FUNDAMENTALS OF GAME DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

SOUNDARARAJAN EZEKIEL
INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PA INDIANA, PA 15705

Goals of this course

We have 3 main aims

To provide an insight into one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. Globally, the computer game market worth billions of dollars To describe the stages involved in developing a game concept, using industry examples, also to introduce gaming terminology. This will provide the necessary basic knowledge to further an understanding of games and their development. To provide practical exercises that require some of the skills and techniques necessary to becoming a computer game designer.

What this course do for you

It will start you off on the long but exciting journey to becoming a professional in the game industry

Keeping up with change:

Game industry is a rapidly developing phenomenon, technological innovation sees continued changes in the devices people use to play games. As the market develops, players become more sophisticated and the types of game they play are ever-changing. There is a plenty of activity on the game development such as browser game and user-developed modifications and additions of the games. This is an exciting time to be involved in the industry.

Developing Experience

What is a game

Game is a structured or semi structured activity used for enjoyment or education purpose Key component of a games are
Goals --- Rules--- Challenge --- Interactivity

Games involve mental, physical or both Need practical skills Games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures The word Game Ludwig Wittgenstein address the definition. Austrian (1889- 1951) went to school with Hitler

History

Mankind has been playing games since historical records began Oldest Ancient Egyptian game called Senet 3500 BC Royal Game of Ur also played in Egypt 2600 BC Go ( 4000 years old) and Chess( 1000 years old) simple games black and white pieces on squared board 1938 Johan Huizinga defined game as follows:
Play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy, and the consciousness that it is different from ordinary life Fun Separate Uncertain random outcome like dice or coin toss Non-productive Governed by rules Fictitious

French Sociologist Roger Caillois defined a game as:

Game --- continue

Chris Crawford ( founder of journal of computer game design and computer game developer conference ) defined game as follows: Creative expression is art if made for its own beauty, and entertainment if made for money A piece of entertainment is a plaything if it is interactive. ( movies and books non-interactive entertainment) If no goals are associated with a plaything, it is a toy if it has goals, a plaything is a challenge. If a challenge has no active agent against whom you compete, it is a puzzle; if there is one, it a conflict Finally, if the player can only outperform the opponent, but not attack them to interfere with their performance, the conflict is a competition. However, if attacks are allowed, then the conflict qualifies as game.

Kevin Maroney:- A form of play with goals and structure Eric Zimmermann:- An activity with some rules engaged in for an outcome Greg Costikyan:- A game is a form of art in which participants, termed players, make decision in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.

Game Continue..
Art
beauty Creative Expression money Entertainment

Movie

NO

Interaction Plaything
Goal Challenge

Toy

No

Puzzle Competition

No NO

Competitor

Conflict
Attack Allow Game

Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics It studies strategic interactions between agents. 1944 John von Neumann Theory of game and economic behavior RAND cooperation also helped. Famous Game theorist John Nash Beautiful Mind Game theory was also theme for movies ( war games) and other game show ( Friend or Foe, Alias, NUMB3RS) Representation of Games
Extensive Form:- formalize games with some important order Normal Form:- represented by matrix Characteristic Form Partition function form Cooperative and non-cooperative players are able to form binding commitments Symmetric and asymmetric Zero sum and non-zero sum game-players neither increase nor decrease the available resources Simultaneous and sequential Perfect information and imperfect information Infinitely long games Discrete and continues games Meta games rules for another game Political Science Economics and Business-Biology Computer Science and Logic-Philosophy

Game Theory

Types of Games

Applications:

Artificial Intelligence

1950s Alan Turing- Can Machine Think 1956- John McCarthy coined the name AI 1959- IBM Scientist Arthur Samuels devised a program that played checkers AI used in many fields including gaming
Strategy determine the optimal action from a possible actions Path finding- find best path through a simulated landscape filled with lots of obstacles. Natural language Parsing computer try to understand language Natural language generation generate language Pattern recognition voice recognition, space recognition, detecting patterns in player behavior. Simulated people and creatures Planning Learning Deduction, reasoning, problem solving Knowledge representation Motion manipulation, Search and Many More applications

Game Mechanics

Rules are what game designers call game mechanics. Crucial aspects of games are goals, rewards, entertainment, and challenges. Here are some common examples of game mechanics
Skill physical skill (wrestling, tug of war) mental skill( chess..) Luck this is random choice, an outcome that the player has no control over( role of die, gambling, snake and ladder,..) Strategy this is almost exact opposite of luck ability to plan turns and moves within a game determines the outcome( checkers, chess, go, tic-tac-toe, ) Resource Management player has certain assts must be used carefully if he is to succeed Territory control--- control the game space is often important Diplomacy How players interact

Many games help to develop practical skills, exercise, educational, psychological role

Non-digital game classification

You dont need computer to play these games as a game designer you should be familiar with these games. Many of the characteristics found on these games are used in computer games. Board Games:-Games played on a specially designed board can cover a whole range of themes chess, Go, Risk and Monopoly Card Games:- use as a central tool such as a deck of cards standard deck customized decks. Some collectible card games such as Magic: The Gathering are played with a small selection of card Role playing:- Dungeons and Dragons was created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson Tabletop war games usually played on a large playing surface with miniature figures

Some Milestone Game

Monopoly:- 1930 during depression, it concerns real estate transactions Board War games:

Napoleon at Waterloo; Star Force Alpha Centauri War in the East ; Battle for Germany; Russian Civil war Breitenfeld ; Battle of General Mac Arthur ; Diplomacy

Other Non computer Games

Cosmic Encounter ; Dungeons & Dragons ; Magic the Gathering ; Whack a Mole Illuminati

Video Games
Space Invaders Dragons Lair Pac-Man Space Panic Donkey Kong

Computer Games
Star Raiders; Eastern Front ; Wizardry; Dandy; Civilization Deadline; M.U.L.E ; Balance of power; Doom Kings Quest; Trust & Betrayal; The 7th Guest; Myst Warcraft; Secret Weapons of Luftwaffe; Populous SimCity:- Create City like real world city, traffic delays, crimes, police stations, tax revenues to build city

Games that are played over some form of computer network With the current technology ( internet, flash, java) Some of the online games like Quest for Chaos, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XI, Star Wars Galaxies, and Lineage II charge monthly fees. First person shooter games:- many contain some form online component Real-time strategy games multiplayer play over a modem or local network Cross-platform online play Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Dreamcast, GameCube have online functionality like the PC Browser Games:- using a game browser. Massively Multiplayer online games using internet to allow hundred of thousands of players to play the same game together Role Playing Games:- RPG is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters and collaboratively create or follow stories. They rarely have winners or losers. it is different from board games, card games, sports and most other types of games. The above two groups are most often combined.

