of a computer game, describe which peripherals the game supports and how they are used to accomplish all game actions.
Describe the on-screen interface (if there is a score and a life gauge... if there is an inventory icon and dialogue choices...), and how it works.
Describe all menus in detail, and chart out the "shell" structure.
Onscreen text messages are also part of the interface -- if not detailing all onscreen messages in this document, describe in general terms what they will be like.
Graphics -- Describe the general style of the graphics.
In the case of a game with multiple graphics modes, tell which one will be used. Whenever there are other games or products to which the reader can refer for a feel of the graphics style, it's a good idea to mention it.
It is best to include some sketches of some game scenes to aid in the visualization of the game. Show a typical scene and give some indication of what we're looking at.
Sketches should be included of what the characters (if any) will look like.
Show what the on-screen user interface looks like, and include callouts so the reader knows what's what.
Detailed art list will be a separate list (not part of this document).
Sounds and Music -- Describe at least the general manner in which sound effects will be used in the game.
Every action in the game should be accompanied by a sound, and the sounds should be prioritized so that the important sounds don't get "stepped on" by less important sounds.
Describe how the sounds will be created. If sampled digitized sound effects or voices are to be used in the game, tell about that in some detail.
Describe the general style of the music, with some references to other well-known music for the reader's edification. Tell how music will be used in the game.
Detailed sound, voice, and music lists will be separate (not part of this document).
There are many different genres of games.
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Video game genres are used to categorize video games based on their gameplay interaction rather than visual or narrative differences. They are classified independent of their setting or game-world content, unlike other works of fiction such as films or books. For example, an action game is still an action game, regardless of whether it takes place in a fantasy world or outer space.
Within game studies there is a lack of consensus in reaching accepted formal definitions for game genres, some being more observed than others. Like any typical taxonomy, a video game genre requires certain constants. Most video games feature challenges to overcome, so video game genres can be defined where challenges are met in substantially similar ways.
Most games fall within a particular category. Some bridge different gaming styles and, thus, could appear under more than one category simultaneously.
Every game is built around four core game elements: player format, objectives, rules, and resources.
A fifth element, theme, is also central to many games.
Single-player: one player vs. game system. Most video games are of this player format.
Head-to-head: one player vs. one player: Fighting games are an example.
Cooperative: many players against vs. the game system. This is common in online games like World of Warcraft.
One against many: one player vs. multiple players. In the Nintendo Land game Luigi’s Ghost Mansion for the Wii U game system, one player takes the role of a ghost trying to scare the other players while they work together to trap the ghost with their flashlights.
Free-for-all: One player vs. one player vs. one player vs…. Perhaps the most common player structure for multiplayer games, this can be found everywhere from board games like Monopoly to the basic mode in most competitive first-person shooter games.
Team Competition: Multiple players vs. multiple players (including pair vs. pair). This is found in most team sports games.
Strategic (mental) and reflex (physical) gameplay are different expressions of player skill. In both cases, the player has control over the outcome through his decisions and actions.
By contrast, chance-based mechanics have a randomized outcome. Chance adds uncertainty to a game, which can create tension and make it more exciting. Too much randomness can be frustrating. Players want to make meaningful decisions, but decisions lose meaning if the outcomes are decided solely by dice rolls or card shuffles.
Chance-based mechanics also come in different flavors with different mathematical characteristics. Determining the right type and amount of chance-based mechanics is a big part of being a game designer.
There are three categories of rules, all important to a successful play experience:
Setup involves things you do once at the beginning of a game
Progression entails what happens during a game
Resolution indicates the conditions that cause the game to end and how an outcome is determined based on the game state.
Mechanics are a collection of rules that form a discrete chunk of gameplay.
Systems are collections of mechanics that make up the biggest chunks of the game.
Thematic elements – stories, settings, characters – give games topics. They answer the question, “What is this game about?”, which is different from the question, “What is this gameplay about?”
Not every game has a theme, and not every game needs a theme. However, a well-chosen theme can have a big impact on a game.
Thematic elements have three primary purposes:
Help players become more engaged. Players personalize the game experience if they identify with the character. Similarly, an interesting setting can add emotional weight. A game set in a fantasy realm will cause a different response from one set in World War II, even with the same game mechanics.
