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Opinião: Design de Games Indie “Faça” e “Não Faça” : Um Manifesto
12/01/10
Opinião: Design de Games Indie “Faça” e “Não Faça” : Um Manifesto
[Veteran indie game creator Edmund McMillen, known for his work on 2005 IGF Grand Prize winner Gish, Time Fcuk, and Super Meat Boy for WiiWare, shares his opinions and manifesto on making indie games, with 24 clear do-s and don't-s to make your art thrive.]
One of the most common questions I’m asked in interviews is, “Do you have any advice for independent game developers who are new to the scene, or tips for developers in general?” Well, I actually answered it this time: I came up with this list of indie do-s and don’t-s.
Now, I’m going to make clear that I’m not perfect and I’m sure as the years go by this list will change. But from where I stand right now, having made independent art/games for a living for the past 10 years, the advice below is crucial to all indie game designers, and all artists for that matter. Also note that when I refer to a “designer” or “artist,” I include programmers. All aspects of art have a fine balance of the technical and creative; just because programming is viewed as a technical field does not mean it is void of creativity. The creative is visible in the work as a whole rather than in the specifics. Light and shadow are vital technical aspects of illustration, but without creativity the piece is nothing more then a photocopy of the subject, void of any personal touch or presence. This is a list for the creative designer who strives to be independent. This isn’t advice on how to monetize your Flash game or survive financially by copying existing trends and juicing the public for their cash. This is a list for artists who are driven by the desire for creative freedom and/or to “just make some cool shit people will love.” Anyway, here’s the list. Take what works for you and leave what doesn’t:
1. Be honest. When I say “be honest” I mean to speak from your heart. Don’t be manipulative or condescending in your work; treat the player how you’d wanted to be treated. Honesty is extremely valuable when making art.
Quadro de Design de Jogos : Layout estético
12/01/10
A parte final da grande série de artigos “Quadro de Design de Jogos” do The Game Prodigy
- Parte 1 – Uma Introdução
- Parte 2 – Mecânica Principal
- Parte 3 – Sistemas de Recompensa e Punição
- Parte 4 – Incentivo de Longo Prazo
- Parte 5 – Layout Estético
Se vocês desejam ver estes artigos traduzidos para Português, por favor, deixem comentários, havendo interesse, pretendo traduzir todos os futuros artigos postados aqui no Blog.
The Game Design Canvas: Aesthetic Layout
Who cares if the main character is wearing silver armor or an orange cloak? Does it really matter if your military troop is fighting in Europe or Asia? There can’t be any difference between a game about saving the world, and one your one true love, right?
It does matter. In fact it matters a great deal. The sights and sounds and feeling contribute to the Core Experience of a game like no other part of the game can. They are what make games a true art form instead of pure science, they are what make games closer to theater than arithmetic, painting than to geometry. These artistic strokes are the skin that the world will see view the game, its face, its exterior.
Welcome to the fifth and final component of the Game Design Canvas: the Aesthetic Layout.
Quadro de Design de Jogos: Incentivo de Longo Prazo
12/01/10
Parte 4 de 5 da grande série de artigos “Quadro de Design de Jogos” do The Game Prodigy.
- Parte 1 – Uma Introdução
- Parte 2 – Mecânica Principal
- Parte 3 – Sistemas de Recompensa e Punição
- Parte 4 – Incentivo de Longo Prazo
- Parte 5 – Layout Estético
The Game Design Canvas: Long Term Incentive
What makes a person want to continue playing a game? What takes a game from a 30 second experience to a 30 hour experience?
To answer this, we’ll have to start from the beginning: Why did the player begin playing the game in the first place? Fun and enjoyment are the most obvious answers. The thrill of the chase, the challenge, the quest! The opportunity to interact with others, to improve one’s skills, or to go on an adventure. All of these are examples of Core Experiences, which gets people to start playing a game. People want to have interesting experiences, and games are one way to fulfill that.
How about once they start playing, what does the player do then? They got there because they were seeking the Core Experience, and then they begin to enter into the game itself. They jump, they run, the roll dice, they make moves. They begin to interact with the game and perform actions within the game’s construct. Seeking an Experience, they are beginning with the Base Mechanics. They are beginning to become coordinated, so to speak, to learn to move and live in the game’s world.