Online Games

Video Game

Games involve interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device (raster display device) Now Video game systems for any display device Large to small Input device used in Video games is called Game Controller Consists of buttons, joystick, --- Olden days it uses keyboard keys Other devices speakers, headphone, vibrations and force feedback peripherals. History: 1947 Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr., Estle Ray Mann got Patent 1948 Simulated missile firing at targets on the CRT monitor 1952 Alexander S. Douglass OXO for EDSAC 1958 William Higinbothams interactive game called Tennis for Two 1961 MIT student Martin Graetz, Steve Russell Space War - DEC PDP11 1971- Computer space was released and first commercially sold, coin operated video game Nolan Bushnell, and Ted Dabney 1972 Magnavox Odyssey the first home console. 1975 Ataris Pong Video Game Industry exploded afterwards.

Video Game-- Continue

Platforms:- combination of electronic hardware + low level software the terms system or console are also used Types:-- Many types ( Educational, ) Genres:-- method of game play, types of goals, -- Now more complex, Development:-- Game development and authorship programmer, desinger, sound designer, musicians, technician, .. Team ranges from 5- 50 even 100 members Modification:- designed with end-user modification Cheats:- Cheating codes, modify the game colors, graphical appearances. Glitches:- problem with software fix by patches. Demographics:
Age group 20-40 played significantly 40% female game players

Multiplayer games Benefit:- Artistic and Entertainment Some people argue it is good for educational such as literary and science Controversy:- graphic violence, sexual themes, advergaming( form of advertising), consumptions of drugs/ alcohol/tobacco, propaganda, profanity.. Political, social, religious, special interest group ESRB- Entertainment Software Rating Board rates software for age groups

Gaming Industry

Three largest gaming markets North America, Japan, and UK Other European and Asian Markets are rising significantly Sales varies among the countries
Japan is ranked first in console video game sales. North Korea computer games over 20,000 internet cafs to play online games NPD Group track US sales 2007
Retail price $17.94 billion Last December, Americans spent $4.82 billion on video game 44% up from 2006 sale of $12.53 billion Japan Sales is about $6.3 Billion in 2007 Hardware sale $7.04 Billion up 54% from 2006 Nintendo ranked first 8.3 million Nintendo DS 6.3 million Wii Best selling game Microsoft's first person shooter Halo 3 Xbox sold 4.6 million PS3 2.6 million Total:- Xbox 18 M, Game Boy Advance 70M with 290 M units of software Game Cube 20 M with 166 M units of software Top 5 software from Nintendo

Game Development

Game developments:- the process by which a game is produced. Commercial games are created by a team and costs from $1M $20M normally funded by a publisher normally takes 1-3 years Development team consists of :
One or more producer to oversee the production At least one game designer Artists Programmers Level designers Sound engineers( composers, sound effects, voice acting) Testers

Some members handle more than one role. Often the development team is overseen by managers such as art directors. Development Process: Pre-production:- the idea must be approved by upper management or publisher Production:- programmers write code, artists develop game assets that 3D model of game elements, sound engineers develop sound effects and composer develop music for the game. Milestones:- Need to meet deadlines. Nearing Completion:- Weeks before completing the game are very intense. Group work overtime without pay Extra effort has taken to make sure every thing works well Testing:- Make sure the games every feature works well Completion:-after the game goes gold and ship most of the time team gets compensation for their overtime. Maintenance:- any patches fix bugs and any glitches.

Game Development-- continue

There are well over 1000 video development companies today most of them are tiny with 1 or 2 members Culture:- game development culture has always been and continues to be very casual by normal business standards. Durations:- it depends on a number of factors it will take 1-3 years. Locales:- Most of the time they are very close to major universities. Stability:- Game industry is very volatile, only 5% of products make profits. Indie game development( Independent game development) self funded small team, sometime operating over the internet. They have full control over the game they publish over internet or sell to publishers.

What is game programming

Playing games is one thing. Lets talk about how these games are produced. Can you make your own game? How do the companies make games? How is art, music and story brought together? Programming is like art. It means a collection ( millions ) of instructions tell the computer/ video console what to draw, how to make the character act, what to show on screen and so on. Programming contains collision detection, vectors, mathematics ... It is possible to get a job in this industry. Imagine working with other creative, like-minded individuals to develop games that millions of people potentially play Many companies offer internships for students. If you know C/ C++ perfectly that doesnt mean you will get a job in game development You need more than that such as 3D Knowledge, mathematics, AI, Physics etc. Some Recommendations:-- Do not develop bad sleeping habits, take regular breaks, divert your eyes every 10 min for about a min by looking outside the windows

Get Started

Programming environment choose programming language

How easy is it to learn Is it suitable for gaming Does the language work with suitable game development libraries or APIs ( Application Programming Interface) What platform will the language run on Will I able to find support if I have a problem Is there documentation available

Choose Game development Library or API

Is this library compatible with my language Is this library suitable for my skill level Is this library suitable with the kind of game I plan on working Is there enough information available for this API Understand and agree with the library licenses

You now have a language and library game libraries will provide gaming components such as graphics, sound-- then you should learn and read everything you can if you did not understand, get helpdo not give up- when you are ready to write a program, understand the necessary IDE( integrated Development Environment)

Get Started.. Conti..

