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2023 | Buch

Creating a Game Idea Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

The Structure of Game Design

verfasst von: Wallace Wang

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

The Structure of Game Design is designed to help aspiring and existing game designers turn their ideas into working games. Creating a game involves understanding the core foundational elements of all types of games from paper-based games to the latest video games. By understanding how these core principles work in all types of games, you can apply these same principles to design your own game.

Games are about goals, structure, play and fun. While everyone will always have their own idea of what might be “fun”, any game designer can maximize player enjoyment through meaningful choices that offer various risks and rewards. Such challenges, combined with rules and limitations, force players to overcome obstacles and problems using a variety of skills including dexterity, puzzle solving, intelligence, and strategy. Essentially games allow players to venture forth into new worlds and overcome problems in a safe but exciting environment that allows them to triumph in the end.

Just as playing games have proven popular around the world to all ages, genders, and cultures, so has game designing proven equally popular. Games can challenge players to make the best move, solve puzzles, engage in combat, manage resources, and tell stories. By understanding how randomness, psychology, and balance can change the way games play, readers can decide what game elements are best for their own game creation.

Whether your goal is to make money, learn something new, make a social statement, improve on an existing game idea, or challenge your artistic, programming, or design skills, game design can be just as much fun as game playing. By knowing the parts of a game, how they work, how they interact, and why they’re fun, you can use your knowledge to turn any idea into a game that others can play and enjoy.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Part I

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Creating a Game Idea
Abstract
There’s no shortage of ideas for games. The real question isn’t what game do you want to make but why do you want to make a game in the first place? If you want to make a game just to make money, it’s easy to take shortcuts by chasing the latest trend. Unfortunately this often creates a copycat, generic, derivative game. If that’s all you want to do, then this book is not for you.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 2. Defining a Game Idea
Abstract
Unless you’re making games as a hobby, solely for your own amusement, you’ll probably want to release your game on the market. That means you need to define what success in the market means for your game.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 3. The Appeal of Games
Abstract
The previous chapter asked you to answer the questions, “What will people play?” and “What will people do?” These questions help you define the types of challenges in your game and the actions players must take to win.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 4. Game Design Elements
Abstract
Every game begins with a goal. This goal is the objective that players must achieve and is the whole purpose of playing the game. In many games, players (or teams of players) have identical goals. In sports, both teams are trying to throw the ball in a basket, kick it into a goal, or carry it into the opposing team’s end zone.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 5. Understanding Game Loops
Abstract
Every game is repetitive. The challenge in designing any game is to make every repetitive loop interesting no matter how many times someone may play it. The moment a game’s repetitive loop stops being interesting, people will stop playing the game.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 6. Randomness in Games
Abstract
Randomness adds uncertainty in games. Some games have no randomness whatsoever such as pure skill games like chess or Go. Other games are completely random such as children’s games like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. When games lack randomness, the game outcome depends entirely on each player’s skill. When games embrace total randomness, the game outcome depends entirely on chance.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 7. Psychology in Games
Abstract
Every game must attract players to buy and then play the game. While playing the game, players need to follow rules. In the process of following those rules, players must receive some type of enjoyment from playing. This emotional experience can give players a reason to keep playing the game as long as possible and encourage them to play multiple times.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 8. Game Balance
Abstract
The game Rock, Paper, Scissors perfectly defines game balance. Rock can defeat Scissors, Scissors can defeat Paper, but Paper can defeat Rock as shown in Fig. 8.1. That means no one option has more advantages over any other option. Thus the goal in game balancing is to make every option exactly equal.
Wallace Wang

Part II

Frontmatter
Chapter 9. Understanding Fun
Abstract
Games should be fun, but everyone has a different idea what fun means. One person might like the thrill of escaping zombies or serial killers in a horror game while someone else might enjoy solving complicated word puzzles. Some people might find both types of games fun but may also like playing sports simulation games as well.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 10. Fun in Movement
Abstract
All games involve movement. Either the players themselves move (such as in sports) or the players move pieces that act as surrogates for the player (such as playing pieces in a board game or a digital avatar in a video game).
Wallace Wang
Chapter 11. Fun in Puzzles
Abstract
Puzzles appeal to our need for order. When a puzzle confronts us with a problem, its lack of a visible solution creates internal discomfort. The greater our unease, the greater our emotional need to put life back in order by solving that puzzle. Solving a puzzle removes uncertainty and chaos and replaces it with order and predictability, which provides a sense of psychological satisfaction.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 12. Fun in Combat
Abstract
Combat directly attacks enemies and opponents to stop them from attacking you or keeping you from achieving your goals. Combat can range from simply making enemies disappear to showing blood squirting out of open wounds in slow motion as you tear their heads off for a final killing blow.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 13. Fun in Strategy
Abstract
Every game challenges players to achieve an objective using a combination of different skills (along with a little bit of luck). Video games often emphasize dexterity and quick reflexes but board games and some video games emphasize long-term planning instead. Such games fall under the category of strategy games.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 14. Fun in Economics
Abstract
Economies within a game represent the movement of resources. Because resources can be valuable (within the game), game economies can influence player behavior. Players will find a way to get rich within a game economy so they can increase their chance of success within the game.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 15. Fun in Storytelling
Abstract
Great stories agree with our world view. The best stories don’t teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place. Seth Godin, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us.
Wallace Wang