Once they get going with the Base Mechanics, then they begin to learn the broader gameplay. They learn that they need to look before they jump, that they should treat villagers with respect when discussing delicate matters, and that they need to use the red bullets when fighting the red enemies. They begin to map out the interconnections between the actions they are making and the results the game is serving them. They are making their way through the Punishment and Reward Systems, learning what behaviors are encouraged and which ones aren’t. Building on top of the Base Mechanics, the P&R Systems draw them even deeper into the game and to the Core Experience they were originally seeking.
Quadro de Design de Jogos: Sistemas de Recompensa e Punição
12/01/10
Parte 3 of 5 from the great serie of articles “The Game Design Canvas” from The Game Prodigy.
- Parte 1 – Uma Introdução
- Parte 2 – Mecânica Principal
- Parte 3 – Sistemas de Recompensa e Punição
- Parte 4 – Incentivo de Longo Prazo
- Parte 5 – Layout Estético
The Game Design Canvas: Punishment and Reward Systems
You have many choices in your everyday life. Wake up and jump out of bed, or hit the snooze button? Eat chicken, beef, or veggies? Do some work, or go out with friends? These choices, these actions that you can take are the different colors you use to paint the landscape of your day, your week, and your life. It is through these choices that you experience and express yourself in the world.
If life were a game, these actions that you can take are examples of the Base Mechanics of life. They are actions that you can perform, that you have the ability to perform, and that you may choose or choose not to perform. They are the inputs into the system from yourself. You can freely choose from all the possible abilities you have and perform them to your liking.
…Or can you? Well, there’s more to it than that. Your actions and free will are not as free as one would think. Yes, you have choices you can make, but there are consequences, there are requirements, and there are strings attached. You may have the ability to go into the middle of a library and shout at the top of your lungs. You may have the ability to insult your best friend or to rob a convenience store. You may have the ability to sit in your apartment and be depressed instead of going out and enjoying the weekend with friends.
You could do these things, but you probably won’t. Even though you have the ability and the means, there is something else that is guiding your decisions. There is more to this so called “choice” business than you might imagine. It is as though some invisible force outside of yourself is governing your actions.
Enter the third component of the Game Design Canvas: The Punishment and Reward Systems.
Quadro de Design de Games: Mecânica Principal
12/01/10
Parte 2 de 5 da grande série de artigos “Quadro de Design de Games” do The Game Prodigy.
- Parte 1 – Uma Introdução
- Parte 2 – Mecânica Principal
- Parte 3 – Sistemas de Recompensa e Punição
- Parte 4 – Incentivo de Longo Prazo
- Parte 5 – Layout Estético
The Game Design Canvas: Base Mechanics
Dave is working on his blockbuster indie game title. He knows the genre, and he has a general idea of what he wants it to be about. It’s an action/adventure title about vampires and he wants the player to be able to steal blood from victims. He’d also like the player to have to avoid light in the day, and it would be a story about love and romance. Sounds like a great game!
He expresses this idea to a friend of his who is in the industry. His enthusiasm is apparent in his voice and his excitement about the idea, with the main part of the game revolving around the vampire stealing blood. But then his friend asks him…
“How does the player actually steal blood?” Mais >
Quadro de Design de Jogos : Uma Introdução
12/01/10
O Quadro de Design de Jogos é uma série de grandes artigos do The Game Prodigy que tenta nos mostrar passo a passo a resposta para a grande pergunta : “Como desenvolver um jogo de sucesso?”. Esta é a primeira parte de cinco, e irá fazer uma brave introdução sobre essa série de artigos.
- Parte 1 – Uma Introdução
- Parte 2 – Mecânica Principal
- Parte 3 – Sistemas de Recompensa e Punição
- Parte 4 – Incentivo de Longo Prazo
- Parte 5 – Layout Estético
Se desejarem verem estes artigos traduzidos para Português, por favor, deixem comentários, havendo interesse, pretendo traduzir todos os futuros artigos postados aqui no Blog.
The Game Design Canvas: An Introduction
Do astronomically successful games happen by chance, or can their approach be systematized? Are the games that make us laugh, gasp, and enrich our lives results of the developers getting lucky, or careful decision making? Is there a way to analyze successful games to understand where their strengths and weaknesses lie, and then apply them to your own games?
I believe that the answer to these questions is yes: a game’s design and development can be mapped out, studied, and perfected in a reliable fashion. Successful companies like Nintendo, Valve, Zynga, and Blizzard would agree. Legendary game designers like Shigeru Miyamoto, Will Wright, and Peter Molyneux would likely agree as well. These companies and developers have found ways of looking at games that lets them consistently crank out hits year after year after year. By the time you get to the third and fourth blockbuster, it is no accident. Mais >