Gather your tools:-- collect all the tools( software and hardware) Designing your game
Start Small it is a huge and complex task, so start small Plan otherwise you will run into problems Wait Analyze your ideas Get Feedback from fellow gamers and developers

Creating Game Media:- create your game media if you are not an artist get some help find partners. Coding your Came:
Flexibility Prototype Dont optimize early Keep all tested code

Deploying your game Market your game

Find a publisher Find independent publisher Sell by yourself

Gaming -Glossary

A*-- AI algorithm to find a path AAA- rating Game with big budget Adaptive learning AI system that can reprogram based on the environment Aimbot method of cheating in multiplayer game use script to perform perfect target. Algorithm- step by step procedure Aliasing- high resolution image in low resolution screen Alpha-first stage program Alpha blending- include various details in texture. Alpha channel In 32 bit color, 24 used for real color and 8 bit for alpha values Ambient Lighting:- light that is refracting off objects around the us API- Application Programming Interface Backspace Culling Hidden surface removal Blending Mixing color from different sources Buffer Camera:- an object which describe the viewpoint of the player Clipping process of removing some parts DLL Dynamic Link Library Dynamic Lighting- lighting adjusted in real time for changing light sources Engine:- group of one or more classes that perform special tasks

Gaming -Glossary

First person shooter:- is a genre of games in which you view the world from the perspective of the character. Frame:- a single time step Game Genre- is simply a specific type of game GLSLOpenGL Shading Language GDI- Graphical Device Interface Key frame- part of animation technique which uses data to set up snapshots Lossless , Lossy, Linked List, LIFO, FIFO, Linear Interpolation Matrix Memory Leak;- memory allocated to data but no pointer to pointing out MMORPG- Massive Multiplayer online role playing game OLE( oh-ley) Object Linking and Embedding create an object within one program and embed it into another OOP- Object Oriented Programming Pixel- Picture Element Shader- used in rendering process Sky Box- trick used in 3-d graphics to display a horizon( far away stuff) Stack Texel- Texture element VectorVector graphics- graphics made of line, math formula. Voxel Volume Pixel 3-d counter part of 2-d pixel X-Y position

Game Play

What is game play? It is a series of interesting choices We are going to defines in terms of challenge and actions Challenge:- any task set for the player that is nontrivial to accomplish Action:- The rules specify what actions the players may take to overcome the challenge and achieve the goal of the game Game Play:
The challenge that a player must face to arrive at the object of the game The actions that the player is permitted to take to address those challenges

This definition lies at the heart of the game. Fantasy and imagination play an important role in game Fairness:- players expect that the rules will guarantee that the game is fair Symmetry and asymmetry:- In a symmetric game, all the players play by the same rules and try to achieve the same victory condition Competition and Cooperation
Two player Multiplayer Team player Single player

How games entertain

At the most elementary level, game design consists of inventing and documenting the game Most of the games are designed to be entertainment you cannot be a successful game designer if you create a game in abstract you must be an entertainer. Different people enjoy different things, you should create a game that entertains in a variety of ways Game play is the primary source of the entertainment in all video games Lets list some of types of challenges that we will come across. Physical Coordination Challenges
Speed and reaction time Accuracy or precision Timing and rhythm Learning combination moves Tetris Need for Speed Dance Dance Revolution Street Fighter Mastermind

Formal Logic Challenges

Deduction and decoding

Pattern Recognition Challenges

Static pattern Heaven and Earth Patterns of movement and change Sonic the Hedgehog

Time pressure
Beating the clock Frogger Achieving something before some one else Indy car racing

Challenges continues

Memory and Knowledge Challenges

Trivia Recollection of objects or patterns Identifying spatial relationship Finding keys Finding hidden passages Mazes and illogical spaces Strategy, tactics, and logistics Survivals Reduction of enemy forces Defending vulnerable items or units Stealth Accumulating resources or points Establishing efficient production systems Achieving balance of stability in a system Caring for living things You dont know jack Concentration Descent Ultima Doom Zork Warcraft Pac-Man Half-life ICO Thief Civilization The settlers Sim Earth Creatures

Exploration Challenges

Conflict

Economic challenges

Conceptual reasoning challenges

String clues from red herrings Detecting hidden meanings Understanding social relationships Lateral thinking
Aesthetic success Construction with a functional goal

Law and Order Planescape Facade The Incredible Machine

The Sims Mind Rover

Creations/Construction Challenges

Design Component and Processes

Before we can discuss the process of game design itself, we will talk about how to approach it. Over the years, people tried many approaches and some of them is better than others. Is game design an Art or Engineering or Craft?
Some people think it is art, it is engineering because it involves math and technology, some people thing it is a craft Answer:- It is Elegance.

The player-centric Approach

Player centric game design is a philosophy of design in which the designer envisions a representative player of a game the designer want to create, then accepts two key obligation to that player:
The duty of entertain: a games primary function is to entertain the player, and it is the designers obligation to create a game that does so. Other motivations are secondary The duty to empathize: to design a game that entertains the player, the designer must imagine that he is the player and must build the game to meet the players desires and preferences for entertainment Misconception 1: I am my own typical player designer build video games in effect, for themselves. But some customers may not enjoy it. Misconception 2: the player is my opponent NO, game design is about entertaining the player, not opposing the player. Other Motivations that Influences design: Design-driven game License Technology driven Art-driven

Design Component and Processes- Conti..

Integrating for Entertainment:

The game must present an imaginative, coherent experience, so the designer must have a vision A game must sell well, so the designer must consider the audiences preferences. A game with a license must pay back the licenses cost., so the designer must understand what benefits it brings and exploit them to the games best advantage. A game must offer an intelligent challenge and a smooth, seamless experience, so the designer must understand the technology A game must be attractive, so the designer must think about its aesthetic style.

