Game Design Methods Lasse Seppänen Specialist, Games Applications Forum Nokia
Contents Game Industry Overview Game Design Methods Designer s Documents
Game Designer s Goals MAKE MONEY PROVIDE ENTERTAINMENT PERSONAL FULFILLMENT
Designer s Environment: Facts from the US 60% of all Americans age 6 and older, or about 145 million people, play computer and video games The average age of a game player is 28 years old 43% of game players are women Vast majority play with friends and family Computer and video game software sales grew 8% in 2002 to $6.9 billion source: http://www.idsa.com
Designer s Environment: Facts from the US In 2002, over 221 million computer and video games were sold, or almost two games for every household in America All games are given an age rating and 68% are rated E for everyone 90% of all games are purchased by adults over the age of 18 16 of the top 20 best selling games in 2002 were rated E for everyone or T for teen source: http://www.idsa.com
Gaming Platforms: Huge Diversity ON-LINE : 5 000 20 000 : 5 000 500 000 WWW FIXED BASE MOBILE BASE : 25 000 500 000 : millions OFFLINE
Game Industry Value Chain MIDDLEWARE MAKER (3D engines, ) AGENT GAME DEVELOPER PUBLISHER RETAIL CONSUMER SUBCONTRACTOR ( music, voice actors, ) BRAND OWNER DEVICE MANUFACTURER (only in closed systems)
Business Models Publisher funding is the prevalent model on PC and consoles Publisher pays developer a fixed advance fee to cover production plus royalty on sold copies Origins in book publishing Publisher may limit the creative freedom severely, especially if a brand is involved Revenue share prevails in downloadable PC and mobile games The developer creates the game at their own risk, operator / distributor pays a percentage of the end user revenue A lot of creative freedom but lack of production resources
Key Team Members Producer Negotiations, contracts, budget, schedule, project management Top decision maker Lead Game Designer Story, game mechanics (rules & math), game concept, game design document, game-related PR Content decision maker (director in Hollywood) Typically a fluent and flexible writer Lead Programmer Architecture, tools, programming team work allocation Technical decision maker Lead Artist Visual style, tools, art team work allocation Visual decision maker
Consolidation Size of productions grows quickly A console game may easily involve a hundred or more people Many companies can t handle the transition and they are either dying out or being eaten by more successful ones Breaking in is becoming increasingly difficult
Small Developers, Big Developers Remedy operates with 20+ people and a network of subcontractors Max Payne Bioware has 135 people Baldur s Gate, Neverwinter Nights Success is not dictated by size Is a rock band more likely to succeed if you increase its size?
Over-competitive Market Game development is like Hollywood or pop music Many want to do it, few can be sustained Consumer s point of view An incredible number of game titles to choose from, breaking into the consumer s mind is tough FACT: In PC and console games, only few top titles create profit, up to 9/10 games make a loss
A Hit-Driven Market A publisher releases ten games, and hopes one becomes a hit Very difficult to predict which game will be a hit Brand names like Star Wars or Harry Potter are very attractive to publishers constrains the designer Extremely competitive market, average is nothing Similar to the music and film industries Extreme focus on quality
Case Study: Evolution of Shooters Differentiated, memorable concepts. Cool cinematic action Stealth, thinking Gadgets, 60 s, action Fast, straightforward action Stealth, RPG Moral choice, thinking
Questions?
Contents Game Industry Overview Game Design Methods Designer s Documents
From Idea to Design RESEARCH RESEARCH IDEA DESIGN SESSIONS DESIGN SESSIONS PRODUCTION PLANNING IDEA PAPER (1 page) GAME CONCEPT (5-20 pages) GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT (100s of pages)
Game Design is Teamwork Directed teamwork is the most widely adopted method Key members contribute in regular design sessions Lead Game Designer Prepares & directs the sessions Maintains the big picture with documents Works alone when needed Producer Brainstorming (commercial point of view) Lead Programmer Brainstorming (technical point of view, feasibility & cost efficiency) Lead Artist Brainstorming (visual point of view, feasibility & cost
Producing Quality On a hit-driven market, quality is of the essence Quality in games is: Engaging story Excellent playability Well-balanced difficulty level Excellent audiovisuals FACT: The later you make a change, the more expensive it is Create quality as early as possible Commit plenty of time for planning Prototype & test the key aspects early The bigger the project and team size, the harder it is to maintain focus and quality
Quality: Produce Competing Versions 10 IDEA PAPERS (1 page) RANKING SESSION 3 GAME CONCEPTS (5-20 pages) RANKING SESSION 1 GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT (100s of pages) omparing several well-prepared proposals is easier than evaluating just o Prevent designer blindness and retain objectivity Very cost-effective method but takes more time.
