unlock your creative potential: 7 steps to becoming a game designer

www.FamousAspect.com

Unlock your Creative Potential7 steps to becoming a game designer

http://www.famousaspect.com



A brief history of Ethanintern and tester metrics and user testing

game design game production

Core competencies: game design, Powerpoint decks, inappropriate humor




Support the Craftyy Kickstarter to design, remix and share HTML5 games.

Craftyy



http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/craftyy/craftyy-an-online-game-creator

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/craftyy/craftyy-an-online-game-creator

http://www.craftyy.com

http://www.craftyy.com


Super Pixel Time

Apple IIOriginal Gameboy



http://www.superpixeltime.com

http://www.superpixeltime.com


Pop Red Balloons!




Cofounder @ Quarter Spiral



http://www.quarterspiral.com

http://www.quarterspiral.com


Unlock your Creative Potential




1) Know yourselfWhy do you want to design video games?




Activity: self reflection•Why do I want to design videogames?

•What are the upsides of this motivation?

•What are the downsides of this motivation?




Why design?




Upsides•Wide range of genres

•Wide range of skill sets

•Adaptable beyond hands on design

✦ Building teams

✦ Building people

✦ Building process

✦ Building lectures




Downsides•Overextend and lose focus

•Limited patience for lengthy development cycles

•Difficulty handing off pieces of the design




“I want to lead the design of a 90+ Metacritic game.”

Find your motivation




“I want to be the face of a AAA videogame.”





“I want to be rich and famous.”





Forget about Deus Ex, Dead Space 2 or Dead Souls

90+ Metacritic




Face of the product?




2011 Salary Survey: Industry average = $81,192, Designer = $73,386

Rich and famous?




Play to your strengths, overcome your weaknesses

Be honest with yourself




2) Know visionCommunication is the key to design




Activity: write a game treatment•2-3 page document at a high level

•Communicate the core vision

•Get people excited

•Clearly define the game




Treatment != design document




Goals of a treatment•Communicate a clear vision

•Generate excitement

•Define scope

Easiest part of the job, hardest part to do right




Elements of a treatment•Hype paragraph

•X statement

•Analogs, antilogs, leaps of faith

•Target player

•Major features




Smash TV Social




Hype paragraph•Wet the appetite - get the reader excited

•Be brief - 3 to 5 sentences

•Tease major features

“‘Big money, big prizes, I love it.’ Smash TV Social is the return of the classic arcade game, reinvented for social networks. Presented through the lens of reality TV, this over the top, twin stick shooter allows friends and strangers to co-operate and compete for high scores while mowing down enemies with inventive weapons. Modernized with RPG progression systems, upgradable & customizable weaponry and multiplayer, Smash TV Social is the next, addictive evolution of the top down shooter.”




X statement•Single sentence that describes the essence of the game

•“Razor” used to make decisions

•Punchy & memorable

Meaningless X statementReturn of the arcade classic

Meaningful X statementCompete and cooperate in an over the top, reality TV shooter.




Analogs, antilogs and leaps of faith•Idea taken from Getting to Plan B

•Analogs: successful games you want to be like

•Antilogs: similar games you want to avoid

•Leaps of faith: elements unproven in the marketplace



http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Plan-Breaking-Through-Business/dp/1422126692

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Plan-Breaking-Through-Business/dp/1422126692


Smash TV analogs •Ratchet and Clank

✦ Leveling weapons

✦ Fast and furious gunplay

•Bubble Witch Saga

✦ Short, rewarding levels

✦ Leader board competition

✦ Earned currency and boosts




Smash TV antilogs•Smash TV Arcade

✦ Don’t be a quarter monster

✦ Engagement not frustration

•Simcity Social

✦ Social network integrity

✦ True multiplayer not friend gating




Leaps of faith

Social network gamers CRAVE

synchronous multiplayer.




Target player•No need for fancy marketing studies

•Imagine your ideal player

•Describe him or her in 3 to 5 sentences

‘Ethan is a 25-35 year old, lifelong gamer. He grew up pumping quarters into arcade machines and begging for the hottest NES game each holiday season. As an adult, he is an enthusiast gamer with disposable income - researching and buying all the hottest AAA titles and indie gems - but rarely playing them. He grabs 5 minute sessions of iPhone and Facebook games multiple times a day, but grabbing a 4 hour gaming marathon is a rare luxury. He has nostaligic memories of Smash TV arcade co-op.’




Major features•Describe the core feature set of your game

•Each feature should have a short paragraph

•Clear, concise communication

Leveling WeaponsSmash TV Social’s over the top weaponry will create a long term progression system to keep players engaged over weeks and months. Similar to Ratchet & Clank, each weapon will have multiple levels that are unlocked for killing baddies with it. As weapons level, they get more grandiose in both destructive power and visual splendor. Players who crave achievement will come back for game after game to level each weapon to its top level, Diamond Form.