The key Components of Video Games: Core mechanics:- turn general rules of the game into a symbolic and mathematical model that can be implemented algorithmically. The quality of the core mechanics is their degree of realism. All games fall along between abstract and the representational User Interface:Player

Output

Input

User Interface Actions Challenges Core mechanics

Interaction Model
PLAYER
Output Input Interaction model

Perspective Challenges

User Interface Game Play

Actions

Core mechanics

Two essential features of the user interface of a game are its perspective and its interaction model Interaction model:- the relationship between the player s button-presses and the resulting actions is dictated by the games interaction model Perspectives: If a game includes a simulated physical space or game world, then it will almost certainly use graphics to display it to the player. The user interface must display the space from a visual perspective: a particular camera angle or point of view FYI: Many of the early games were text-based, designed to be played on a printing terminal attached to a mainframe computer.

Structure of Video Game

PLAYER
Output Input Interaction model

Perspective
Game Play Mode

User Interface Game Play

Challenges

Actions

Core mechanics

The structure is made up of game play modes, a virtually important concept in our approach to game design, and shell menus. Game Play Mode:- consists of the particular subset of games total game play that is available at any one time in the game, plus the user interface that presents that subset of the gameplay to the player. Shell menus and Screens:- whenever the player is taking actions that influences the game world, that is, actually playing the game, then the game is in a gameplay mode. However, most games also have several other modes in which the player cannot affect the game world, but can make other changes. These modes are collectively called shell menus because they are usually experienced before and after playing the game itself.

Stages of Design Process

In the 1980s games were simpler they could easily complete the entire design and then code the game. Now games are more complex it must be designed and constructed in an iterative process, with repeated play testing and tuning, and occasional modifications to the design, throughout development. Not all parts of the design process can be revisited. We divide the process into 3 major parts:

1. The concept Stage:- in which you perform first and whose results do not change 2. The elaboration stage:- in which you add most of the design details and refine your decisions through prototyping and play-testing 3. The tuning Stage:- at which point no new features may be added, but you can make small adjustments to polish the game.

Concept Stage

Elaboration Stage

Tuning Stage

The 3 Stage

Before the concept stage, there is a stage called preproduction stage it is the planning stage of game development during which a developer is deciding what sort of game to make, testing ideas, and figuring out the budget, schedule, and staff requirements mainly, producers give green lights for game development The concept stage

Getting concept Defining an audience Determining the players role Fulfilling the dream

The elaboration Stage

Defining the primary gameplay Mode Designing the protagonist( Hero)- if the game is to have a single main character who is the protagonist (whether or not the interaction model is avatar-based) Defining the game world Designing the core Creating additional modes Level Design Writing the story Build, Test, and iterate

The Tuning Stage

Game Design Teams

A large video game is almost always designed by a team unlike Hollywood there is no union Game industries job titles and responsibilities are not standardized from one company to another company. Over the years, a few roles have evolved:
Lead designer:- the person oversees the overall design of the game and is responsible for making sure that it is complete and coherent. Game designer:- defines and documents how the game actually works. Level designer:- take the essential components of the game provided by the game designer- the user interface, core mechanics and game play and uses those components to design and construct the levels that the player will play through the course of the game User Interface designer- layout of the screen in the various gameplay modes Writer:- responsible for creating the instructional or fictional content of the game introductory material, back-story, dialog, cut-scenes and so on Art director-- oversees all the visual assets in the game Audio director oversees all the audible assets in the game

FYI:- Dont design by Committee:- do not treat the design work as a democratic process in which each persons opinion has equal value. One person must have the authority to make final decisions, and the others must acknowledge this persons authority.

Documenting the Design

Why do we need documents? Dragons should protect their eggs:- whenever they have eggs in their nests, female dragons will not move beyond visual range from the nest. If an enemy approaches within 50 meters of the nest, the dragon will abandon any other activity and return to the nest to defend the eggs. She will not leave the nest until no enemy is within a 50 meter radius for at least 30 seconds. She will defend the eggs to her death. This is what creating design documents is all about. Types of design documents High concept document:- not more than 2- 4 pages main concept to present to producers. Game Treatment documents:- Broad outline to someone who's already interested in it and wants to hear more about it. Character design document:- record the design of the characters World design document:- basis for building all of the art and audio that portray your game world. Flow board: cross between flow chart and story board story board is linear Story and level progression document: record the large scale story The game script document:- specify the rules of play

Game designers talent and skills

Effective game designer requires a wide base of skills such as

Imagination: Visual and auditory imaginations Dramatic imagination Conceptual imagination Lateral thinking Deduction

Technical awareness Analytical competence Mathematical competence Aesthetic Competence General knowledge and ability to research Writing skills
Technical writing Fiction writing Dialog writing

Drawing skills The ability to compromise able to work with others

Game Concepts

Designing a video game begins with an idea. Lets discuss how to turn your idea into a game concept, a fleshed-out version of the idea that can be used as the basis for further discussion and development. Creating game concept is what you do in the concept stage of game design. To do this, you dont have to have all the detail worked out yet, but you do need a clear understanding of what your game is about, and you must be able to answer certain essential questions, about the game itself, the players role in it, and the target audience. Here we discuss how to make those decisions Getting an Idea:- you can find game idea anywhere but only if youre looking for them. One idea isnt enough. Its a common misconception that a brilliant game idea will make you a fortune. More ideas are always better Dreaming the Dream:- A lot of computer games are light entertainment, designed to whittle away a few minutes with a puzzle or a simple challenge. But larger, richer games begin with a dream. Computers can create almost any sort of visual experience you can imagine. The design of a computer game begins with the question What dream am I going to fulfill? Game Ideas from other Media:- Books, movies, television and other entertainment media can be great sources of inspiration for game ideas.
Cops show inspired the game Interstate 76 The Sims was partly inspired by a nonfiction book called A Pattern Language

Game Concept

Continue.