Part III

Frontmatter
Chapter 16. Turning a Game Idea into a Real Game
Abstract
Coming up with an idea for a game essentially points you in the direction you want to go. The next step is deciding how you want to implement your idea and turn it into an actual working game. Two main ways to create a game are:Paper-based games can be card games and board games, but you can also think of sports as large paper-based games where the playing pieces are actual people. Paper-based games require physical playing fields and physical playing pieces.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 17. Prototyping
Abstract
Artists sketch ideas before committing themselves to applying actual paint. Writers jot down ideas in outlines before writing a novel, screenplay, or stage play. Filmmakers hire artists to sketch out storyboards to visually describe the major action before they shoot the final scene. In all cases, professionals start with a rough draft so they can examine whether it works or not.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 18. Card Game Prototypes
Abstract
Card games mostly involve playing with information printed directly on each card. As a result, card game prototypes must test the size and information displayed on each card. Displayed information must be consistent to make it easy for players to find the information they need at a glance, but not too overwhelming to make the game hard to understand.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 19. Understanding Game Engines
Abstract
There are many ways to create a digital prototype for a video game. To prototype the user interface, use a presentation program (such as PowerPoint) where each slide represents a single screen and their order defines how one screen transitions to another. However, to prototype gameplay elements for a video game, you’ll need to create a digital prototype using a game engine.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 20. Playing Field Prototypes
Abstract
Every game must be played on a playing field. For card games, that playing field can be any flat surface. For board games and sports, the playing field is a defined area that restricts where playing pieces can move and the boundaries where they must stay within. For video games, the playing field appears within the computer, but can be as simple as a single screen or as expansive as an entire open world that players can endlessly explore.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 21. Level Design Prototypes
Abstract
Board games consist of a single playing field. On the other hand, video games often consist of multiple playing fields known as levels. Levels break up a large video game into smaller, interconnected parts that represent increasingly difficult challenges for players to overcome.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 22. Movement Prototypes
Abstract
Movement lets players improve their chances of winning. In board games, movement might involve moving one or more playing pieces a fixed or random distance determined by a spinner or dice. In a video game, movement involves controlling one or more playing pieces around a playing field using a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or game controller.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 23. Combat Prototypes
Abstract
Combat prototypes test whether fighting another player or non-player character feels fair and realistic for that particular game setting. In a realistic military simulation, weapons would need to look and act like their real world counterparts. However, in a fantasy or science fiction setting, weapons would need to look and act like what most people believe about those game settings.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 24. Resource Management Prototypes
Abstract
In many games, resource management acts as a way to increase your chances of winning the game. In many role-playing games, players must manage their money and inventory so they can buy items such as weapons, armor, healing potions, or food. In other games, resource management is the whole purpose of the game. In a stock market simulation game, players need to buy and sell stocks. In a city management simulation, players must run a city by allocating money for services such as road repairs and police protection while taxing citizens.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 25. Puzzle Prototypes
Abstract
Puzzles act like locked doors. Players encounter a puzzle (locked door) and then must figure out how to solve this puzzle (unlock the door). Once they do this, they can continue the game beyond the puzzle.
Wallace Wang
Chapter 26. Selling a Game to the Market
Abstract
Game ideas are meant to be completed. Whether the game makes millions of dollars or nothing at all, the main goal is to complete the game idea you started because that experience of completing a game will give you the confidence that you can tackle a larger, more ambitious project in the future. If you start a game but never complete it, you’ll never have that confidence that you can finish a project.
Wallace Wang
Backmatter
Metadaten
Titel
The Structure of Game Design
verfasst von
Wallace Wang
Copyright-Jahr
2023
Electronic ISBN
978-3-031-32202-0
Print ISBN
978-3-031-32201-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32202-0

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