We need a shared language of game design.
From what I've read, i understand that game designing is more progressive using tools by which we can analyse and design the games. This really made sense to me "After all, how can you design a game if you don’t know how all the different parts fit together?"
When i design my game it would be helpful to think of it as a system, when designing you must give thought to the elements or "tools" of design and make sure that each is a deliberate choice. Elements are interrelated, and changing one can affect others.
https://learn.canvas.net/courses/3/pages/level-3-dot-1-atomic-elements-of-games
This is a summary i did for these elements/tools:
Players
Solitaire
“PvE”
One-against-many
Free-for-all
Separate individuals (against the system)
Team competition
Predator-Prey.
Five-pointed Star.
Objectives (goals)
Objectives (goals)
Capture/destroy.
Territorial control.
Collection.
Solve.
Chase/race/escape
Spatial alignment
Build
Negation of another goal.
Rules
Rules
operational (xs and os), constituative ( abstract, 3 to 15), and implied
Resources and Resource Management
Resources and Resource Management
Territory in RISK
Number of questions remaining in Twenty Questions
Objects that can be picked up in video games (weapons, powerups)
Time (either game time, or real time, or both)
Known information (as the suspects that you have eliminated in Clue)
Game State
Game State
what are rules, but the means by which the game is transformed from one game state to another?
Information
Information
A few games offer total information, where all players see the complete game state at all times. Chess and Go are classic board game examples.Games can include some information that is private to each individual
Sequencing
Sequencing
In what order do players take their actions? How does play flow from one action to another?
turn based
simultanious turn based
real time
Player Interaction
Player Interaction
Direct conflict
Negotiation
Trading
Information sharing
Theme (Narrative, Backstory, Setting)
Theme (Narrative, Backstory, Setting)
the setting provides an emotional connection to the game. I find it hard to really care about the pawns on my chessboard the way I care about my Dungeons & Dragons character. And while this doesn’t necessarily make one game “better” than another, it does make it easier for a player to become emotionally invested in the game.
emotion.
a well-chosen theme can make a game easier to learn and easier to play, because the rules make sense.
Games as Systems
Games as Systems
When designing a game, give thought to each of these elements, and make sure that each is a deliberate choice.
elements are interrelated, and changing one can affect others.
I find these tools very helpful to keep in mind and refer back to during the designing process as a critical analysis.
Critical analysis is making use of the elements, how they relate and work together and finally why the designer chose those elements and not others.
Im trying to understand types of games and analyse them this way.
I read that its easier to understand the game when you've played it, I want to put this into practice and throughout the game to keep questioning the designer in relation to their choices to benefit from it and learn from their uses of the tools.
https://learn.canvas.net/courses/3/pages/level-3-dot-2-critical-analysis-of-games?module_item_id=44530
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the title of this blog post! That sentence 'We need a shared language of game design' cannot be iterated enough. What is the need for all of the different versions and phrases, etc? Also, the meme as a relative to the title: a perfect fit!
One thing about the notes is they are a little difficult to read due to the black background on the text, it isn't easy to differentiate the titles from the body.
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