Control your scope•Writing a treatment can easily be a 1 to 2 hour task

•These 2 pages can describe months (or years) of work

•Controlled scope is the sign of a mature designer




Don’t be precious




3) Know prototypingFinding the kernel of fun




Activity: pen and paper prototype•Choose a board or card game to modify

•The simpler the better

•Deconstruct its gameplay systems

•Strip it down to its essentials and start modifying

•Play, find what’s wrong, make a change, repeat




Goals of a prototype•Find the kernel of fun

•Find it fast

•Find it cheap

Prove your idea is worth pursuing quickly, or move on




Monopoly




Deconstructing Monopoly•Each player has a character and some money

•On his turn, the player roles the dice to move his character around the board.

•When the character lands on a property, the player may purchase it for its price

•If the player lands on a property another player owns, he must pay the owner rent

•If a player cannot pay rent, he goes bankrupt and his properties are given to the player he owes rent




Parts of Monopoly•Components✦ Characters✦ Property✦ Money✦ Dice✦ Cards

•Goal✦ Own property✦ Get money✦ Last player standing




Iterating on Monopoly•Designer✦ Characters > Heroes✦ Property > Battles✦ Money > Loot✦ Dice > Stats✦ Cards > Spells




Iterating on Monopoly•Writer✦ Heroes > Ninjas✦ Battles > Monsters✦ Loot > Weapons & Armor✦ Stats > Abilities✦ Spells > Scrolls

•Artist✦ Define look and feel✦ Define goals




Sample game design kit•3x Blank Game Boards•15x Poker Chips•3x 10 sided dice•8x 6 sided dice (colored)•20x notecards•8x crayons•20x colored glass beads




4) Know toolsExperience the meat and potatoes of game design




Activity: build something•Reflect on your goal

•Pick a tool that will let you achieve that goal

•Do enough tutorials until you have something playable

Much of a designer’s job is technical and tedious




Example toolsets•Game Maker Studio•Game Salad•Unity 3d•Adventure Game Studio•Unreal Development Kit

•Valve Hammer Editor•Starcraft 2 Editor•Skyrim Mod Tools•Dragon Age Toolset•[Shameless plug] Craftyy

Tools are plentiful, only followthrough is on short supply




5) Know listeningPlaytesting, listening and iteration is the path to great games




Activity: tissue test your game•Get your pen & paper prototype (or digital prototype) playable

•Sit someone in front of it

•Watch them play giving minimal instruction

•Fix what’s broken

•Find a new tester

Repeat this process 30-40 times and you’ll have a great game




Guidelines for testing•Make improvements between each tester

•Give minimal guidance

•Focus on the early game

•Listen to what they say

•If a player asks for a system in the game, it is not good enough




Sample play test: Pop Red Balloons•In this video:

✦ My cousin plays Pop Red Balloons

✦ He gets stuck after 30 seconds

✦ He missed reading a valuable piece of UI




Feedback can be frustrating•You are very close to your project

•You are probably pretty burnt out

•You will probably be defensive

•Your players have little to no context

•Cultivate listening, not reacting

Find the WHY behind the WHAT




Find the WHY behind the WHAT•In this video:

✦ I ask my young cousin what she wants from the game

✦ She makes a fart noise

✦ Her two brothers join in

✦ They all want fart noises when balloons are popped




What they asked for:

FartsWhy they asked for it:

Lack of feedback




6) Know teamworkGame design is a team sport




Activity: Execute a peer’s vision•Find a friend with a game idea

•Partner with them to prototype their idea

•Be an executor, not a designer




Goal of activity•Learn to listen critically and execute

•Learn to check your ego at the door

•Learn to help clarify design without controlling design




Why this activity is important•Games require giant teams

•Everyone wants to contribute design

•Everyone wants to be a designer

•Learn to say “Yes and” instead of “No”




7) Know finishThe only thing a player cares about is a shipped game




Activity: release a game•Use the process

•Make a treatment

•Make a prototype

•Playtest, iterate and polish

•Launch your game

•Listen, iterate and polish




The long road to ship

1 Hour 3 Months




The long road to ship

1 Week 1 Year




Players don’t care...




Join the conversation•Read www.famousaspect.com •Follow @FamousAspect•Contact [email protected]

•Stalk www.QuarterSpiral.com





https://twitter.com/FamousAspect

https://twitter.com/FamousAspect

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.QuarterSpiral.com

http://www.QuarterSpiral.com

unlock your creative potential: 7 steps to becoming a game designer

Technology