Quality: Iterative Production DESIGN Can be applied to virtually any game component EVALUATE PROTOTYPE GUI in the hit game The Sims was iterated 11 times.
Focus Group Testing Evaluation & testing of prototypes is typically done internally by game development professionals No budget for anything except friends & family tests Too close to the project to see objectively Personal pet features may be hard to let go Focus group testing, I.e. early testing by real endusers can offer valuable, objective feedback E.g. if you have 3 competing GUI variants, a wellimplemented focus group test may easily decide the race Problems found sooner rather than later are always cheaper to fix! Suitable method for many different game aspects: Story User interface Difficulty level
Implementing Focus Group Tests Testers should not know anything about the product beforehand Re-use same testers with caution You should only observe, not advice Do not answer product-related questions Do not help when they get stuck Each group should be small enough to allow everyone to talk when giving feedback Even a group of 3 people has been found out to work well It doesn t have to be a playable prototype, you can also show video clips, images or storyline papers and ask whether they are exciting or not
Implementing Focus Group Tests As the group facilitator, did you find yourself ashamed, embarassed, confident, or proud? Approach feedback with caution May point to major problems quickly and cost-effectively But the testers lack holistic view and vision of the final product don t do blindly as they say This is not bug-hunting! Technical quality assurance is a separate thing, best done by professional QA people
Modding Involve the End User Game developers always have limited time and resources to create content into the game A major part of the effort goes into the underlying technology Time to market is often a critical factor the technology offers more potential than the developer can use To create a modding phenomenon, the designer must allow later modifications and tools need to be distributed Mods are packages of end user created content, distributed freely on the internet New characters, game levels, items, Extend the shelf life of the game sell more copies Half-Life s Counter-Strike mod is the most famous example
Questions?
Contents Game Industry Overview Game Design Methods Designer s Documents
Idea Paper The idea paper describes the vision in a compact form Might include a drawing or two, or maybe a screenshot of an existing game No fixed format, whatever conveys your message and gets others excited about the project Typically less than one page
Game Concept Also called High Concept or Treatment This is a compact description of all the key game elements Try to go into detail even though you haven t had time to think about everything This exercise may already reveal flaws in the basic idea If you skip this phase too easily, you risk doing major changes later Give concrete examples of most important game elements and situations but don t list everything E.g. There are 20 different enemies in the game, including vampires and werevolwes. Include mock-up screenshots in target screen resolution and color depth as well as concept art Typically 5-20 pages
Game Design Document Fill in the gaps, describe the whole game functionality List and describe all the places characters, enemies, levels, weapons, puzzles, etc. in the game Go into small detail Vampires have a maximum speed of 20, while humans have only 10. Illustrate with as much concept art and mock-ups as you can Paper format is becoming less and less effective Huge printed documents become quickly outdated and are cumbersome to replace No search capability Team members have no time nor motivation to read large documents Online design documents seem to be gaining popularity In any case, clear and compact writing style is essential!
Other Documents Depending on game genre, other supporting documents are also created for convenience Level design guide Story bible
Sources & Further Reading Game Design Perspectives Laramee (editor), Charles River Media 2002 Game Architecture and Design Rollings & Morris, Coriolis Technology Press 2000 http://www.gamasutra.com http://www.gamedev.net Game Developer Magazine (subscribe at http://www.gdmag.com)
Thanks for Listening!