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It may contain too much detail on one specific area of its subject. Please either create a new article for this information, make clearer why its inclusion is necessary, or remove it. | Game design is the process of designing the content and rules of a game. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in an actual game as well as documentation that describes such a design. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...
Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...
For other uses, see Game (disambiguation). ...
Main concepts
Types of game design Game designers often specialize in certain types of games, such as board games, card games or video games. Although these can be very different disciplines, they share many underlying conceptual and methodological similarities. Some other types of Game Design are Online Games, Multiplayer or Single Player Games. A game designer is a person who designs games. ...
A board game is a game played with counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across a board (a premarked surface, usually specific to that game). ...
// For the game on The Price Is Right, see Card Game (pricing game). ...
“Computer and video games†redirects here. ...
Primary purpose The purpose of the game design process is essentially to direct the creation of a game given a set of constraints. These constraints vary depending on the type of game being designed. There are many categories of constraint, some examples are - For other uses, see Game (disambiguation). ...
- Technical
- Production
- Intended target audience
- Ethical
- Political
Interaction with other design disciplines Some types of game design involve integration of many varying design disciplines. Video game design, for example, requires the co-ordination of: All the above have design elements to them, which makes the clear and concise definition of video game design difficult. The complex nature of video game development arises because of interdependencies between these design disciplines. Decisions made in one area tend to create constraints in others. For example, art specifications can conflict with technical constraints, or the design might appear coherent overall, but impractical to build. A game mechanic is a rule or set of rules intended to produce a set of outcomes in a game. ...
A game artist is responsible for all of the aspects of game development that calls for visual art. ...
Game programming, a subset of game development, is the programming of computer, console or arcade games. ...
These interdependencies, although typically less complex, are also applicable to more traditional game design, such as board games, where the designer might seek to make the game fun, but may also wish to make sure that it is possible to mass produce, market and sell it and turn a profit.
Design method A document which describes a game's design may be used during development (often called a design document), although this is not the only way to design a game. Many games have been developed primarily through iterative prototyping which, depending on the type of game, can be a more appropriate way of discovering new designs than theorising on paper. This was particularly true of early video games where the programmer was often also the designer and designs were much more constrained by technology, while at the same time new and ingenious programming techniques were being devised in parallel with the game design itself. In practice, some combination of forward planning and iterative design is used in the development of a game.
Iterative design tends to be more suitable for core game mechanics (or gameplay) where the emergent properties of the design can be very hard to predict. On the other hand, game elements such as story, setting, logical flow and level designs often lend themselves to being designed on paper, although almost invariably some unforeseen issues will arise that will need to be dealt with through a modification of the paper design. Thus, even a design document can and usually does undergo some kind of iterative process during the development of a game, either formally or informally. Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. ...
Level design or game mapping is the creation of levels—locales, stages, or missions—for a video game (such as a console game or computer game). ...
Narrative elements Games often have narrative elements which are used to give a context to the activity of a game, make the activity of playing it less abstract and enhance its entertainment value, although narrative elements are not always clearly present or present at all. Tetris is an example of a game apparently without narrative. It should be noted that some narratologists claim that all games have a narrative element. Some go further and claim that games are essentially a form of narrative (see "Ludologists versus narrativists" below). Narrative in practice can be the starting point for the development of a game, or alternatively can be added to a design that started as a set of game mechanics. Tetris (Russian: ) is a falling-blocks puzzle video game, released on a large spectrum of platforms. ...
Narratology, a term coined by Professor Edward Maloney from Georgetown University, is the theory and study of narrative and narrative structure and ([1]) the way they affect our perception. ...
Some narrative elements directly relevant to game design are:
- Example: City crime
- Example: Survival in a dangerous urban environment
- Example: Playing the role of a young criminal working their way up through the criminal underworld, in a major American city.
Narrative elements of a game are the primary aspect of games that are used in marketing, due to the ease with which they can be related in non-interactive media. In literature, a theme is a broad idea in a story, or a message or lesson conveyed by a work. ...
Look up Story in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Activities Games invariably involve activities in which the game player engages, usually for the purpose of entertainment, education or training. Some examples are: - Racing
- Shooting
- Commanding
- Hiding
- Trading
- Escaping
- Finding
- Solving puzzles
- Stunts
- Role Playing
- Learning/Education
Many games have multiple interrelated activities.