Make the game easier to learn. Players in a racing game, for example, expect mechanics for accelerating, braking and steering because that’s how real vehicles work.
Tell a compelling story. Games can be used to convey interesting stories, just like other media.
Themes can also create expectations. Such expectations can create unwritten rules for how a player or designer thinks a game “should” be played.
Games can be difficult, but not so punishing that they turn the player away.
Rules should be consistent. Examples of inconsistency are monsters that are killable in some situations but not in others. In general, the more difficult a game is, the less it can change its rules on the fly.
For something to be enjoyably difficult rather than punishing, it has to give the player an outlet to resolve problems in new ways. When the player fails at overcoming an option, he needs alternate choices so that he has an opportunity to succeed.
The player needs the ability to make informed choices about the game, even if they are split second ones.. Everything needs to hint at its consequences in some small way.
Randomness should only be used for variety and uncertainty (replay value), not for determining the achievement of goals.
When the player fails at meeting an challenge, lower the iteration time when he can do that challenge over again and try something new. Get the player back into the action right way.
Game controls should be usable. Don’t set up complex keyboard or controller combos that are difficult to manipulate.
Whe a player fails, you want them to always feel that they could have done better. You want them to have that “aha” moment when they realize there was some small thing they could have done differently.
Balance is a description of the relative strength of different resources, mechanics, objectives and starting states.
At its highest level, a balanced game does not give an unequal advantage or disadvantage to any player (or to the game system itself).
Consider the classic rock-paper-scissors game. One player might win more often because of skill or luck but not because the game mechanics favored him or her.
Similarly, balance applies to decisions within a game. If a player can choose between two different paths but one or two is always better, the game is not balanced.
When determining whether several different options are balanced, the designer needs to consider all the factors. A fighter may do much more damage in one attack than an archer, but the archer can do many attacks before the figher approaches to attack range.
You don’t always want things to be perfectly balanced. In fact, in most games, you want to make sure there are some inbalances in your system. Not big ones, but carefully crafted subtle ones.
A perfectly balanced game can actually reduce the number of meaningful choices a player can make and the strategies for winning a game can eventually be mapped out, making it difficult to devise new strategies. Chess is an example of this.
A slightly imprefectly balanced game can create a metagame in which there is no one definitive play style for winning. With subtle deviations from perfect balance, part of the game is to figure out what actions will give the player an edge.
In Cyclical Imbalance:
Each game element has some sort of weakness
Players need a wide range of options to handle any obastacle
The highest level of strategy in many complex games, metagame refers to any aspect of strategy that involves thinking about what your opponent is thinking you are thinking.
Metagame comes into play in any game where no single strategy is dominant and opposing sides are aware of multiple strategies that can succeed dependent upon opponents' actions. In order to perform at the highest level, it then becomes necessary to think about what your opponent thinks you will do (which may depend on what he thinks you think he thinks he will do, etc.) and to make decisions based on clues regarding what level they are working on.
Pace describes the speed of play. Specifically, it is how quickly the player receives information and makes decisions or takes action.
Consider two strategy games, StarCraft and Risk. Both games are about controlling territory and resources, winning battles, and defeating an opponent. In Risk, play is not simultaneous – only one player takes a turn at a time – and turns have no time limits. By contrast, StarCraft play is simultaneous and real-time.
Star Wares: A New hope instantly grabs the viewer’s attention with the opening scene of the Rebel ship being capture. The engagement sequence then progresses in a series of hills and valleys, building higher and higher until the climacitic destruction of the Death Star.
Virtually all good entertainment has a similar pacing curve.
If play value is the reason someone plays a game, then replay value is the reason someone plays a game over and over again.
Designers increase replay value by introducing choices of characters, difficulties, starting positions, maps, levels, storylines and more. All of these options add novelty to additional play sessions. Increasing gameplay depth also increases replay value. Lastly, mutltiplayer games generally have more replay value than single-player games.
Like with movies and music, games can have subjects that are not suitable for all ages. Age appropriateness refers to the age or maturity level of a game’s intended audience. For example, a game with minimal cartoon violence might be suitable for young children, but a game with frequent, graphic violence would be more appropriate for a much older audience.