The Guide to Great
Video Games Design:
Research: Game Design
PLAN
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Familiarise myself on the basic rules of Games Design - interactions, experience, gameplay and mechanics
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How to begin ideation
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Methods and processes to make my intentions clearer
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Music for games
PROJECT GOALS
Drawbacks?
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We are aware of our project goals and have done a thorough amount of research into different technologies available to us and are looking towards creating an impactful experience.
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However, from the perspective of a Games Designer, we must consider player interactions, gameplay and mechanics as well as player experience and how we'd like the player to feel. This will involve 'Gamification' - to identify game-like elements of our research and create gameplay loops to do this.
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Our project goals can be found documented here: Phase 3 > Project Goals
Phase 3 - Project Ideation
Phase 3 is primarily based on idea generation and beginning to create game concepts related to our topics which we will then prototype and test later on.
Myself and Kiera have a few basic ideas on what we'd like to achieve, however we need to take into consideration the rules of game design to take this further. This involves looking into player experience and interactions.
HOW DO WE OVERCOME THIS?
Sources
To refresh my memory, I plan to do a little bit of research into Games Design and it's key factors as well as Player Agency and Interaction. This will help me to identify the kind of things we want from our game and use Game Design techniques to do this. I want to make sure I consider every element of Games Design in depth especially if it plays a significant part in my project. E.g. Player Experience and taking into account how the player feels throughout will be very important.
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Last year I read a section of 'Level Up!' to understand the rules of a Game Design Document and I feel this book will be perfect to remind myself of these elements.
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Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design
Book by Scott Rogers
Research Link:
Games Designer
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The designer's role is to "create the ideas and rules that comprise a game". They must have a love for games and be able to tell the difference between a good and bad game. Specialised professions include Level Designers, System designers, Coders and Creative Directors however, the role of a Designer is more or less the same.
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As a Games Designer, it's my responsibility to consider all the elements in-game such as player experience, mechanics, interactions, narrative, visual appearance and sound design!
Level 2: Ideas
Page 29
Identify, what do Gamers want?
"Don't be afraid to hold onto your unique vision: Just be aware that it may not turn out exactly how you envisioned".
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Games provide wish fulfilment
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Playing as characters people wish they could be, gives players a chance to be something they're not in reality - this can vary for each person, powerful, smart, sneaky, skilful, successful, rich, bad or heroic
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Who is your audience for your game?
Casual or hardcore players?
Rule out design decisions early on by establishing an audience near the beginning of the development process.
Ideation
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"Never dismiss a game idea, even if it does sound stupid"
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Get inspired
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Cram your head - watch, read and listen. Consume as much as you can. Apply your own perspective to things.
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Read something you usually wouldn't - adapt, take interest in new topics and become inspired.
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Take a walk, drive or shower
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Attend a lecture
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Play a game - good and bad, what are the differences?
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Follow your passion - use something you love in games design, you might not get the chance to again.
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"Follow your passions, designing your game won't even feel like work"
Brainstorming
What do you need?
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1. A working brain
2. Something to write with
3. Something to write on
4. A place to work
5. Collaborators
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Collaborate with people from other disciplines
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Write down all the things you want your game to be
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Use sticky notes, whiteboards, index cards and whatever works for you!
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Mind-maps, brainstorms, important to always note down ideas and thoughts!
To make a game...
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1. The one-sheet​​
2. The ten-pager
3. The beat chart
4. The Games Design Document (GDD)​
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In Semester 1 of Year 2, I familiarised myself with a Games Design Document and produced one for my own concept. I already have knowledge into this part of game creation so can apply what I already know to my current Project Proposal.
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Outline the following:
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Game title
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Target age of layers
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ESRB rating
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Game outline
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Character
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Gameplay
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Experience
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Mechanics
OTHER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE YOUR IDEAS
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Storyboards
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Diagrams - consistent shapes and colours to represent specific elements of the game (colour coding)
Animatics - animate your storyboards, see your gameplay in motion -
The Beat Chart - covers the entire span of the game and allows readers to understand every element of your game.
THE BEAT CHART
"Help you develop the content of your GDD and map the structure of your game"​
What is a Beat Chart?​
The Beat Chard is a method used to outline every aspect of the game, from the environment to the music to the mechanics at every stage. I can use this to refine my Project Proposal by breaking down each phase and establishing the individual game components.
Can also include​
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Hazards
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Mechanics
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Enemies
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Play time
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Power-ups
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Abilities
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Bonus materials
LEVEL 4: Gameplay​
Page 75
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An important aspect of our topic to focus on is Gameplay. I have expressed my concern for our game leaning more towards the 'experience' route so I believe reading up on gameplay and interactions will encourage me to consider these parts of my project.​
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This is more of a concern for the concepts which involve a physical space, as we'd have to do some research into how players can interact with the space whether that's with their physical bodies or input through a controller.
