Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. 5 Ed

Cover....1 Endorsements Page....2 Half Title....4 Title Page....6 Copyright Page....7 Table of Contents....8 Foreword....21 Preface....23 Acknowledgments....25 Image Credits and Copyright Notices....28 Introduction....31 Part 1 Game Design Basics....34 Chapter 1 The Role of the Game Designer....36 An Advocate for the Player....36 Playtesters....37 Passions and Skills....39 Communication....39 Teamwork....40 Process....41 Inspiration....41 Becoming a Better Player....43 Creativity....44 A Playcentric Design Process....45 Setting Player Experience Goals....46 Prototyping and Playtesting....46 Designers You Should Know....47 Iteration....50 The Iterative Design Process....53 Prototypes and Playtesting in the Industry....56 Designing for Innovation....58 Conclusion....58 Designer Perspective: Christina Norman....59 Designer Perspective: Warren Spector....62 Further Reading....64 End Notes....65 Chapter 2 The Structure of Games....66 Go Fish versus Quake....66 Go Fish....67 Quake....67 Comparison....68 Engaging the Player....74 Challenge....74 Play....74 Premise....75 What is a Puzzle?....76 Character....81 Story....81 Dramatic Elements....82 The Sum of the Parts....82 Defining Games....83 Beyond Definitions....84 Conclusion....86 Designer Perspective: Jane McGonigal....87 Designer Perspective: Randy Smith....90 Further Reading....92 End Notes....92 Chapter 3 Working with Formal Elements....93 Players....93 Invitation to Play....94 Number of Players....94 Roles of Players....95 Player Interaction Patterns....96 Persuasive Games....102 Objectives....105 Summary....111 Procedures....111 Connect Four....112 Super Mario Bros....112 Comparison....112 System Procedures....112 Defining Procedures....113 Rules....114 Rules Defining Objects and Concepts....115 Rules Restricting Actions....116 Rules Determining Effects....117 Defining Rules....117 Resources....117 Lives....118 Units....119 Health....119 Currency....119 Actions....120 Power-Ups....121 Inventory....121 Special Terrain....122 Time....122 Conflict....123 Obstacles....124 Opponents....124 Dilemmas....124 Boundaries....125 The Mechanic is the Message....126 Outcome....129 Conclusion....130 Designer Perspective: Derek Yu....131 Further Reading....133 End Notes....133 Chapter 4 Working with Dramatic Elements....134 Challenge....135 A Challenging Activity That Requires Skill....136 The Merging of Action and Awareness....136 Clear Goals and Feedback....136 Concentration on the Task at Hand....137 The Paradox of Control....138 The Loss of Self-Consciousness....138 The Transformation of Time....138 Experience Becomes an End in Itself....139 Play....140 The Nature of Play....140 Types of Players....141 Levels of Engagement....142 Premise....142 Character....146 Story....150 Directing Games for Emotion....152 World Building....155 The Dramatic Arc....156 Crafting Emotional Beats in The Last of Us....162 Conclusion....165 Further Reading....166 End Notes....166 Chapter 5 Working with System Dynamics....167 Games as Systems....167 Objects....168 Properties....168 Behaviors....169 Relationships....170 System Dynamics....171 Deconstructing Set....172 Tic-Tac-Toe....175 Chess....176 Mastermind versus Clue....177 Economies....179 Simple Bartering....180 Complex Bartering....181 Simple Market....182 Complex Market....183 Meta Economy....184 Emergent Systems....187 Interacting with Systems....189 Information Structure....189 Control....190 Feedback....192 Interaction Loops and Arcs....194 Tuning Game Systems....200 Conclusion....201 Designer Perspective: Mary Flanagan....202 Designer Perspective: Frank Lantz....205 Further Reading....207 End Notes....207 Part 2 Designing a Game....208 Chapter 6 Ideation....210 Where Do Ideas Come From?....210 Constraints and Creativity....213 Brainstorming....216 Brainstorming Best Practices....217 Alternative Methods....219 List Creation....219 Idea Cards....220 Mind Map....220 Stream of Consciousness....220 Electronic Arts Preproduction Workshop....221 Shout It Out....225 Cut It Up....225 Surrealist Games....225 Research....226 Editing and Refining....227 Aligned with Goals....227 Technical Feasibility....227 Market Opportunity....227 Artistic Considerations....228 Business/Cost Restrictions....228 A Conversation with Will Wright....229 Turning Ideas into a Game....233 Focus on the Formal Elements....234 Writing a Treatment....235 Logline....236 Key Art....236 Practice, Practice, Practice....237 Feature Design....238 Feature Storyboards....238 Getting the Most out of Focus Groups....239 Experimental Gameplay....242 Ideas vs. Designs....246 Conclusion....246 Designer Perspective: Josh Holmes....247 Further Reading....250 End Notes....250 Chapter 7 Prototyping....251 Methods of Prototyping....251 Physical Prototypes....252 Battleship Prototype....252 More Examples....254 Up the River Prototype....255 Prototyping a First-Person Shooter....258 Catastrophic Prototyping and Other Stories....259 Perspective on Physical Prototyping....264 Prototyping Your Original Game Idea....265 Visualizing Core Gameplay....265 Building the Physical Prototype....268 The Design Evolution of Magic: The Gathering....269 Refining Your Visualization....283 Making the Physical Prototype Better....283 Beyond the Physical Prototype....283 Conclusion....284 Designer Perspective: James Ernest....285 Designer Perspective: Katie Salen....287 Further Reading....289 Chapter 8 Digital Prototyping....290 Types of Digital Prototypes....290 Prototyping Game Mechanics....291 Prototyping Aesthetics....293 Prototyping Kinesthetics....295 Prototyping Technology....296 Using Software Prototypes in Game Design....297 Prototyping Cloud....301 Designing Control Schemes....304 Selecting Viewpoints....306 Overhead View....306 Prototyping for Game Feel....307 Side View....310 Isometric View....310 First-Person View....311 Third-Person View....311 Effective Interface Design....314 Form Follows Function....314 Metaphors....314 Visualization....315 Grouping Features....316 Consistency....316 Feedback....316 Prototyping Tools....317 Programming Languages....317 Game Engines....317 Popular Creation Tools....318 Conclusion....320 Designer Perspective: David Perry....321 Designer Perspective: Elan Lee....323 Further Reading....325 End Notes....325 Chapter 9 Playtesting....326 Playtesting and Iterative Design....327 Recruiting Playtesters....328 Self-Testing....328 Playtesting with Confidants....329 Playtesting with People You Do Not Know....329 Finding the Ideal Playtesters....330 Playtesting with Your Target Audience....330 Conducting a Playtesting Session....331 Why We Play Games....332 Introduction (2–3 Minutes)....334 Warm-Up Discussion (5 Minutes)....335 Play Session (15–20 Minutes)....335 Discussion of Game Experience (15–20 Minutes)....335 Wrap-Up....336 Methods of Playtesting....338 How Feedback from Typical Gamers Can Help Avoid Disappointing Outcomes....339 A Primer for Playtesting: Don’t Follow These Rules!....343 The Play Matrix....348 Taking Notes....350 Basic Usability Techniques....352 Do Not Lead....352 Remind Testers to Think Out Loud....352 Quantitative Data....352 Metrics in Game Design....353 Data Gathering....356 Test Control Situations....358 Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation....358 Playtesting Practice....360 Connect Four....360 Final Analysis....361 Conclusion....361 Further Reading....362 End Notes....362 Chapter 10 Functionality, Completeness, and Balance....363 What Are You Testing For?....363 Foundation....364 Structure....364 Formal Details....364 Refinement....365 Is Your Game Functional?....366 Is Your Game Internally Complete?....366 Solution #1....367 Solution #2....367 Solution #3....367 Solution #4....368 Discussion....368 Loopholes....368 Loopholes versus Features....369 Dead Ends....373 Wrapping Up Completeness....373 Is Your Game Balanced?....374 Balancing Variables....374 Balancing the Dynamics....375 Reinforcing Relationships....375 Dominant Objects....376 Dominant Strategies....378 Balancing Positions....379 Symmetrical Games....379 Asymmetrical Games....380 Asymmetrical Objectives....381 Ticking Clock....381 Protection....382 Combination....382 Individual Objectives....382 Complete Asymmetry....383 Balancing for Skill....383 Balancing for the Median Skill Level....385 Balancing Dynamically....385 Balancing Computer-Controlled Characters....386 Techniques for Balancing Your Game....387 Think Modular....387 Purity of Purpose....387 A Conversation with Rob Pardo....388 One Change at a Time....394 Spreadsheets....394 Conclusion....395 Designer Perspective: Shawn Alexander Allen....396 Designer Perspective: Heather Kelley....401 Further Reading....403 End Notes....403 Chapter 11 Fun and Accessibility....404 Is Your Game Fun?....405 Challenge....405 Play....407 Story....409 Analyzing Appeal....410 Improving Player Choices....411 Types of Decisions....412 Dilemmas....413 Cake-Cutting Scenario....414 The Prisoner’s Dilemma....415 Puzzles....417 Rewards and Punishments....419 Anticipation....420 Surprise....421 Progress....422 The End....423 Fun Killers....423 Micromanagement....423 Stagnation....424 Tuning and Balance: Us vs . It....425 Insurmountable Obstacles....430 Arbitrary Events....432 Predictable Paths....432 Beyond Fun....433 Is Your Game Accessible?....433 Using Audio as a Game Feedback Device....435 Conclusion....439 Designer Perspective: Wren Brier....440 Further Reading....443 End Notes....443 Part 3 Working as a Game Designer....444 Chapter 12 Team Structures....446 Team Structure....447 Publisher versus Developer....447 Developer’s Team....448 Game Designer....449 Producer....449 Programmers....450 Building Inclusive Design Teams....451 Visual Artists....456 QA Engineers....457 Specialized Media....458 Level Designer....459 Publisher’s Team....460 Producer....460 Marketing Team....461 Executives....461 QA Engineers....462 Usability Specialists....463 User Research and Metrics....464 Team Profile....464 All Contribute to the Design....465 Team Building....465 Team Communication....466 Conducting Meetings....466 Agile Development....467 Unions in the Game Industry....467 Conclusion....468 Designer Perspective: Nahil Sharkasi....469 Designer Perspective: Elizabeth Lapensée....472 Designer Perspective: Jenova Chen....476 Further Reading....479 End Note....479 Chapter 13 Stages and Methods of Development....480 Stages Defined....481 From Concept to Contract....482 Preproduction....484 Production....485 From Classroom to Console: Producing flOw for the PlayStation 3....486 Postproduction and Quality Assurance....488 Maintenance and Updates....489 Using Agile Development....489 Agile Project Planning....490 Goals....491 Priorities....491 Schedule....491 Budget....494 Scoping and Revising....495 Milestones and Approvals....495 Opportunities for Indie Gamemakers....496 Conclusion....499 Designer Perspective: Michael John....500 Further Reading....501 Chapter 14 Communicating Your Designs....502 Visualization....503 Flowcharts....504 Tables and Spreadsheets....506 Concept Art....506 Description....507 Artificial Intelligence & the Creative Process....508 Virtual Reality and Beyond....511 Formats for Design Documents....516 Contents....516 Design Macros....522 Conclusion....524 Designer Perspective: Anna Anthropy....525 Designer Perspective: Rob Daviau....527 Further Reading....528 End Notes....528 Chapter 15 Understanding the New Game Industry....529 The Size of the Game Industry....530 Platforms for Distribution....531 Consoles....531 Computer (PC and Mac)....532 Mobile (Phone and Tablet)....532 Virtual Reality and Alternate Reality....533 Immersive Entertainment....533 Board Games....533 Genres of Gameplay....534 Action Games....534 Strategy Games....534 Mobile Game Design and Zombies, Run!....535 Role-Playing Games....537 Sports Games....538 Racing/Driving Games....538 Simulation/Building Games....538 Flight and Other Simulations....538 Adventure and Action Adventure Games....538 Educational Games....539 Children’s Games....539 Casual Games....539 Experimental Games....539 Publishers....540 Play Beyond Screens....541 Developers....543 The Business of Game Publishing....544 Development....544 Licensing....545 Marketing....547 Distribution....547 Conclusion....548 Designer Perspective: Neil Jones....549 Designer Perspective: Graeme Bayless....552 Further Reading....555 End Notes....555 Chapter 16 Selling Yourself and Your Ideas to the Game Industry....556 Getting a Job at a Publisher or Developer....556 Educate Yourself....557 Academic Programs....557 Portfolio....557 Play Games....558 Design Games and Levels....558 Know the Industry....559 Networking....559 Organizations....559 Conferences....559 Game Jams....560 Internet and E-mail....560 Starting at the Bottom....561 Interning....561 QA....561 Pitching Your Original Ideas....562 Pitch Process....562 Pitch Materials....563 What Happens after the Pitch....564 Independent Production....565 Conclusion....566 Designer Perspective: Erin Reynolds....567 Designer Perspective: Matt Korba....570 Designer Perspective: Asher Vollmer....572 Further Reading....573 End Note....573 Conclusion....574 Index....576