Game Design: What Is A Game?
What is a game
A game is a form of art. It is a play activity with a set of rules that players are given and the player who follows the rules the best is usually the player that wins. Games date back to centuries ago. A game doesn't necessarily mean a video game. A game is simply just something that you can play with a set of rules so when someone says "let's play a game" that can mean Super Mario Bros, it can mean football or it can simply mean hide and go seek. A game will consist of rules, resources, actions, a story and plenty of other elements. For our readings an example of a game given was 3 to 15. 3 to 15 is a game where 2 players have to collect 3 numbers from 1-9 that add up to 15. First you must write up the numbers 1-9 on a sheet of paper. Players then take it in turns choosing a number and then they cross that number out from the sheet so they have now claimed it and the other player can no longer claim that number. The first player to get 3 numbers that add up to 15 wins. This game is similar to X's and O's which is a more commonly known game that I'm sure everyone has played. When designing a game you have to figure out how you can compare it other well known games for example, let's say somebody invented a football game where you were able to shoot other players the reviews may say "it's like FIFA meets Call Of Duty" or take the video game The Simpsons: Hit And Run for example, some might say that it's "The Simpsons meets Grand Theft Auto" because the concept of that game is that you play as Simpsons characters and you do missions and side quests as well as a free play and you do lots of reckless driving as well just like in Grand Theft Auto. Of course when you are playing a game it has to come to an end and the game ends when somebody wins. The task for a game is otherwise known as an objective and you have to follow a set of rules to complete this objective and the outcome will be that you have successfully completed the task. There are many different definitions as to what a game is such as a puzzle game and a role-playing game (RPG). Examples of puzzle games would be Sudoku and a Rubik's cube. Somme may not consider these games however they do have a set of rules and an outcome so technically they are games. An example of an RPG is Dungeons And Dragons. Despite RPGs having game in the title they are usually not considered a game as they usually have no final outcome however they do have a story. While games are a form of play they can also be considered a story as most games involve playing missions that follow a specific storyline. (https://tudublin-my.sharepoint.com/personal/shaun_ferns_tudublin_ie/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fshaun%5Fferns%5Ftudublin%5Fie%2FDocuments%2FITB%20Modules%2Fmultimedia%20development%201%2F2020files%2FWeek%2003%20readings%2FWhat%20is%20a%20Game%2C%20Anyway%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fshaun%5Fferns%5Ftudublin%5Fie%2FDocuments%2FITB%20Modules%2Fmultimedia%20development%201%2F2020files%2FWeek%2003%20readings&originalPath=aHR0cHM6Ly90dWR1Ymxpbi1teS5zaGFyZXBvaW50LmNvbS86YjovZy9wZXJzb25hbC9zaGF1bl9mZXJuc190dWR1Ymxpbl9pZS9FY1NpUmJIZmh4dElwR2N4T1o1Vmdlc0I3RFg2MENST3ppalY3N2h3N1M3cXRRP3J0aW1lPWhhb1BCZUdCMlVn)
Organic Nature Of Game Ideation
Game ideation is brainstorming the idea and design process of a game. The game industry is a creative industry and is considered a new industry based on individual people's creativity and it has higher future growth prospects than other technological industries. Less games are getting profitable each year meaning that game companies are at intense competition with each other. Professionals who work in game industries try and figure out ways that they can enhance their products to get a more competitive edge. Game industries often try to hire new teams of people in order to create better games and to top their competitors and provide an atmosphere that will bring out creativity. (https://tudublin-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/personal/shaun_ferns_tudublin_ie/Documents/ITB%20Modules/multimedia%20development%201/2020files/Week%2003%20readings/2010_FuturePlay2010_IdeaPractices_cameraready_FINAL.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=XltPgi)
Game Design Techniques
The four main game design techniques are concentration, brainstorming, scamper and ramsey.
Concentration
Obviously concentration is a major factor when trying to complete anything so when trying to create a game of course you will have to stay fully focused on the game so that you can create it the way you want it to turn out and make sure the game is actually good. If you are given the task to create a game without any context whatsoever then you will have to concentrate until you have thought of an idea for your game and then you actually have to concentrate on creating the game and making sure it actually works out for you and make sure it's good enough that people actually want to play it and will enjoy it.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is when you think of an idea and then think of ways that you can expand it. For example when given the task to create a game you might think of the idea to do one that involves aliens, so now you have a basic concept which means you then have to expand the storyline meaning you need to think of characters, a plot, objectives, missions etc. A good way of brainstorming is to draw out a mind map. A mind map is where you write the title of your basic concept in the middle of a piece of paper and then draw lines and at the end of each line you write something adding to your idea like in the photo above.
Scamper
Each letter of the word scamper stands for one word involved in this method. These words are substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put, eliminate and reverse.
Substitute: Replace an existing project that you have worked on and change the mechanics and see how the game looks afterwards. You will need to do this multiple times when working on any type of project.
Combine: Combine is when you take two genres and mix them to create a game. Sometimes this works out sometimes it doesn't. One example where it didn't work out is Saints Row IV. Saints Row is a video game franchise similar to Grand Theft Auto however in the fourth game they decided to add in aliens which just didn't work out.
Adapt: Adapting is when you update old mechanics and make them into new technologies.
Modify: Modifying a game is when you take an already existing game and update all the aesthetics for it.
Put: This is when you take existing mechanics and find new applications for them.
Eliminate: Eliminating is when you cut certain mechanics out of a game that you no longer need.
Reverse: Reverse is when you do the opposite of what most game companies do in order to make your game more original.
The final method is the Ramsey method. Unfortunately I couldn't find any images for this so I guess Gordon Ramsey had to do. The Ramsey method is the hardest method. The Ramsey method is where if you are asked to create a game based on a specific topic then you have to really look into the topic and the psychological side to it. You have to take the topic you are given and collect as much information as you can and look at it closely and find new information on it by studying the data of the game for example you could be asked to make a Goldilocks And The Three Bears video game and you could really look into the story and maybe discover your own theories about it and maybe do a really dark take on it.
thas cool
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