GAME DEVELOPMENT 1

GAME DEVELOPMENT 1
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Question:
What makes a computer game a game?
A computer game is a software program in which one or more players
make decisions through the control of game objects and resources in
pursuit of a goal.
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
A computer game:
• Is a software program
• Involves a player or players
• Is about making decisions
• Is about control
• Contains objects and resources
• Needs a goal
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
What makes a GOOD computer game?
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
What makes a GOOD computer game?
– Has a challenging, yet attainable goal.
– Creates interesting and difficult decisions, often under
pressure.
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
What makes a GOOD computer game?
– Balance: the game shouldn’t be too hard or too easy, the
player should have a chance to reach a goal but it can’t
be so easy it becomes boring.
– Balance between competing players: one should not be
stronger or possess more power than another.
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
What makes a GOOD computer game?
– Rewards: Something good should happen when a goal is
achieved. Examples: more power, extra life, access to
better resources
– Flow: keeping the challenges, pace and competition
realistic to the capabilities of the player
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
What makes a GOOD computer game?
– Immersion – feeling part of the game
• Connected to the story behind the game & during the game
• Does a player’s actions & decisions really matter
• Does a player really care about the characters or goals within the game
• Balanced and real (real within the context of the game)
• Graphics & sound also play a large role in the “feel” of a game
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Necessary Components
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The Story
The Game World
Main Characters
Music and Sound Effects
Special Effects
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Necessary Components
– The Story
• A good game will have the character follow some sort of logical
path; they have a story
• Even games like PacMan & Tetris started as stories to help the
designers ensure the games had focus
• Some games (sports, historical, movie based) come with a story
already in place where others are 100% original
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Necessary Components
– The Game World
• Can be in 3D graphic
detail, 2D abstract &
cartoonish or just text
and static images
• The world has to be
“realistic” in context of
the game.
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Necessary Components
– Main Characters
• Every game has at least 1
character;
• In a first person game, the
player is the character; in
third person games the
character must have a
strong, relatable personality
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Necessary Components
– Music / Sound Effects
• Background music adds a lot to
the game experience
• Choose music or sounds that
match the tone and flow of the
game; a creepy game should
have creepy music; funny
games should have funny music
• Sound effects need to match the
action
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Necessary Components
– Special Effects
• Just like in a movie they can greatly enhance the players
experience
• Sometimes less is more; make sure they don’t slow the game down
or get too repetitive
• Too much “razzle dazzle” becomes distracting and even annoying
DESIGNING GOOD GAMES
Do, Critique, Learn
– Come up with a game plan and start developing
– Continually critique your work as you go
– Have others critique the game as you go
– Learn from others / work with others
• Use resources from other game developers, learn from
other’s mistakes
• 2 heads are better than 1; So 3, 4 or 5 are better yet
CODING COMMANDMENTS
As you're about to embark on the world of building
computer games there are a few things to keep in
mind.
The following are the 7 commandments to follow to
bring your games to the next level.
CODING COMMANDMENTS
COMMANDMENT 1: TESTING
It cannot be said enough, but when you go to publish your game
and have others try it out for the first time you only get one chance
to impress. Having a game with errors is a large red flag. Try these
things to avoid bugs:
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Test at least 5 times.
Have others test your game.
More eyes the better.
CODING COMMANDMENTS
COMMANDMENT 2: LOOK AT OTHER GAMES
You can always learn from others (that is life advice),
but this is especially true when building games. Use sites like and
other arcade sites to get an idea on what makes a good
game.
CODING COMMANDMENTS
COMMANDMENT 3: CORRECT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR
A game is more than just its graphics and gameplay. A good game
builds a story, and a story shouldn't contain spelling and grammar
mistakes. Don't give users an easy reason to dislike your game,
spell-check is your friend.
CODING COMMANDMENTS
COMMANDMENT 4: CONTROLS ARE KEY
Make sure that the buttons you choose to control characters and
other objects within your game are easy for a user to reach.
Having a user press tab + 0 isn't really functional. Rule of thumb:
The closer the keys are the better.
CODING COMMANDMENTS
COMMANDMENT 5: USING SOUND
As we will cover later in the presentation, sound is a necessary
component and commandment to any game. Think of it this way,
side by side a game with sound is more engaging and less stale.
Use sound sparingly though, too much sound is a bad thing. Also,
make sound relevant to the action happening on the screen.
CODING COMMANDMENTS
COMMANDMENT 6: USE RESOURCES
Yes, even your teacher doesn't know everything (sorry
teacher). Before and during the building out process of a game
use online tutorials to help guide you and give you new ideas to
enhance your game. Also, tutorials are a great way to learn best
practices when it comes to coding games.
Free Game Development Software
Stencyl - 2D Game Engine
Game Maker - 2D Game Engine
Blender - 3D Modeling with built in game engine
Unity - 3D Game Engine
UDK - 3D Game Engine
Gimp - Raster Graphics (Like Photoshop)
Google Sketch Up - 3D Modeling
Autodesk Maya - Free for students
Game Art and Resources
Open Game Art
Free Game Arts
Psionic Games - 3D Game Resources
Sprite Lib
Lost Garden
CG Textures
Google 3D Warehouse
Blender 3D Models
Free Sound
Public Domain Sounds
Super Flash Bros Sound Fx
CODING COMMANDMENTS
COMMANDMENT 7: CREATE A CLEAN USER INTERFACE
It's important to remember that the person playing the game isn't
the person that built the game. Don't forget to display important
details to the user on the screen or HUD (heads up display). Items
that might be included are health, lives, time, etc.
CODING COMMANDMENTS