Game
design is the development process of games in which there is
designing of the content, rules of a game. Design of gameplay,
environment, storyline, and characters are made during the production
stage. It requires artistic, technical and creative writing skills to
successfully have a brilliant design document for the game. So how
does it vary from the past to the now?
When
games were appearing the games designers, the artists, were the lead
programmers and were pretty much the only ones who could programme
the game. As games advanced it lead to game designers having to take
away their role of game programmer and give it to others. It then
started to become clear that there needed to be teams which
specialize in certain areas such as a team of programmers and a team
of game designers. With larger companies, these teams would have sub
leaders within them. Such as lead artist and junior artist who
specify in certain areas or levels and sytems within the game area.
It can even lead to multiple producers, lead designers, and general
designers in a team.
So
what is game desing overall? It starts with a simple idea, often
something that can be modified from something already real or
something completely new with only a few concepts and ideas. The game
itself may vary between many genres or can be specifically one genre
from the start. Most of the time mixing genres is something that
happens to find the right balance that suits the game that is being
created. After initial ideas, a design document must be made. This
will propose the initial concept, gameplay, feature list, setting and
story, target audience, requirements, schedule and the staff needed
to create the game as well as budget estimates for the game
production, making, staff payment etc. Some estiamtes and budgets may
be unreasnable and unachievable, thus this will mean the design
document needs to be changed. Sometimes it can be changed various
times throughout the course of its discussion between many artists
and programmers within the company. The designer needs to pinpoint
the important aspects of which the game will need and limit those
that it is not necessary. Whatever the designer concludes from the
design document can produce a positive or negative impact on the
game.
So
what does this game designer do exactly for the game and the
production of the game within the industry? A game designer within
the industry/company is the one who designs the gameplay of the game,
putting forward the idea and designing the rules and structure of the
game itself. But a game designer is not just down to one person.
There are others within the game designing department.
- There is a lead designer who coordinates other designers and are the main visionaires of the game. They ensure that there is communication, makes large decisions, and presents the design to outside the team. The lead designer is techincally and artistically very good. Keep a well designed and clean design document is also part of the role of the lead designer. He may be the founder of the game development company.
- There are also game mechanics or system designers who balance the rules in the game itself.
- Level designers or enviroment designer is a position which is becoming more demanding. These designers are realied on to create the levels, environment, and missions within the game.
- The writing designer is only employed part time. The specifically write the games narrative, commentary, journals, hint system and much more. This adds back story to the game and is probably one of the most vital where the get together with the primary designer to intertwin both the writing and game seamlessly.
“Don't ever take control away from the joypad/keyboard unless you really want to piss off the player.”
Dave
Perry
Next Generation
Magazine, January 1997
So
what is gameplay exactly? Gameplay is the specific way in which the
players interact with the game. It is the pattern in which is defined
by the rules of the game, and the connection between the player and
the game, the challenges, how to overcome those challenges, the
plot/storyline and how the player emotionally attaches to it. The
gamepl;ay can be greatly influenced by the audio and visual aspects
of the game too. If the graphics are poor on what is meant to be a
next gen game then the player will become frustrated and now be able
to fully connect with the game. The story line/plot has to be
significantly important to the player. If the game is meant to be
have an intense backstory to it, then it has to be shown, it has to
be told to the player. If it lacks and sways the player will become
uninterested in the game and will find it boring to play. So how
important is it for others to have a good gamplay within the game?
I
asked a few of my peers within my course and year on how important
they think it is for a game to have a good gameplay.
“It's pretty much
everything for me about a game. Take brink as an example. I couldnt
play it as the controls and general gameplay was too different. I
couldnt get use to it and gave up.” - Charlotte Clarke, Game Art,
Year 1
“I would say
game-play is important but along with other components such as the
visuals and storyline. I don't think game-play necessarily takes
preference over those, I find that I can still enjoy a game which may
not have smooth or easy game-play as long as the other two aspects
are strong. E.g. Deus Ex: HR had a big learning curve which was
difficult to adjust to for me, which I think is because of the choice
of going down the stealth route or run-and-gun option. The visuals
and storyline were amazing but near the ending the game-play (as well
as the several bosses) seemed to become very difficult, almost to the
point where I felt like I couldn't get past a certain part because I
chose the stealth option. The first boss I came across I couldn't
beat because I had no offensive weapons which I could use so I found
I had to replay a big chunk of it to gather weapons to get past that
part. Despite this, it is a game which I would play again because of
the strong storyline and twists and the striking visual style as well
as having the option of playing through the game in different ways
(which could make it easier for me as well if I went through it a
second time)” - Marietta Pickering, Game Art, Year 1
For me gameplay is
important and in all honesty I think it is important for a lot of
people who understand and become emotionally attached to games. I've
played many games that I have struggled to keep playing. Mainly
because the controls are too difficult, that graphics are awful and
even the characters and storyline are poor. Take “Balders Gate”
as an example. This game is fantastic. It's a classic PS2 game and I
throughly enjoyed the whole experience of playing it. It was a bird's
eye view RPG game with warriors, magicains, theifs and weird and
wonderful creatures. It had awesome weapons and the storyline was
absolutley fantastic. It is something I could play repeatedly and a
game i'll keep no matter what. But there are other games such as
“Condemned”. “Condemned” was an awful game. It seemed
enjoyable at first, but it got worse and worse the more I played it.
I found it harder to control and complete objectives and found it
overall boring. It just seemed pointless to play because I wasn't
getting any satisfaction out of it. A good game brings emotional
attachments and that's what “Balders Gate” brought me. But
“Condemned”, no.
However all games
must provide some variances in gameplay where it makes the game
itself interesing. However there are some games out there that
require different actions to bring different gameplay sections. It
allows the player to become more emersed in the game because it is
playing to what the player want. Some games focus on character
creation (Skyrim) or select teams and classes that bring advantages
or disadvantages to the situation (Call of Duty). This can also
relate to a quote that my peer was talking about. The game “Deus
Ex”. The game was initally designed so that you completely a
level/mission in a way that you want and there would be a specific
outcome that is relevant to how you go about it. Some may become
stealthy and take out enemies without a sound, others would possibly
run into the middle of the fight all guns blazing, and the outcome
would be relevant whether no one knows you are there, or whether you
kill innocent lives. But there are some negatives to this such as if
your stealthy the weapons and skills you obtain may not be enough to
kill a boss, and some guns blazing skills that are obtained may not
help when you have to be sneaky in a mission. It can become very
frustrating. Varied games can bring a sense of freedom to the whol
game, which some players become more emotionally attached because
they feel it's them in the screen and not just hold a controller or
mouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment