Practical Game Design电子书

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Practical Game Design

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Preface

Who this book is for

What this book covers

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Conventions used

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Disclaimer

Introducing the Game Production Process

Game design roles

Specialization and T-shaping

Development teams

Responsibilities of a game designer

Software development models

Waterfall

Agile

Scrum

Production schedule and milestones

Greenlight gates and vertical slice

Traditional milestone structure

Validation funnel in-game development

Role of a games publisher

Summary

Game Concept

What is a game concept?

The "hook" or "elevator pitch"

Description

Key feature set

Finding your USP

Platform

Audience

Age rating systems

Genre

Business model

Know your competition

The ideation process

Coming up with ideas

Twisting familiar mechanics

Creativity through constraints

Finding the fun

Prototyping

Iteration

Defining the fantasy

Creating the fantasy through game mechanics

The mood, or "how the game looks and feels"

Summary

Scoping a Game Project

Game structure

Game content

Content burn

Avoiding content furnace

Depth and possibility space

Randomization and procedural generation

User-generated content

Managing content treadmill

Common game structures

Linear

Structured nonlinear

Open nonlinear

Endless and sandbox

Notes on structure

Scoping practices

Content lifespan

Real-world examples

Player progression flow

Unlock matrix

Game flow

Example of a menu flow

Planning design work

Estimation techniques

Priorities and dependencies

Start from the middle

Summary

Design Documentation

What is the purpose of a GDD?

Characteristics of a good GDD

It is modular

It starts with goals and requirements

Is the result of a discussion

Is clear, brief, and concise

Is multimedial

It leaves space for creativity and debate

It comes in different formats and sizes

It is online

Tools for writing a GDD

Word processors

Presentations

Mind maps

Spreadsheets

Project management (PM) tools

Wiki

Illustration tools

Writing techniques

Use of style

Layering details

Prioritize

Use of keywords

Table of Contents

Bullet points

Images with captions

Diagrams

Variables

Redundancy

Hyperlinks

Write incrementally by drafting

Elegance in game design

Keep it short and simple (KISS)

The less-is-more principle

Summary

Adaptation of Mechanics

What is a game mechanic?

Examples of game mechanics

Jump!

Shooting and reloading

Action points

List of common game mechanics

Game mechanics interact with each other to develop dynamics

Mechanics and dynamics are part of a feature

Approaching mechanic design

Rules and game mechanics

Mechanics and dynamics produce feedback

Finding the right reference

Deconstructing your references

Additive and subtractive design

Putting it all back together

Summary

Invention of Mechanics

Developing an idea into an experience

New mechanics to solve a problem

New mechanics to innovate

Building a new game mechanic

Bartle's types of players

Lazzaro's types of fun

Shell's taxonomy of game mechanics

Mechanic 1 – space

Mechanic 2 – objects, attributes, and states

Mechanic 3 – actions

Mechanic 4 – rules

Mechanic 5 – skill

Mechanic 6 – chance

Game loops

Game's model and player's mental loops

Interactive loops

Core loops

Extended loops

Designer's loops

Games as systems of conflict

Opponents

Obstacles

Dilemmas

Quality over quantity

More choices, not best choices

Wrapping up the theory

Combat systems

How to design a combat system

Holistic game design

Types of combat system

Combat depth

How to achieve depth

Emergent gameplay

Depth and complexity

Reducing complexity

Teaching game mechanics

How to design a tutorial

Tutorials in Free to Play games

Summary

Prototyping

What is a prototype?

Why a prototype?

Prototyping techniques

Paper prototyping

Advantages of paper prototyping

Limitations of paper prototypes

Digital prototyping

Common prototyping mistakes

The never-ending prototype

Spending time creating systems

Using the prototype as a code-base for the production project

Spending time adding features, art, and effects

Seeking confirmations

A step-by-step guide to prototyping

Prototyping exercise

The hands-on game designer

A paper prototype case-study

Questioning a combat system

Addressing the problem

Asking the right questions – step 1

Selecting the tools – step 2

Creating the rules – step 3

Implementation – step 4

First play – step 5

Iteration – step 6

Final step

From paper to digital

Abstraction versus reality

Moving on

Summary

Games and Stories

Narrative

Do all games have a narrative?

Why are stories good for games?

Traditional narrative models

Three-act story

Monomyths

17 stages of the hero's journey

Departure

Initiation

Return

Designing narrative for video games

Linear narrative

Linear with extended space of action

Modular narrative

Graph

Open structure

World state

Environmental storytelling

Narrative review process

Step one – Read

Step two – Review

Step three – Analyze

The benefit of narrative review

Summary

Level Design

What is level design?

