Lecture notes: Game loops
What makes a good game loop?
• The player has an opportunity to ‘grow their skills’ and become better at playing the game.
• The loop can be used as an alternative to simply creating more content without causing players to feel like the game is stretched thin.
• The loop provides a consistent unifying experience so that players know what they are getting into as they enter new scenes of the game.
A game loops can be simplified into: challenge > actions > reward.
Systems thinking
• A system isn’t just any old collection of things. A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something.
• Cause and effect
• Choice and consequence
• But also a conclusion shrouded in mystery, the paradox of uncertainty
How can these be added in a GDD?
• You can have a flowchart
• You can explain the gameplay, highlighting the action verbs and contextualizing it with the world you’ve created
• Include visuals if needed, e.g., storyboard
• A paper prototype?
Week 7 prep:
• One page GDD draft
• Working Title
• Genre, Intended Target Audience
• Essential experience
• A short one-two sentence pitch for the game
• 3 Game Pillars: Each pillar should have a short 1-2 sentence explainer next to it
• Core Game Loop: With key actions and resource flow
• Small sketch mock-up of the screen with explainers – what does it roughly look like
• Reflections document
Week 8 – Crit – 18th November:
• A version of the one page GDD as a high concept pitch deck with 3 slides = DON’T USE TEXT, containing: Working Title + Genre, Intended Target Audience + A short one-two sentence pitch for the game (slide 1)
• 3 Game Pillars: Each pillar should have a short 1-2 sentence explainer next to it (slide 2)
• Core Game Loop: With key actions and resource flow + mock-ups of the screen with explainers – what does it roughly look like (slide 3)
Prototype
Before this point, I hadn’t considered how the game would play, so I made this paper prototype to figure out what game-play mechanics I needed. The post-its move down as the player accesses different spaces, they move across to explain more about that section. The order they move down in is as follows: Cut-scene, customer space, switching spaces, storage and prep space, assemble space, customer space (to deliver order), town game-play.
This prototype is very bare boned, so I decided it needed to be developed into a more detailed flowchart.
Florist shop
I made note of some new games to research that would help me with my games development. I also needed to design the look of the floristry shop. I wrote my ideas behind my sketch below. I imagined this view of the shop appearing in a short cutscene to mark the start of a new day, maybe the player can see their character turning on an open sign to reinforce this.
I knew that creating my prototype was the next big step for my project as it would help me understand what I needed to focus on next. I decided my main focus would be to become better informed about the process of flower arranging as this is central to gameplay and the game would fall flat if this wasn’t accurate.
Research
I did a lot of research this week, including:
- Floral arranging (foliage, focal, filler)
- Flower prep
- Flower care
- Bouquet arranging
- Vessel types
- Vessel prep
- Arrangement design (colour schemes, hearty flowers)
- Equipment and tools
- Seasonal flowers
- Sustainability
- Environmental impact
- Online flower libraries
All my detailed research into these topics can be found in my notebook.
Computer feature
After prototyping my game and considering the things I knew were important for the gameplay to function, I decided to create the laptop feature where all of these things could be accessed.
- I needed somewhere where customers’ orders could be clearly viewed will all relevant information available. This was super important as orders usually won’t be completed within one day in game, so a clear format would allow players to easily plan for the week ahead and keep track of all their orders.
- Giving the players freedom to design their own arrangements was something that was important to me from the conceptualisation of the game idea. I thought the best way to create this would be to have an app on the florists laptop that is catered for arrangement design, going through the process step by step. the app could start by asking the florist questions about the venue, event and theme, and could provide a few example flowers, colour schemes or arrangements from the results. players can then choose to adjust the colour scheme, flowers and vessel, and position them differently on the screen until they are happy with the results. I also want the app to have a simple bio on each flower and to label clearly whether that flower is in season or not, choosing to show the player more flowers in season than not when providing examples for designs. Players can search up specific flowers and items if they want to (or need to) include them in the designs. Once the design is complete, players can print the design and use that as a reference when creating the arrangement.
- Providing the player with the ability to buy online would introduce more conflict in the game, and expose the player to more serious matters on flower arranging and sustainability. Players may need to use the online portal for very specific items or flowers that have been requested by customers, but this might not always be for the best. If players rely too much on the online portal, unexpected outcomes may develop. Players may also need to rely on the portal for budgeting purposes, if they cant afford to buy something in person.
- A social media platform in game would provide a simple way for customers to leave reviews on your work, creating a consequence for doing poorly. It will also bring to light the benefits of social media for businesses, and keeping in touch with friends.
Florist Interview questions
My idea for this game came from my experience helping my aunt, a qualified florist, make flower displays for my sisters wedding. I really wanted to get first hand research so I thought of all the questions I still had after my secondary researching, and wrote them up in this questionnaire. Interviewing her would help me to better understand the full process of floristry work, and to shape the game-play with the essential experiences of being a florist.
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