Game design: theory & practice

Introduction ..................................... xviii Chapter 1 What Players Want ....................1 Why Do Players Play?..................................2 Players Want a Challenge ..............................2 Players Want to Socialize ..............................3 Players Want a Dynamic Solitaire Experience....................5 Players Want Bragging Rights ............................5 Players Want an Emotional Experience .......................6 Players Want to Fantasize ..............................7 What Do Play ers Expect? ................................8 Players Expect a Consistent World..........................8 Players Expect to Understand the Game-World’s Bounds .............9 Players Expect Reasonable Solutions to Work...................10 Players Expect Direction ..............................10 Players Expect to Accomplish a Task Incrementally................12 Players Expect to Be Immersed...........................12 Players Expect to Fail................................14 Players Expect a Fair Chance............................14 Players Expect to Not Need to Repeat Themselves ................15 Players Expect to Not Get Hopelessly Stuck....................16 Players Expect to Do, Not to Watch ........................17 Players Do Not Know What They Want, But They Know It When They See It . 18 A Never-Ending List..................................19 Chapter 2 Interview: Sid Meier ..................20 Chapter 3 Brainstorming a Game Idea: Gameplay, Technology, and Story ......................42 Starting Points .....................................43 Starting with Gameplay...............................44 Starting with Technology ..............................45 Starting with Story .................................47 Working with Limitations ...............................50 Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis..........................50 ix Contents Damage Incorporated................................51 Centipede 3D ....................................53 Embrace Your Limitations...............................54 Established Technology...............................55 The Case of the Many Mushrooms.........................55 The Time Allotted..................................57 If You Choose Not to Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice ............58 Chapter 4 Game Analysis: Centipede ...............59 Classic Arcade Game Traits ..............................62 Input ..........................................65 Interconnectedness...................................66 Escalating Tension ...................................68 One Person, One Game ................................71 Chapter 5 Focus...........................73 Establishing Focus ...................................74 An Example: Snow Carnage Derby ........................77 The Function of the Focus .............................79 Maintaining Focus ...................................82 Fleshing Out the Focus ...............................83 Changing Focus ...................................84 Sub-Focuses ......................................88 Using Focus ......................................91 Chapter 6 Interview: Ed Logg ...................93 Chapter 7 The Elements of Gameplay ..............121 Unique Solutions ...................................122 Anticipatory versus Complex Systems ......................122 Emergence .....................................123 Non-Linearity.....................................125 Types of Non-Linearity ..............................125 Implementation ..................................127 The Purpose of Non-Linearity...........................129 Modeling Reality ...................................130 Teaching the Player..................................132 Rewards ......................................134 Input/Output......................................136 Controls and Input .................................136 Output and Game-World Feedback ........................141 Basic Elements ....................................145 Chapter 8 Game Analysis: Tetris .................146 Puzzle Game or Action Game?............................147 Tetris as a Classic Arcade Game ...........................149 x Contents The Technology....................................151 Artificial Intelligence.................................153 Escalating Tension ..................................154 Simplicity and Symmetry...............................155 Ten Years On, Who Would Publish Tetris? .....................157 Chapter 9 Artificial Intelligence..................158 Goals of Game AI...................................160 Challenge the Player................................161 Not Do Dumb Things ...............................163 Be Unpredictable .................................164 Assist Storytelling .................................167 Create a Living World ...............................169 The Sloped Playing Field...............................170 How Real is Too Real? ..............................171 AI Agents and Their Environment ..........................172 How Good is Good Enough?.............................175 Scripting........................................177 Artificial Stupidity ..................................178 Chapter 10 Interview: Steve Meretzky ..............179 Chapter 11 Storytelling......................214 Designer’s Story Versus Player’s Story .......................216 Places for Storytelling ................................218 Out-of-Game....................................219 In-Game ......................................224 External Materials .................................227 Frustrated Linear Writers...............................228 Game Stories .....................................230 Non-Linearity ...................................232 Working with the Gameplay............................233 The Dream ......................................234 Chapter 12 Game Analysis: Loom.................236 Focused Game Mechanics ..............................238 User Interface.....................................239 The Drafts System ..................................241 Difficulty .......................................243 Story..........................................244 Loom as an Adventure Game.............................245 Chapter 13 Getting the Gameplay Working ...........248 The Organic Process .................................251 Too Much Too Soon ................................251 Keep It Simple...................................253 xi Contents Building the Game ..................................254 Core Technology..................................254 Incremental Steps .................................255 A Fully Functional Area..............................256 Going Through Changes..............................257 Programming .....................................259 When is It Fun? ....................................261 Chapter 14 Interview: Chris Crawford ..............263 Chapter 15 Game Development Documentation .........291 Document Your Game ................................293 Concept Document or Pitch Document or Proposal ...............293 Design Document .................................294 Flowcharts .....................................295 Story Bible.....................................295 Script........................................297 Art Bible ......................................300 Storyboards ....................................301 Technical Design Document............................301 Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents .................302 No Standard Documentation ...........................302 The Benefits of Documentation ...........................303 Chapter 16 Game Analysis: Myth: The Fallen Lords .......304 Use of Technology ..................................305 Game Focus......................................308 Storytelling ......................................310 Hard-Core Gaming ..................................311 Multi-Player......................................313 Overall ........................................314 