This week, we kicked off Monday with a Game Idea feedback session from our peers. I accidentally landed on the “Horror” game table, but I still got some useful insights and feedback from the people whose game ideas are completely different to mine.
I got some valuable feedback on my game: my classmate Hayley said that it reminds her of the game “Octodad” where you don’t want your family to know you’re an octopus. This was an interesting comparison as it links to my games’ idea of being “invisibly visible”. As a rat, your character is invisible to the world, often at night but most times of day, because you are so small compared to humans and other animals. However, when you are spotted, you are extremely noticeable.
Winchester itself has a huge rat population, probably because it was the old capital of England and therefore has older infrastructure. I can go to the big Tescos and see shuffling here and there. Usually, I chalk it up to the wind or hear things, but now and then, a Rat will scurry across the picturesque autumn tunnel way. Then when you see one, you’ll notice all the different little scurries and burrows that these creatures have made themselves. At home, when I look out the kitchen window at the right time, I can catch Rats scurrying to and from my neighbours’ gardens. It would be good to keep drawing on this idea of being invisible (and trying to stay so) from the perspective of a Rat.
Sophie, one of our Art staff, asked me how the 5 levels will work. This is something I still need to think about as I would like to incentivise the player to progress to the next level, but I also need to find a way to make it seamless. How and why will your character exit the house? What is your characters’ reason for leaving the cosy human house they’re staying in? Will the character chase them out? Will the house become unliveable? Many things to think about here.
Game Systems Thursday Lecture
We also had a lecture with a former GDA student, Venezia. She has worked in a few AA and AAA game studios and had a lot of insightful advice on managing our Games System. For a game to properly work, all its systems and laws must synthesise and create a cohesive Game loop. She also used a case study of Star Wars: Outlaws using her “Game Pillars” to explain why the game is so engaging. I reduced it to 3 points on what type of gameplay is offered:
- Rich and Reactive open-world
- Full of opportunity, led by reputation
- High stakes
I can use what I learnt from my lesson to incorporate at least one of these in my game.
Venezia assigned us a task to make a Game Loop. A Game Loop is a repeatable sequence of your game that is the primary “flow” of your game – keeping players engaged. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about how I can properly illustrate that flow on paper so I sketched a simple flow concept below.
The overarching game system can also be simplified into a “meta” game system – a “game within a game” and a system that presents itself throughout the entirety of the gameplay. An example of a meta-game system is an in-game currency. In my game, my in-game currency is called “Cheez”. To gain cheez, you can complete main in-game quests, side quests and work on your skills (chew, climb, swim, jump). I still need to work on making this “meta-game system” coherent so stay tuned.
What did I learn this week?
- Every game needs to have its essential game loop – what is the main set of actions players expect to repeat?
- How will my 5 levels work?
- Document your systems, they are intricate ecosystems that make up your game – it’s easy to get overwhelmed
Thanks for reading this week’s summary!