Game Design Methods - UIAH · Lasse Seppänen: Game Design Methods, Feb 2003 Small Developers, Big Developers • Remedy operates with 20+ people and a network of subcontractors •

Lasse Seppänen: Game Design Methods, Feb 2003

Game Design Methods

Lasse SeppänenSpecialist, Games Applications

Forum Nokia


Contents

• Game Industry Overview• Game Design Methods• Designer’s Documents


Game Designer’s Goals

MAKE MONEY

PROVIDEENTERTAINMENT

PERSONALFULFILLMENT


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 DiversityON-LINE

€: 5 000 – 20 000 €: 5 000 – 500 000

WWW

OFF-LINE

FIXED BASE MOBILE BASE

€: 25 000 – 500 000€: millions


Game Industry Value Chain

PUBLISHER

AGENT

GAMEDEVELOPER

MIDDLEWAREMAKER

(3D engines,…)

SUBCONTRACTORmusic, voice actors, …) BRAND

OWNER DEVICEMANUFACTURER

(only in closed systems)

RETAIL CONSUMER

(


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 MembersProducer

• 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

Cool cinematic action

Gadgets, 60’s, action

Moral choice, thinkingStealth, RPG

Stealth, thinking

Fast, straightforward action

Differentiated, memorable

concepts.


Questions?


Contents



From Idea to Design

IDEA

IDEA PAPER(1 page)

RESEARCH

DESIGNSESSIONS

GAMECONCEPT

(5-20 pages)

RESEARCH

DESIGNSESSIONS

GAME DESIGNDOCUMENT

(100s of pages)

PRODUCTIONPLANNING


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

ffi i )


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)

3 GAMECONCEPTS(5-20 pages)

RANKINGSESSION

1 GAME DESIGNDOCUMENT

(100s of pages)RANKINGSESSION

Comparing several well-prepared proposals is easier than evaluating just oPrevent “designer blindness” and retain objectivity

Very cost-effective method but takes more time.


Quality: Iterative Production

Can be applied to virtually any game componentDESIGN

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 end-users can offer valuable, objective feedback

• E.g. if you have 3 competing GUI variants, a well-implemented 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



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)

http://www.gamasutra.com/

http://www.gamedev.net/


Thanks for Listening!