Chapter 17 The Design Document ................316 The Writing Style...................................318 The Sections......................................321 Table of Contents .................................321 Introduction/Overview or Executive Summary..................322 Game Mechanics..................................323 Artificial Intelligence ...............................329 Game Elements: Characters, Items, and Objects/Mechanisms..........331 Story Overview ..................................334 Game Progression .................................335 System Menus ...................................337 One Man’s Opinion..................................337 Inauspicious Design Documents ...........................338 xii Contents The Wafer-Thin or Ellipsis Special Document ..................338 The Back-Story Tome ...............................339 The Overkill Document ..............................340 The Pie-in-the-Sky Document...........................341 The Fossilized Document .............................342 A Matter of Weight ..................................343 Getting It Read...................................343 Documentation is Only the Beginning ........................344 Chapter 18 Interview: Jordan Mechner..............346 Chapter 19 Designing Design Tools................378 Desired Functionality.................................380 Visualizing the Level ...............................380 The Big Picture ..................................382 Jumping into the Game ..............................384 Editing the World .................................386 Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors .....................388 Us Versus Them....................................390 The Best of Intentions ...............................392 A Game Editor for All Seasons............................394 Chapter 20 Game Analysis: The Sims ...............395 Abdicating Authorship ................................396 Familiar Subject Matter................................398 Safe Experimentation.................................399 Depth and Focus ...................................400 Interface........................................401 Controlled Versus Autonomous Behavior ......................403 A Lesson to Be Learned ...............................404 Chapter 21 Level Design .....................406 Levels in Different Games ..............................408 Level Separation..................................409 Level Order ....................................410 The Components of a Level .............................412 Action .......................................413 Exploration.....................................413 Puzzle Solving ...................................415 Storytelling.....................................415 Aesthetics .....................................416 Balancing It All ..................................418 Level Flow ......................................418 Elements of Good Levels...............................421 Player Cannot Get Stuck..............................421 xiii Contents Sub-Goals .....................................422 Landmarks .....................................423 Critical Path ....................................423 Limited Backtracking ...............................423 Success the First Time...............................424 Navigable Areas Clearly Marked .........................424 Choices.......................................424 A Personal List...................................425 The Process ......................................425 step 1. Preliminary.................................425 step 2. Conceptual and Sketched Outline .....................427 step 3. Base Architecture .............................427 step 4. Refine Architecture Until It is Fun ....................428 step 5. Base Gameplay...............................429 step 6. Refine Gameplay Until It is Fun......................430 step 7. Refine Aesthetics .............................430 step 8. Playtesting .................................431 Process Variations .................................431 Who Does Level Design?...............................432 Collaboration .....................................433 Chapter 22 Interview: Will Wright ................434 Chapter 23 Playtesting ......................472 Finding the Right Testers...............................473 Who Should Test..................................474 Who Should Not Test ...............................477 When to Test .....................................479 HowtoTest......................................481 Guided and Unguided Testing ............................482 Balancing .......................................483 Your Game is Too Hard ..............................485 The Artistic Vision ..................................487 Conclusion .............................489 Art...........................................489 The Medium......................................490 The Motive ......................................491 Appendix Sample Design Document: Atomic Sam ........493 Atomic Sam: Focus ................................495 Atomic Sam......................................496 Design Document .................................496 Table of Contents .................................496 I. Overview ......................................499 xiv Contents II. Game Mechanics..................................500 Overview......................................500 Camera .......................................501 In-Game GUI ...................................502 Replaying and Saving ...............................502 Control Summary .................................503 General Movement.................................503 Flying Movement .................................504 Surfaces ......................................507 Picking Up Objects ................................507 Throwing Projectiles................................508 Electric Piranha ..................................510 Actions.......................................510 Interactive Combat Environments.........................512 Looking ......................................513 Friends .......................................513 Speaking ......................................514 Cut-Scenes .....................................515 Storytelling.....................................515 Levels .......................................516 III. Artificial Intelligence...............................518 Enemy AI .....................................519 Player Detection ..................................519 Motion .......................................519 Flying .......................................520 Pathfinding.....................................520 Taking Damage ..................................520 Combat Attacks ..................................520 Evading.......................................521 Special Actions ..................................521 Trash Talking....................................522 Falling into Traps .................................522 Non-Combatant Agents ..............................523 Friends .......................................523 IV. Game Elements ..................................525 Items ........................................525 Characters .....................................527 V. Story Overview ..................................536 VI. Game Progression ................................538 Setting .......................................538 Introduction ....................................540 Gargantuopolis...................................540 The Electric Priestess’ Bubble Home .......................540 Benthos.......................................541 xv Contents Harmony ......................................542 New Boston ....................................543 The Electric Priestess’ Bubble Home .......................544 The Ikairus.....................................545 VII. Bibliography...................................545 Glossary.............................546 Selected Bibliography .....................562 Index ..............................565