Gameplay Gameplay is a commonly used term used to describe the interactive aspects of a video game design. In recent times it has also come to be used in the context of more traditional games. An alternative name for gameplay that is finding favor with academics is game mechanics, although there are arguments that gameplay and game mechanics are different concepts . Gameplay is what distinguishes a game from a non-interactive medium such as a book or film. Often the game designer seeks to provide challenges to a player through the design of game mechanics that it is hoped the player will find entertaining. Key concepts in gameplay design are: Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. ...
A game mechanic is a rule or set of rules intended to produce a set of outcomes in a game. ...
Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. ...
A game mechanic is a rule or set of rules intended to produce a set of outcomes in a game. ...
Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. ...
A game mechanic is a rule or set of rules intended to produce a set of outcomes in a game. ...
- An environment
- Objects within the environment that may change state
- Rules governing changes of state of objects, such as position, in response to the state of other objects and/or decisions made by the player
- The rewards and punishments given to the player as a result of changes to the state of the game
Ludologists versus narrativists There is ongoing debate between two academic viewpoints on game design. Narrativists take the view that a game can be understood as a form of narrative. Ludologists take the view that a game needs to be understood in terms of its rules, interface, and also in terms of the concept of play. A third group believes this distinction is artificial and that ludology does not exclude the so-called "narratology". For more information see Game studies: Ludology and narratology. Video game studies (Ludology) is the still-young field of analyzing video games from a social science or humanities perspective. ...
Video/computer game design process The design process varies from designer to designer and companies have different formal procedures and philosophies. In spite of this, it is possible to identify two main methods. The first is a process that starts with a concept or a previously completed game, continues with the creation of a design document that is intended to map out the full game design and concludes with production where the design is implemented. The second approach inserts a prototyping phase.
Designers Games are designed either by individuals or teams. Designers are generally creative individuals with broad backgrounds. A wide frame of reference is commonly used to generate new ideas or entertaining content, as well as having an understanding of all the technical and production issues. Additionally designers need to be able to juggle a very large number of interrelated constraints, making creative decisions to resolve conflicts, so an analytical mind is an asset. For example, because of the demands of the market, designers are often required to design games based on licensed properties or IPs—some of which may place very stringent and difficult to negotiate constraints upon the design. In these cases, the designer(s) must exercise great creativity and patience while forming a game that meets all the desired constraints, including that the game be fun and interesting. For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (film). ...
Some designers are well known within the industry and beyond, however this is relatively rare in recent times. Some companies favor the approach of having no readily identifiable designer of a game, preferring to distribute design responsibilities among team members. Others will have an individual that takes ultimate responsibility for the design of a game. A few designers are sufficiently famous that having their name on the box will help the game sell.
References is a book on game design by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, published by MIT Press in 2003. ...
Eric Zimmerman is a game designer and the co-founder and CEO of gameLab, a computer game development company. ...
Katie Salen is a game designer, interactive designer, animator, and design educator. ...
Eric Zimmerman is a game designer and the co-founder and CEO of gameLab, a computer game development company. ...
Katie Salen is a game designer, interactive designer, animator, and design educator. ...
See also To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
The GNS Theory, as originally developed by Ron Edwards, is a relatively amorphous body of work attempting to create a theory of how role-playing games work. ...
The following is a list of books on computer and video games, which range from development, theory, history, to art books. ...
This is a hierarchical list linking to all articles related to computer and video games. ...
Simulated reality is the idea that reality could be simulated — often computer-simulated — to a degree indistinguishable from true reality. ...
External links - Game design veteran Tom Sloper's game biz advice, including lessons on game design
- Game Industry Map - a searchable database of Game Design companies around the world
- ACM Queue article "Game Development: Harder Than You Think" by Jonathan Blow
- The Art of Computer Game Design by Chris Crawford
Chris Crawford is the name of several notable persons: Chris Crawford (basketball player) Chris Crawford (game designer) ...
Game design wikis - David Perrys Game Designers Reference Book Complete game design hand book and reference wiki
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