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Showing posts from 2007

Game Design Questions

Some questions every game designer should ask during the game development process: Are the game's interfaces and user controls consistent throughout the game? If they're not, is there a good reason why they shouldn't be consistent? Do the inconsistencies make logical sense? Do the controls adhere to known conventions for the game's genre? If not, in what ways is the game's control scheme superior to that of its predecessors? Are there objects in the game that behave contrary to reasonable player expectations? Are there objects that look like they should do something they don't do? Are there objects that do things that are not suggested by their form? Does the player feel lost ("where am I" / "what am I supposed to do next") when I don't intend him to feel that way? If I do intend it, do I have a very good reason for it? Does my approach convey the desired emotions, or is it merely frustrating? Does the game provide sufficient cues for t

Design Flaw: In Your Face

The Game : In Your Face The background: In Your Face is a street basketball game for the original Nintendo Game Boy . At the beginning of every game, a coin-flip animation is shown to represent the practice of flipping a coin to determine which side gets control of the ball. The problem: The coin-flip animation is purely cosmetic, for the human player always gets initial control of the ball. The virtual coin's behavior does not agree with the player's expectation that a coin flip should produce random outcomes, thus the game's implicit promise to the player is broken. The solution: Allow the coin flip to determine who gets control of the ball, or else get rid of the coin flip animation.

Bad Interface: Civilization IV

The game: Civilization IV The background: Numerous times over the course of the game the player is asked to choose from a list technologies that determine the units and improvements available in play. Certain items on each list are emphasized through the addition of the word "recommended" right next to those items. The problem: The placement of the word "recommended" next to particular items introduces a bias toward those items. This is fine for new players, but for slightly more experienced players the game's recommendations can become an obstacle to uninhibited choice. After all, if the player thinks the game has selected the best of all the available choices, why should he pick anything different? This kind of player lacks the experience necessary to make the best choices on his own, and the game's interface hinders the player's acquisition of such experience by interfering with the free exploration of the game's technology tree. The solution:

Design Flaw: Zelda: The Wind Waker

The game: Zelda: The Wind Waker The background: One of the islands in the game, the largest of the Mother and Child Isles , is impossible to reach on foot. A talking fish that's swimming in the area tells the player he may reach the island by taking "a ride on a whirlwind": "They say that inside the ring of rock that makes up the perimeter of that island, there lives an incredibly beautiful fairy! But the thing is, nobody's ever met her. Supposedly, the only way you'll ever meet her is to take a ride on a whilrwind and drop inside that rock perimeter from the sky above. Doesn't sound easy, fry..." The problem: The fish's suggestion is potentially misleading. In certain areas of the game world the player can use his Deku Leaf to glide over cyclones and be lifted high up in the air, extending his gliding range. Recalling these experiences, some players will improperly deduce they're supposed to ride the small cyclone that's found in the i

Remembering Goals

The issue : Certain kinds of games require that players keep one or more specific goals in mind as they play. Players who return to a game after a long absence may find it difficult to remember what they're supposed to do next, which may impede their progress. Resolution: Provide some sort of reminder of the player's unfinished tasks. This may assume such different forms as a list of pending and completed goals (Psychonauts), an in-character reminder of pending goals (Dragon Quest VIII), or a video log of significant cutscenes (Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando). If any of the tasks require knowledge of specific details previously revealed in play, the player should likewise be reminded of those details.

Bad Interface: Dragon Quest VIII

The game : Dragon Quest VIII The background : In a battle against a group of monsters, a player who wishes to attack has to first choose the "attack" option from within the game's "fight" menu, and then pick whichever monster is the player's intended target. The problem : Once the player has defeated every monster except for the last one, the game no longer waits for the player to pick a target. The reason that's a problem is that the player, having become accustomed to performing two actions for each attack, is now required to adapt to a different mode of operation where each attack requires only a single action. A player who presses twice on the action button while expecting a single attack will be surprised to find out that he's actually chosen to attack twice (once for each player character). The solution : Have a consistent interface that requires the player to always pick a target for his attacks. Avoiding inconsistencies is more important th

Divide Progress Into Discrete Units

Defeating an enemy; overcoming an obstacle; surviving in the face of adversity: success and failure are at the very core of the game-player's experience. Games offer players a number of choices, some of which lead to success and some of which lead to failure or non-success. Together with the challenges presented to the player, the fact that the player might fail lends significance to the player's choices and actions. Although failure can be a negative experience, it is also the very thing that makes success meaningful . There are two kinds of failure in games. One kind of failure concerns the player's inability to satisfy a particular success condition that nevertheless remains satisfiable, and another kind of failure takes place whenever the player encounters a particular failure condition . While the first kind of failure is simply a failure to succeed, the latter kind calls for a particular response to the player's actions. The manner in which a game responds to pl