A great many people who play computer games want to design them as well. When you play a lot of games, you develop a sense of how they work and what their good and bad points are. Playing games is a valuable experience for a game designer. It gives insight and lets you compare and contrast the features of different games. Communicating your dream to others: A game dream is fantasy that you have by yourself; a computer game is something that you make for someone else. You and your development team are entertainers. If your game is in a well-known genre and setting, you can be pretty certain that a number of people already share your dream. From Idea to Game Concept:- A game concept is a description of a game detailed enough to begin discussing it as a potential commercial product- a piece of software that the public might want to buy. It should include a minimum of the following points

Game Idea from other Games:-

The High concept statement:- A two or three sentence description of what the game is about The players role(s) in the game Proposed primary gameplay mode The genre of the game or an explanation of why its gameplay does not fit into any existing genre. The description of target audience for the game. The platform on which the game will run, and details of any special equipment the game will require The licenses that the game will exploit, if any The competition modes that the game will support single, dual, multiplayer A general summary of how the game will progress from beginning to end A short description of the game world

Note:- In a commercial environment, a publisher will want to see several additional details ; the games potential competition, the unique selling points (UPS) that will make your game stand out in the market place

The Players Role

To understand your own game and to explain it to others, you must know what the player will do, and in a sense, what the player will be in the game world- what his/her role is. These are the first questions you face in creating your game concept. What is the player is going to do?
Its sometime tempting to start thinking about a game in terms of its setting or its characters . For example, wouldn't it be fun to play a game set in ancient Rome? It is an already taken idea. You cannot make a game from a setting or character alone. The first step toward turning the idea into a game concept is to answer the question, What is the player is going to do? Be original.

Defining the Role : Answer the question. How realistic do you want your game to be you should have a general idea of whether you want your game to be abstract or representational. Choosing a Genre: In describing movie or books, the term genre refers to the content of the work. Historical fiction, romance fiction, spy fiction and so on are genres of popular fiction. With video games, however, genre refers, to the type of challenges that a game offers. In games, the genres are independent of the content. Def:- A genre is a category of games characterized by a particular set of challenges, regardless of setting or game-world content.

Classic Game Genres

As you flesh out your concept, you should consider whether or not it falls into one of the classic video game genres described below
Action Games include physical challenges Strategy Games including strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistic challenges. Most role-playing games involve tactical, logistical, and exploration challenges Real world simulations include sports games, and vehicle simulations, including military vehicles. Construction and management games such as Roller Coaster Tycoon primarily offer economic and conceptual challenges Adventure Games chiefly provide exploration and puzzle-solving Puzzle games offer logic challenges and conceptual challenges almost exclusively, although occasionally there time pressure or an action element. Hybrid Games:- Some games cross genres, combining features not typically found together this occasionally happens when two people on the design team want the game to belong to different genres, and they compromise by including challenges from both.

Defining your target audience

A common conception among game designers is that all players enjoy the same things that the designer enjoys, so the designer has only to examine his own experience to know how to make a game entertaining. You cannot make game for every one so choose a target audience ask the questions like who will like this game? What kind of challenge do they like? One group will like it while another group may not like it this is called binary thinking Reasoning statistics about player groups:- do survey Strive for inclusiveness not universality you cannot make a game that appeals to everyone by throwing in a hodgepodge of features because group A likes some of them and group B likes others. --- if you do, you will produce a game that has too many features and no harmony. It is between core gamers and casual gamers Men vs. Women Children vs. Adults Boys and Girls Players with disabilities Players of other cultures Types of game machines
Home console PC Hand held device Mobile phone and wireless device Other devices

Game World

What is a game world?

A game world is an artificial universe, an imaginary place in which the events of the game occur. When the player enters the magic circle and pretends to be somewhere else, the game is the place they pretend to be Not all games have a game world. A football game takes place in a real location, not an imaginary one.

Purpose of the game world.

Games entertain by several means: gameplay, novelty, social interaction and so on. The other purpose of a games world is to sell the fame in the first place.

The dimensions of a game world:

A games world is defined by many different properties. Some, such as size of the world, are quantitative and can be given numerical values. Others, such as the worlds mood, are qualitative and can only be described with words. Certain properties are related to one another, and we have characterized these related sets of properties as dimensions of the game world.

Physical dimension
Video game worlds are almost always implemented as some sort of simulated physical space. The player moves his avatar in and around this space or manipulates other pieces or characters in it. The physical properties of this space determine a great deal about the gameplay

Game World Continue

Spatial Dimension:- First question you need to ask is how many spatial dimensions your physical space will have The following are the typical dimensionalities found in video games.
2D A few years back most of the games had only two dimensions. For example Super Mario Bros. Mario could run left and right and jump up and down, but he could not move toward the player or away from him.

Game World Continue

2.5D typically pronounced twoand- a-half D. This is found in game worlds that appear to be a 3-D space but in reality consists of a series of 2D layers, one above the other. StarCraft, a war game, shows plateaus and lowlands, as well as aircraft that pass over obstacles and ground units.

Game World Continue

3D- Three true dimensions. Thanks to 3D hardware accelerators and modeling tools, 3D spaces are now easier to implement. They give the player a much greater sense of being inside a space( building, cave, spacecraft, or whatever) than 2D spaces ever could. With a 2D world, the players feels as if he is looking at it, with a 3D world, he feels as if he is in it.

Game World Continue

4D- if you want to include a 4th dimension for some reason( not the time dimension) you can implement it as alternate version of the 3D game world rather than an actual four-dimensional space. In other words, create 2 or more 3-D spaces that look similar but offer different experiences as the avatar moves among them.

Game World Continue

Scale:- By scale, we mean both the absolute size of the physical space represented, as measured in units meaningful in the game world ( meters, miles or light years, for example) and the relative sizes of objects in the game.

Game World Continue

Boundaries:- In board games, the edge of the board constitutes the edge of the game world. Because computers dont have infinite memory, the physical dimension of a computer game world must have an edge as well. In some cases, the boundaries of a game world arise naturally, and we dont have to disguise or explain them. For example, sports games, or racing games take place in a stadium or track or road.

Temporal Dimension

The temporal dimension of a game world defines the way that time is treated in that world and the ways in which it differs from time in the real world. Variable time
In games that do implement times as a significant element of the gameplay, time in the game world usually runs much faster than in reality Time in games also jumps, skipping periods when nothing interesting is happening. Most war games for example, dont bother to implement night time or require soldiers get any rest. Another Example The Sims, a game about managing a household, handles this problem differently.

Anomalous Time
In the Settlers III, a complex economic simulation, a tree can grow from sapling to full size in about the same length of time that it takes for an iron foundry to smelt 4 or 5 bars of iron

Letting the player adjust time

In sports game or vehicle simulations, game time usually runs at the same speed as real time. In some case you can speed the time by 2, 4, 8 times

How game entertain

Anomalous Time
In the Settlers III, a complex economic simulation, a tree can grow from sapling to full size in about the same length of time that it takes for an iron foundry to smelt 4 or 5 bars of iron

Environmental Dimension

The environmental dimension describes the worlds appearance and its atmosphere. We have seen that physical dimension defines the properties of the games space, the environmental dimension is about whats in that space. Cultural Context:- we are talking about culture in the anthropological sense Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile

Environmental Dimension

Physical Surroundings: defines what the game actually looks like. This is a part of the game design it which its most helpful to be an artist or to work closely with one. In the early stage you dont need to make drawings of every single thing that can appear in the game world. The following is from Grim Fandango

Environmental Dimension

Detail:- Every designer must decide how much detail the game world needs- that is to say, how richly textured the world will be and how accurately modeled its characteristics will be. See a scene from Thief II

Environmental Dimension

Defining a Style:- in describing how your world is going to look, you are defining a visual style for your game that will influence a great many other things as well. All of the locations in XIII were rendered in a flat-shaded style

Environmental Dimension

Over Used Style:- All too often, games borrow settings from one another or from common settings found in movies, books or television. A huge number of games are set in science fiction and fantasy worlds. Look at the scene from Armies of Exigo. The source of Inspiration:- Art and architecture, history and anthropology, literature and religion, clothing fashions, and product design are all great sources of cultural materials.

Emotional Dimension

The emotional dimension of a game world defines not only the emotions of the people in the world but, more important, the emotions that you, as a designer feel. See the scene from Final Fantasy VII.

Creative and Expressive Play

We will talk about several types of creative plays that you can build into a game.
Self defining play:- which players modify the avatar that represents them in the game Constrained creative play:- in which players may exercise their creativity but only within certain limits Freedom, or unconstrained, creative play: Story telling play:- in which players present other players with a drama of their own invention.

Self Defining Play: Many games allow the player to choose an avatar from a number of different ones available and to customize the avatar in various ways. Because the avatar represents the player in the game world, we call these activities self-defining play. Players greatly enjoy defining themselves, choosing an avatar that either resembles themselves physically or that is fantasy figure with whom they identify. Female players in particular like to choose or design avatars that resemble them selves and dislike having to play with avatars that they find unappealing.

Self- defining play Continue

Boys and men are more willing to play with default avatar supplied by the game Self-defining play give the player an opportunity to projects his personality into the game world by means other than gameplay choices. It takes several forms Avatar Selection: allow the player to choose from a number of predefined avatars, usually at the beginning of the game. These avatars are most often humanoid characters but in driving and flying games they are vehicles.

Avatar Customization: Allow the player to modify the appearance or abilities of her avatar by selecting interchangeable features In role playing games, this often takes the form giving the avatar new skills, clothing, weapons and armor. In driving games, the customizable features may include the paint color of the car and its engine, transmissions, tires and breaks

Avatar construction:
Give the player the greatest freedom of all; he can construct his avatar from the ground up, choosing every details from a set of available options.

Attributes

The attributes that a player may modify can be divided into those that affect the gameplay, which we call functional attributes and those that dont affect the gameplay, which we call cosmetic attributes. Functional Attributes
Functional attributes can further divided into
Characterization attributes:- which define fundamental aspects of a character and change slowly or not at all Status attributes:- which give the current status of the character and may change frequently.

Example:- In Dungeons & Dragons 6 characterization attributes used

Strength Dexterity Intelligence Wisdom Charisma Constitution

Each of these attributes affects a characters ability to perfom certain actions in the game
Fight Cast magic spells Charm others Withstand poisons and many other tasks.

Cosmetic attributes dont have any effect on the players ability to perform actions or overcome challenges: that is theyre not part of the core mechanics of the game. Cosmetic attributes exist to let the player define himself in the game world, to bring his own personal style to the avatar. The paint color of a racing car has no effect on the cars performance characteristics, but the player will enjoy the game more if he can choose a color that he likes. In multiplayer video games, cosmetic attributes can play a more important role because other players rely on visual appearances to make decisions. Cosmetic attributes make a game more fun at a low implementation cost because they dont effect the gameplay, they dont have to be tested and balanced as thoroughly a as functional attributes Just be sure that your cosmetic attributes really are cosmetic Typical cosmetic attributes for human characters
Headgear Clothing Shoes Jewelry Hair color Eye color Skin color And body type and size

Cosmetic Attributes

Creative Play

Many games offer the player the chance to design or build something In SimCity, it is a city In Barbie Fashion Design , it s clothing People enjoy designing and building things, and this kind of play is the main point of construction and management simulations If you offer creative play, you should allow players to save their creations at any time and reload them to continue working on them You should also let players print their creations out, take screenshots, copy them to other players machine, and upload them to websites. Computerized creative play falls into 2 categories
Constrained creative play:- if the player may only create within artificial constraints imposed by the rules.
Play limited by an economy In Simcity you can build entire city Creating to physical standard- player gets standard parts to build robot and fight Test against a fixed set of rules that you established Create a system of trends that the player can research Allow public to vote online

Freedom creative play:- If the game lets the player use all the facilities that it offers without any restrictions on the amount of time or resources available

More Information

Storytelling Play
Some players enjoy creating stories of their own, using features provided by a game, which they can then distribute online for others to read

Game Modifications:
To give your players the utmost creative freedom with your game, you can permit them to modify the game itself--- to redesign it them selves
Game modifications or mods extremely popular with gamer community and almost an obligatory feature of any large multiplayer networked game Providing the player with mod building tools also make good business sense. Your games original content can keep people interested for only a certain amount of time, but if people can build mods that make use of your game engine, people will continue buy your game just to be able to play the mods.

Bots:- a bot is an artificially intelligent opponent the the player can program for himself. Danger of allowing Mods:- Mods bring with some risks. When you allow players to modify your game, you risk the possibility that they will create a mod that includes material you would never use yourself. Level Editors:- allow player to construct their own levels for a game. We will talk about level editors more

LEVEL DESIGN ELEMENTS AND THEORIES

MICHAEL DUDA
INDIANA UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA INDIANA, PA 15705

Goals of this lesson

We have 2 main aims

To understand the different technical elements that various games and game engines use to create two and three dimensional environments. To analyze a few of the different styles of level design and when, where, and how they are best suited.

What is level design?

Level design is a multi part sub-field of game design that includes multiple elements:
Architecture: Creating the 3D worlds the player can move through. 2D Artwork: Creating textures to be applied to surfaces. 3D Artwork: Creating modeled details to be placed in the world. Logical Programming: Creating planned events for the world.

Architecture

This portion is sometimes referred to as mapping. This is the most well-known and obvious portion of level design, and where much of the work will be done. Focuses on many aspects including level layouts, 3D environments, game-play balancing, and immersiveness.

Level Layouts
A layout of the level should be kept in mind well before any actual mapping takes place. A basic layout will typically be a sketch of rooms, whats contained in them, and corridors and pathways between them.

A Sample Layout

This would be a typical layout for a death-match level.

Considerations

When creating a layout for a level, many things need to be taken into consideration:
Is this a multiplayer level or a single player level? If it is multiplayer:
How many players are going to be in it? Is it a free for all, or is it team/objective based?

Single Player Level Layouts

Most single player levels have a purpose: to tell some sort of a story to the player. The layout of the level needs to reflect this in some way. A variety of level design elements have naturally surfaced over the years that have shown to be successful.
Bounce Loops

Bounce Layouts
A bounce layout is something that simply requires the player to move into an area, accomplish a task, then return to the starting position. These help to add meaningful filler to the game by giving the player an objective to accomplish.

A Bounce Example

The player must enter a building off the main path in order to open a gate. The building has windows so the player is sure he or she accomplished the necessary task. The red Xs represent attacks on the player on the way too the switch. Green Xs represent attacks on the player on the return trip back to the main path.

Loop Layouts
A loop design layout is very similar to a bounce design. Key difference is that the player does not have to backtrack.

Reaching the end of the secondary path allows the player to continue with the primary path immediately.

A Loop Example

The player must once again open a gate. The grey line represents a cliff the player can jump down from after opening the gate.

Other Notes on Single Player Design

Freedom versus Constraint

Single player levels should offer the illusion of freedom to the player, but actually limit what he or she can do.

Atmosphere
Since the game most likely has some sort of story setting, the atmosphere of the level must reflect that.

Multiplayer Level Layouts

Multiplayer levels can be much less restricting for the designer.

Often level designers will start their careers doing multiplayer levels.

Though there are very few restrictions, a number of multiplayer level theories have evolved.

Types of Multiplayer Levels

Free for all levels:

These are most likely going to be death-match oriented

Team based levels:

Team Death-Match
Zone Control Based

Capture the Flag Push Objective Based

Death-Match Levels

Often designed to keep players around other players. Layouts are often small and contain few rooms. Overall shape of the level may be circular as opposed to linear or star-like. Game play is meant to be fast and closequartered. Levels must include locations for players to start and respawn when killed.
These areas should offer some level of protection in order to prevent telefragging
Telefragging - Players being killed as soon as they spawn.

A Typical Death-Match Level

Capable of supporting eight players. Green Xs represent spawn locations. Red Xs represent power-up locations.
Health Armor Weapons Ability Boosters

Team Based Levels

Players are divided into two or more teams. Goal is to defeat the other team in some way. Most team based levels (except team death-match, zone control, and objective) are symmetrical.

Symmetry guarantees level balance Also lessens map design time

Team Death-Match

Exactly the same as standard deathmatch games except the players are assigned to a team.
Must attack players from the other team and assist players from your own.

Team death-match and standard death-match games can often share the same levels.

Zone Control

Players are split into teams. Teams gain points for holding a certain area of the level. The level layout need not be symmetrical. Players can only respawn at a zone their team controls.
When a team controls no zones, its players can not respawn. A team wins when the other team has no ability to spawn.
Game could also end on a pre-defined score. Could also be timed.

A Sample Zone Control Map

Red Xs represent the actual capture points of the zone.

This is where a player must be to take control of the zone for his team.

Green Xs represent spawn locations for their respective zones.

Capture the Flag

Possibly the most common and well known type of team based game, even outside of video games. Each team has its own half of the map, identical to the other teams.
Only exception to this would be the colors to denote which side is which.

Goal is to infiltrate the other teams half of the level, pickup their flag, and return it back to your own flag.

A Sample Capture the Flag Map

Red Xs represent the locations of each teams flag and where a player must return the opposing teams flag to. Green Xs represent possible spawn locations. Capture the flag is relies very strongly on teamwork, defense, and communication.
Often, if a player is carrying the opponents flag, he or she will not be allowed to use a weapon and will be defenseless, and must rely on teammates.

Push Levels

These levels are often (but not always) symmetrical. Each team starts on opposing ends of a very linear layout. Control points are placed throughout the level.
Teams must take control of the points in order and eventually capture the opposing teams home point.

A Sample Push Level

Red Xs represent points of control.

The top team must capture in the order: 5 4 3 2 1 The bottom team must capture in the order: 1 2 3 45

5 4

Points cannot be captured out of order. This design often creates fronts, a location where opposing teams meet repeatedly until one team is able to push the other player back.

Objective Based
One team is defending while the other team attacks. Attackers must accomplish certain tasks to progress through the level. Similar to Push, but the defending team is unable to push back. Often based on a time limit.

A Sample Objective Level

Final Objective

Red Xs represent a switch that must be thrown to open the associated gate.
The X at the top represents the final objective.

Green Xs represent spawn locations.

Initially, the defenders spawn behind the gate. Once the attackers break through, they then take control of that location.
Attackers always spawn as far forward as possible to save them time.

Attackers Initial Spawn

2D Artwork

While not as obvious as architecture, this is just as important. Often performed by the art team, but they rely very heavily on the mapping team for feedback and suggestions. Creation of all artistic surfaces (textures) that can be placed within a level.
Walls Floors Ceilings Grass Skies Roads Cement

Principals of 2D Artwork

In order to have an efficient 2D artwork creation process, some principals should be adhered to.
Do not make something too specific.
Each texture should be able to have multiple uses. If it can only be used in a very limited number of places, it is not worth its own file size.

Principals of 2D Artwork

Variations are very useful.

Create a texture, then duplicate it with slight differences. Allows level designers to build a room with a similar style, but not identical.

Example:
A cinder block wall A cinder block wall with a rust stain A cinder block wall with a window A cinder block wall with an electrical outlet

Principals of 2D Artwork

Textures MUST be tileable.

Level designers need to be able to place a texture, then have it repeat seamlessly. Very useful for walls, floors, and ceilings.

If it is not tileable, then there will be a sharp line where one edge of the texture ends and another begins. There are some exceptions to this rule, but not very many.

Applying Textures to Levels

Level designers should have a clear idea of how they want a room or area to look before they start building architecture and texturing surfaces.
Concept art can be helpful (from the art team).

The room should have a distinct style.

Cinder block walls, shag carpets, and a glass ceiling would not be an attractive combination.

Applying Textures to Levels

Textures should be well aligned.

When two walls meet, the textures should flow smoothly. Not always easy to accomplish. Some level design software is better at this than others.

3D Art Assets

Many modern computer and video games rely on extra detail to make the level look more visually appealing. It would be incredibly difficult, visually unappealing, and very inefficient for most game engines if every piece of detail was created as standard level architecture. Games now have the ability to import 3D Models into the level as detail artwork.

Examples
Any type of furniture Statues Artwork in game (statues, paintings) Railings Trees and bushes Lights and lamps

Using 3D Art in Levels

Knowing how to effectively use 3D artwork is important. Some must be properly aligned to the architecture.

A railing must be properly aligned to the stairs it is connected to. A ceiling light or chandelier needs to be attached to the ceiling.

Communicating with the Art Team

Level designers need to be able to effectively communicate with the art team what art assets they require. One popular and effective way to do this is to take a screenshot of an area needing art, then sketch the type of detail needed over top.
Allows the artists to see exactly what the designer wants, as well as what sort of environment the model is going to be placed in.

Logical Programming

Level designers should have at least some very basic knowledge of programming. Modern games (especially single player) heavily rely on scripted events. Planning scripted events is the job of the level designer of that area. Many multiplayer games rely on entities to control the game.
Spawn locations Locations of flags in capture the flag Control points for zones Scripted sequences for objective games

Examples of Scripted Events

A gate opening up. Lights turning on with switches. An enemy spawning when the player enters an area. Defining where and how the enemy can move. A player being hurt or killed when entering an area (fire, electricity, radiation). Non-Player-Characters (NPCs) delivering dialog or performing animations on cue.

Entities

Most game engines use something called an entity to define these scripted events.
Some engines may have different names.

An entity is basically an object with parameters and the ability to affect other entities and the player.

An Example Entity: trigger_hurt (from Half-Life 2)

trigger_hurt is a volume of space in the level that takes away an amount of the players health if he or she passes through it. Key Values These are the parameters.
targetname What other entities use when communicating with it StartDisabled True or False damage A number, the amount of damage dealt damagetype Choices include: generic, crush, bullet, slash, burn, freeze, fall, blast, club, shock, sonic, energybeam, drown, paralyze, nervegas, poison, radiation, drownrecover, chemical, slowburn, slowfreeze damagemodel Option of doubling the amount of damage dealt each half second or not

An Example Entity: trigger_hurt (from Half-Life 2)

Flags These can all be set to true or false by the level designer.
Applies to Clients (players) Applies to NPCs Applies to Pushables Applies to Physics Objects Applies to Player Ally NPCs Applies to Clients in Vehicles Applies to Everything Applies to Clients not in Vehicles Applies to Physics Debris

An Example Entity: trigger_hurt (From Half-Life 2)

Inputs Commands other entities can send to it.

Kill Removes the entity from the world Enable Enables the entity Disable Disables the entity Toggle Toggles the enabled/disabled state SetDamage Changes the amount of damage dealt

An Example Entity: trigger_hurt (From Half-Life 2)

Outputs These are events that can cause this entity to send a command to another entity.
OnStartTouch Sends a command when something starts entering the trigger_hurt volume. OnEndTouch Sends a command when something leaves the trigger_hurt volume. OnHurt Sends a command when this entity does damage to something. OnHurtPlayer Sends a command when this entity does damage to the player.

Entities Working Together

Entities can be used to create complex scripted sequences for the game. Examples:
A trigger sends a command to turn on a light when the player enters the room. A trigger sends a command to an NPC to attack the player when he or she enters an area. An NPC can send a command to an entity to spawn a new NPC if it is killed by the player. A switch can be used to send a command to a gate to open or a door to unlock. A trigger on a bridge could send a command to a group of NPCs to attack the bridge when the player is on it. The bridge could be configured to then break apart when it is attacked.

Miscellaneous Notes

Many modern games now include complex physics. Often, these are configured within the level editor as entities.
Some games allow for the creation of ropes, pulleys, motors, and other entities that can all work together. Some also allow the level designers to specify weights and other physical properties of each object in the world.

Miscellaneous Notes

Some game engines allow terrain to be destroyable.

In most cases, this is pre-configured within the level editor.
The level designer chooses what the player can destroy, how it will be destroyer, and how much damage is required to destroy it.

The level designer can use this element to make the level more interesting.

Miscellaneous Notes

A relatively new field of research in game design is something called Procedural Content Generation.
Uses algorithms to create content rather than actual designers. Currently, no company has created a generator capable of building a complete level. Has the potential to one day eliminate the need for most level designers.
Some would most likely still be required for complex cinematic sequences that are integral to a games story.