The level design process

The premise

The sketch

Example – written sketch

Example – imaginary playthrough

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (FPS) – Pripyat assassination

Grayboxing

Art implementation

Final polish

Level design and storytelling

Level design practices

Functional level design and realism

Evolving game features

Introduction

Development

Twist

Conclusion

Pacing from day one

Lock and key

Geometry and gameplay

Manipulating space

Height

Emotional significance of exploration

Effects of lighting

Vision as a mechanic

Level design in multiplayer action games

Summary

Characters

Playable characters, NPCs, and enemies

The function of characters

Friend/Assistant

Lover

Mentor

Minions (enemies)

Allies

Boss

Antagonist or the Villain

Hostage

Vendor

Quest Giver

Competitor

Character Statistics

A step by step character design

Acquire a deep knowledge of the game

Write down the design pillars

Write a high concept

Define and balance the stats

Weapon

Abilities

Prototype and iterate

Final implementation

The bad guys

Types of Villains

Types of enemies

Chaser/Aggressor

Patroller

Guard

Shooter

Swarm

Cannon Fodder

Tank

Enemy behaviors and stats

Enemies exist to entertain the player

Diversity

Summary

User Interface and User Experience

User Experience

Player input

Control types

Digital input

Analog input

Complex analog input

Touch screen controls

Camera systems

Camera types

Static

Manual camera

Tracking camera

Compound Camera

Viewing perspectives

First person

Third person

Choosing camera settings

Feedback

Designing UIs

Listing and prioritizing information

UI mockups

Paper sketches

Digital wireframes

Animated and interactive prototypes

UI Tips and Tricks

Choose a fitting state and progress indicator

Consider using notification badges

Match the pop-up with the context

Understand the limitations of tooltips

Consider labeling your UI

Do not reinvent the wheel!

Use movement, contrast, and saturation to grab the user's attention

Request or create a style guide and enforce it

Keep theme and pacing in mind

Confirm risky actions

Count the time and steps to play

Screens differ – often widely

UI placement is a science

Summary

Accessibility

Increasing accessibility

Reducing cognitive load

Avoiding mental challenges with binary outcomes

Limiting initial complexity and interplay between rules

Lowering the knowledge cliffs

Limiting the complexity of interaction

Maintaining visual clarity

Making audio optional

Restricting negative consequences

Building on common knowledge

Teaching game systems

In-game teaching techniques

Teaching outside gameplay

Best practices

Don't kill (with) the messenger

Understand the effects of the training mode

Focus your efforts on innovative and obscure

Pick the right moment to work on tutorials

Make a tutorial plan

Try a 3 step process

Test and iterate

Some things are best left unexplained

Localization

Playtesting

What to playtest?

Playtesting formats

Individual sessions

Group playtesting

Public testing

Remote playtesting solutions

Sourcing candidates

Personal and professional network

Recruited testers

Strangers

Running playtesting sessions

Supervised individual sessions

Session introduction

Playtesting session

Post-session interview

Unsupervised group playtesting

Setting an objective

Gathering feedback

Playtesting questionnaires

Summary

Balancing

Gameplay balancing

Balancing methods and tips

MBT balancing

Layered Modifiers

Tier 1 – Globals sheet

Tier 2 – Character Classes sheet

Tier 3 – Character Archetype sheet

Tier 4 – Character Upgrade Path sheet

Tier 5 – Troop Level Data sheet

Use case summary

Game difficulty

Static difficulty settings

Embracing mono-difficulty

Automatic difficulty adjustment

Rubberbanding

Multiplayer matchmaking

Progression-driven difficulty

Pacing

Mental and sensory stimulation

How to approach pacing

Pacing linear content

Pacing via rules and mechanics

Pacing tips

Investigating actor removal

High-intensity and storytelling

Multiplayer pacing and level design

Utilizing threat and anxiety

Summary

The Final 10%

Putting the pieces together

Feature creep

Less is more

Polish

How to polish

Stability and performance

Perceived performance

Audio and visual

Design polish

Play

Talk

Quality assurance

Game designers and QA

Tips for closing a game project

Summary

Games As a Service

Terms of engagement

Basic stats

Marketing and analytics

Economy and balancing

Basics of Free to Play monetization

Vectors of monetization

Time

Difficulty

Playable content

Non-playable content

Establishing a game economy

Adjusting the monetization strategy

Balancing player progression

Example – Planetside 2

Gacha

Pillar 1 – Quantity and quality

Pillar 2 – Player capacity

Pillar 3 – Desirability

Pillar 4 – Sustainability

Pillar 5 – Duplicate handling

Weight-based loot tables

Packaging and opening

Maintaining consistency

Kompu gacha

Box gacha

Bundles and targeting

Utilizing EV in bundle creation

Adjusting your offering based on individual player spending

Purchase rationalization

Evaluate your audience!

Players have limited budgets

Live operations

Staffing

Efficient live ops

Live-game balancing

Planning

Live ops calendar

Release cadence

Tools and setup

Events

Event classification

Event components

Totalizers

Prestiging totalizers

Scored leaderboards

Knockout

Event rewards

Event participation and engagement

Event intensity and player burndown

Community and customer support

Tips and tricks

Summary

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