Prep for this Week:
Read
> Schell, J. (2019). The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, Third Edition (3rd ed.). A K Peters/CRC Press. https://doi-org.soton.idm.oclc.org/10.1201/b22101
> Page 86 – Sixteen Nitty-Gritty Brainstorming Tips: read these
The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses
#Lens 1 – Lens of Emotion
- What emotions would I like my player to experience? Why?
- I would like my player to experience an emotional journey, something that will leave the player questioning their experience once they finish the game.
- What emotions are players (including me) having when they plan now? Why?
- Confusion, betrayal, anxiety, sadness, happiness etc.
- How can I bridge the gap between the emotions players are having and the emotions I’d like them to have?
- Make scenes that will encourage/sway the player into invoking the emotions I’d like them to have. This could be done through dialogue or actions within the game.
#Lens 2 – Essential Experience
“Games are merely a means to an end. On their own, games are just artefacts—clumps of cardboard or bags of bits. Games are worthless unless people play them. The game is not the experience. The game enables the experience, but it is not the experience.” (Schell, 2019)
- What experience do I want the player to have?
- unsure explore this further
- What is essential to that experience?
- unsure
- How can my game capture that essence?
- unsure
To continue idea generation, use the following lenses:
#Lens of Resonance (page 70)
- When I describe my game to people, what ideas get them really excited?
- If I had no constraints of any kind, what would this game be like?
#Lens of Infinite Inspiration (page 75)
To use this lens, stop looking at your game and stop looking at games like it. Look everywhere else:
- What is an experience I have had in my life that I would want to share with others?
- In what small way can I capture the essence of that experience and put it into my game?
Game Review
Obsessive Compulsive Game, Sweater Wolf (free)
Obsessive-compulsive game is what the name states, a game about living with OCD, obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The game follows the main character going about her day-to-day life, before she is allowed to exit the room she must do the ‘rituals’ the monster demands her to do. This is a great game depicting the day-to-day life of someone with OCD and mental illness, informing people without it what they experience. I like the use of sound effects instead of verbal dialogue to express the emotions that the main girl is feeling, and how the simple pixel art style still conveys the narrative.
Watch
Frank Lanz (2014) Hearts and Minds, GDC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrO5IGoPgcw
Why Game Designers are Better Lovers | Doris Rusch | TEDxDePaulUniversity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHrTbF9cKEc
What is a GDD?
A GDD stands for Games Design Document, a design document that serves as a reference point for the whole game production team. It contains detailed information on all aspects of the games design as it should include: art bible, world bible, narrative bible, sound bible, writing samples, ludic design, and platform specification.
The layout for each weeks lecture and seminar for this semester are each based off of these key aspects of a GDD and it should go over each of these subjects in detail.
A comprehensive GDD should be a set of ‘design pillars’ these need to be fulfilled in turn creating a reference point for all teams to look at for designing information, rather than always hounding a team leader but to take initiative instead. This should be a living document, a file that is consistently updated and revised to reflect new additions and changes, this is sometimes referred to as a dynamic document.
Why is a GDD Useful?
A GDD is useful for many aspects within game production & design. A majority of impactful uses fall under three different key areas: Standards, Marketing & Experience.
Standards
By outlining the standards that need to be met by the team during game production helps with quality control of things made. It will also help find inconsistences of specific things, for example preventing different art styles, this prevents clashing of different styles and makes a distinct genre for the game.
Marketing
To help make a marketable game, including some understanding of the intended demographic of this game within the design choices would be useful. By gaining an understanding of this, the game designers can craft the world with accessibility, inclusivity and authenticity in the forefront of their decisions.
Experience
By always asking ‘why?’ throughout the GDD, the experience of the game will always be questioned to make sure that the best version is brought to fruition. This will help guide the craft and create dynamic and complex characters and worlds that feel liveable.
Sections Within a GDD
★ Overview -> High concept, genre, purpose, niche, message/impact, vibes
★ Gameplay -> What kind of experience are you scaffolding for players?
★ Story -> Gameworld, lore, narrative, writing samples
★ Art -> Character, objects, environments, UI, perspective
★ Mechanics -> Verbs, rules, win & fail states, inventory/economic/combat systems, physics
★ Levels -> Skill trees, maps, puzzle evolutions
★ Sound -> Music, extradiegetic sounds, intradiegetic sounds, voice
★ Platform Specification & Control Mapping -> Game feel, engine, player demographics
★ Market -> Player communities, monetization strategies, marketplace positioning
Some GDDs also include contact info and bios for different team members, this helps if further explanation is required for different sub-sections.
The GDD shouldn’t be treated as a pitching document, it should be made with the intention of being used as an internal document, a clear and specific manual for your team to use. I think that a good GDD should have considerations for all stages and teams in production. It shouldn’t be ugly and corporal but rather a design bible discussing the visual and practical aspects of the game, almost an art piece of its own creation. However, it should be able utilisable by the team members with immense detail to quell any concerns or questions regarding different subjects, they should already be answered by the GDD.
Workshop Activity
‘In groups of four, complete a bare bones GDD for a completely random game’
Workshop Task: Create a logline for use in making a short GDD for a custom game. Vote for one logline and answer the following questions together:
1. What is the goal? How do you win? How do you lose?
2. What is the world like? (ex. Time period? Backstory? Climate? Ecosystem? Economics?)
3. What are the main game components? (ex. Mana, Monsters, Money, Mines)
4. What are the main game mechanics? What interactive verbs are available to the player? (ex. talk, run, jump, shoot, tickle)
5. What are the core rules? (ex. Players must take turns, players have three lives, paper beats rock, players can learn up to three spells)
Logline (brief summary of the story) = (Adjective) + (genre) set in (storyworld) -> this follows the Vibes, Mechanics, Narrative structure.
Adjective
This should begin with the first letter of your name
Example: Attractive, amusing, amazing.
Genre
This should be based on your birth month
Example: I am born in October, and the linked genre for that month is a Survival Horror or Stealth game.
Setting
This should be based on your birth date
Example: I am born on the 20th and the linked setting is a Science Laboratory.
As I was not in for this lecture, I will be basing it on myself, the logline I have in result is…
Attractive, amusing, amazing + Survival Horror or Stealth game set in Science Laboratory.
I decided for the theme of this game to be a combination of horror, stealth, and humour. This creates a tense but amusing experience where players face intense moments interspersed with a bit of levity!
This game reminds me of a less serious version of the game Alien: Isolation, by having to use stealth to prevent trigging a chase by an alien-like creature. The twist of my version is by turning the usual seriousness within this genre into something more light, enjoyable and new for people looking for a fun and different experience.
Week 1 Log:
Based on the introduction to this module I am concerned with how I will create a whole game concept as I haven’t focused on making aspects such as audio and platform specifications/mapping. It will be a challenge but it will further my skills as a game designer to apply this learning experience to future projects. The birthday activity from this week has also made me a nice starting point for a game narrative and genre. I like the idea of a horror/thriller game as its an interesting topic. I think I could explore this further and possibly make it into my narrative for this project. It’s looking hopeful!