Wagenheimer's Game Development Blog
Casual Gaming Programming, News and Tutorials.
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 >
Ano novo, Jogos novos
02/01/10
Ano novo, Jogos novos. O novo ano esta ai, e este ano tenho muitos objetivos em mente para minha vida! Para não perder o costume, decidi fazer uma lista de resoluções para 2010!
- Finalizar e lançar ainda neste primeiro trimestre, meu novo jogo Match 3 (que já está com o desenvolvimento bem avançado), alcançando os grandes portais de jogos casuais, começando com isso uma nova era de desenvolvimento de jogos casuais.
- Lançar no mínimo mais 2 jogos durante o resto do ano, sendo um deles um de Hidden-Object que já esta em desenvolvimento, e um novo título ainda a ser definido.
- Fazer a versão para PC e MAC OS de todos os jogos acima.
Dicas para Designers de Games
28/12/09
Another great tips by Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia Creator).
Tips for game designers
Rereading the advice, I think it stands up well and is more relevant to today’s industry than the 1996 list of tips for designing story-based games I posted last month.
- Prototype and test key game elements as early as possible.
- Build the game in incremental steps – Don’t make big design documents.
- As you go, continue to strengthen what’s strong, and cut what’s weak.
- Be open to the unexpected – Make the most of emergent properties.
- Be prepared to sell your project at every stage along the way.
- It’s harder to sell an original idea than a sequel.
- Bigger teams and budgets mean bigger pressure to stay on schedule.
- Don’t invest in an overly grandiose development system.
- Make sure the player always has a goal (and knows what it is).
- Give the player clear and constant feedback as to whether he is getting closer to his goal or further away from it.
- The story should support the game play, not overwhelm it.
Projetando jogos baseados em Histórias
28/12/09
List of game design tips for narrative games by Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia Creator).
Tips for game designers
Eons ago, in 1996, Next Generation magazine asked me for a list of game design tips for narrative games. Here’s what I gave them.
Reading it today, some of it feels dated (like the way I refer to the player throughout as “he”), but a lot is as relevant as ever. I especially like #8 and #9.
- The story is what the player does, not what he watches.
- List the actions the player actually performs in the game and take a cold hard look at it. Does it sound like fun? (Resist the temptation to embellish. If a cinematic shows the player’s character sneak into a compound, clobber a guard and put on his uniform, the player’s action is “Watch cinematic.” Letting the player click to clobber the guard isn’t much better.)
- The only significant actions are those that affect the player’s ability to perform future actions. Everything else is bells and whistles.
- Design a clear and simple interface. The primary task of the interface is to present the player with a choice of the available actions at each moment and to provide instant feedback when the player makes a choice.
- The player needs a goal at all times, even if it’s a mistaken one. If there’s nothing specific he wishes to accomplish, he will soon get bored, even if the game is rich with graphics and sound. Mais >
Por que “Casual” não significa “Fácil”
09/12/09
Por que “Casual” não significa “Fácil”
Excelente artigo do site The Game Prodigy explicando Por que jogos casuais não necessariamente significam jogos fáceis! Se houver interesse, O artigo aqui esta original em Inglês, mas se houver interesse, vou começar a traduzir os melhores artigos aqui para o Wagenheimer’s Game Development Blog! Se deseja ver esses artivos traduzidos, por favor deixa um comentário!
Why “Casual” Doesn’t Mean “Easy”
“Casual” games have been all the rage in the games industry over the past few years. From the explosive growth of online games to the major First-Party support of the Wii, the “casual gamer” and the entire supposed market space has become a great buzzword and mainstay in game development. Entire divisions of large companies have cropped up solely around the idea of casual, and smaller companies and developers striking it rich in this wild west of an audience.
But seriously. What does “casual” really mean?
Of course anyone can point out games that are casual versus hardcore. Wii Sports and Farmville are casual games, sure. Call of Duty and World of Warcraft are not. But what does that actually signify? And if you’re going to base independent or corporate projects and future sales figures on these genres, doesn’t it make sense to understand what they are and how they work?
By using the Game Design Canvas, we can break down both casual and hardcore games and find out what really makes them tick. When we contrast them as you’ll see in a moment, there aren’t as many differences as one would assume. However, one major difference betrays a casual game as a casual game, and that one difference influences the game’s audience, the viable platforms, sales methods, everything. It is the difference that sets it apart from the hardcore titles and gives it its soul.
Scott Kim fala sobre “A Arte dos Puzzles”
08/12/09
Scott Kim fala sobre “A Arte dos Puzzles”
Na conferência EG 2008, o famoso designer de puzzles Scott Kim leva-nos dentro da mente de um criador de puzzle. Tomando como referência os exemplos de sua carreira, ele apresenta alguns dos tipos mais populares, e compartilha o fascínio que inspirou alguns de seus melhores puzzles.
Imperial City: The Crown of the King
25/11/09
A empresa brasileira PlayArms, entrou recentemente no mercado de Jogos Casuais em grande estilo com o lançamento do seu primeiro jogo : Imperial City – The Crown of the King.
Todo ambientado em Petrópolis – RJ, com cenários foto realistas, e com grandes desafios com dificuldade progressiva, é uma ótima opção para nos divertimos, conhecendo um pouco da história e da cultura desta grande cidade Brasileira, e nos maravilharmos com grandes e importantes monumentos históricos e paisagens magníficas e muito mais do que essa cidade tem a oferecer. Depois de jogar este jogo, você com certeza também ficará com vontade de conhecer esta linda cidade.
As mentes por trás de alguns dos jogos mais viciantes dos mercado
14/11/09
As mentes por trás de alguns dos jogos mais viciantes dos mercado James Turner da O’Relly Radar fez essa grande intrevista com Jason Kapalka, a mente criativa por traz de muitos jogos de sucesso da PopCap.
The Minds Behind Some of the Most Addictive Games Around If you’ve wasted half your life playing Peggle, Bejeweled, Zuma or Plants vs. Zombies, blame these guys!
The gaming industry tends to focus on the high end products, first person shooters that crank out a bazillion polygons a seconds and RPGs which spend more time developing the plot in cut scenes than in actual gameplay. But for every person playing Borderlands, there are scores playing casual games like Bejeweled and Zuma.PopCap Games has been at the forefront of casual game development, with a catalog that includes bestselling titles like Peggle and Plants vs Zombies, in addition to the two previously mentioned. I recently had a chance to talk to Jason Kapalka, one of the founders and the creative director of PopCap. We discussed the evolution of PopCap, how the casual gaming industry differs from mainstream gaming, and the challenges of creating games that can be engaging, without being frustrating.
Game Design Lessons: From Seconds to Hours of Gameplay
04/11/09
Game Design Lessons: From Seconds to Hours of Gameplay
Excelente tutorial do site TheGameProdigy.com! Vale a pena dar uma olhada!
Game Design Lessons: From Seconds to Hours of Gameplay