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Is the game divided into levels or rounds?
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Story chapters?
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Include big set pieces
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Use USP's from concept overview
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Utilises motion controls? Use 'move', 'tap', 'swipe' or 'pinch' - show readers how they'll be playing the game.
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Platform specific features
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Other technology requirements​​
LEVEL 4: Game Experience​
Page 76
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'Gestalt' - often used to describe the overall feeling of a work of art.
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To make the game feel like a complete experience -
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Answer the following questions:
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​How is the 'Gestalt' of your game going to be presented to the players?​​
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Unique interfaces? - Modes that enhance gameplay
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What do players first see when they start the games?
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What emotions/moods are meant to be invoked by your game?
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How are music and sound used to convey your game's feel?
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How do players navigate the shell of your game? - A simple flowchart diagram to show how players would do this
Gameplay Experience Structure
I found this image online which is a good example of how to map out the different gameplay elements of my game.
Mechanics
Page 354
"THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF MECHANICS"​
There are 4 types of mechanics that we can implement into our games - mechanics, hazards, props and puzzles.
Video game mechanics are objects that create gameplay once interacted with.
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Our project
In terms of our project, I believe the most effective forms of in-game interaction will be basic puzzles. Our project goals involve keeping players engaged and relaxed throughout, so simple interactions would allow for basic gameplay and player engagement.
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"Puzzle Me That"
Different types of puzzle games
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Logic puzzles - Often found in adventure games. Rely on finding inventory items and combining them to solve puzzles.
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Match three puzzles - Players match three or more icons for points. (E.g. Dungeon Raid series)
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Math puzzles - challenge players with arithmetic, multiplication, division etc. Disguise them in game.
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Physics puzzles - Similar to Angry Birds, they simulate real-world interactions between objects and environments to create challenges for players.
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Liquid physics puzzles - Simulate fluid dynamics from streams of water to giant waves. Consider viscosity, force and momentum.
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Trivia/knowledge - Players should feel smart for knowing the answers. Write a range of questions. How do players answer? Is it multiple choice, find the object or fill in the answer.
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Visual Puzzles - Rely on players' observation skills. People look for visual patterns, shapes, sizes and colours.
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Word Puzzles - visually uncomplicated
LEVEL 16: "Some Notes on Music"​
Page 427
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"Sound and music can bring so much to a game that leaving it until the last minute means missing out on some great design opportunities".
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Simple but memorable music such as Pac-man, Donkey Kong or The Legend of Zelda
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Licensed music
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What kind of music do you want to use?
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Original music - A composition created specifically for your game.
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Original Music for Games
It's clear that music is a huge part of our experience so Sound Design is a major component which will require our full focus and attention to detail. We intend for the music to evoke emotions in players which encourage emotional regulation. Throughout my Music Psychology Research I found that music can be intentionally composed to do this, adjusting musical patterns to establish the kind of mood you'd like to create. During the development of our project we can focus on creating our own original music to achieve this.
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What are your musical needs?​
Scott Rogers suggests preparing a list of your musical needs. How many unique tracks will you need? How do you want players to feel in the game? Are sound effects necessary?
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Examples of sound effects
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Movement
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Attacks
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Impacts
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Weapons
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Hit reactions
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Vocal cues
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Death
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Success
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"Prevent sound effects from creating cacophony" - too many sounds playing at once, can also cause Sensory Overload so we must take this into account.​​​
"Musical Terms useful to know"​
Page 429​​
Music & Gameplay​
Page 438
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Because of the importance of music in our game I thought I'd read up this section of Rogers book regarding Music and Gameplay.​
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"Sound not only is effective for communicating what is going on in the game, but also can be used for gameplay".
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Short-term memory games - Requires players to memorise and repeat a short piece of music. This helps to have a visual component to gameplay.
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Rhythm games - Keep in time to the beat of the music. Account for player fatigue and external devices/instruments.
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Pitch games - match a song's pitch. These require a microphone to play.
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Music Creation games - Blur the lines between music creation tool and game.
Examples of Games to analyse
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Electroplankton (Nintendo, 2005)
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Rhythm Heaven (Nintendo, 2008)
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Fluid​​
SUMMARY​
To summarise my research into Great Video Games Design, I have familiarised myself with key game elements to be applied to the design of my own project as well as methods and processes to do so. Throughout my research I will remind myself of the questions I should be asking within each phase, such as how would I like players to feel? Or how do players navigate around this stage? This ensures I get my intentions across clearly and can be more direct within my final Project Proposal. I will be sure to include diagrams, flowcharts and experience maps to do this.
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This research has kept me on track to design the game from a Games Designer's perspective rather than an experience/exhibition designer! It's important for me to focus on the interactions and gameplay - what makes this a game rather than just an experience? I will apply these techniques to each concept and demonstrate this in my prototypes.