Game Design Musing

When designing a game for children, there are considerations to take into account that are not considered with adult playtesters.  First, game designers must get written permission from the parents for their child to participate in playtesting.  This means that the parents must first be sold on the concept and validity of your game for them to agree to have their children participate in playtesting.  So clear communication about all aspects of your game is essential. The physical playtesting setting can impact a child's comfort and sense of security, which can also impact their attentiveness to the game.  Options include testing in the child's home if a quiet room.  Or testing could be in a room that is furnished to appear cozy and comfortable with age-appropriate furniture.  A thoughtful introduction to the child, and a brief recap of what they will be doing will facilitate putting the child at ease and ensure they understand what they need to do....

In  Game Design Workshop by Tracy Fullerton (2019), she discusses game conceptualization and the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his 5 stages of creativity: Preparation, Incubation, Insight, Evaluation and Elaboration.  Csikszentmihalyi explains "the creative process is less linear than recursive."  So game designers should not expect creativity to proceed progressively from one stage to another.  In truth, game design reminds me of a pinball game with the game play an example of non-linear creativity. The plunger that launches the pinball onto the play field is the first kernel of an idea for a new game concept.  It can be an idea from a well-crafted brainstorm session like those held by Disney Imagineers who were known for clearly articulating what the creative dilemma is, and then encourage challenging questions and suggestions from their team.  Or, the idea could be a spark from a dream, an observation or even overload of one or more of your ...

In designing a new game, the objectives the designer settles on are the key driving forces of the game.  Without clear, obtainable objectives, there is minimal reason for a player to continue playing. Clear objectives will both define and reveal realistic player experiences goals for the game.  Once objectives have been defined, it can be tempting for game designers to quickly put on their "designing" hat to create and identify new game procedures, rules, resources, conflict, boundaries, etc.  In short, the structure of the game.  But during and within this design phase, it is essential to keep the engagement of the player center focused. In the Game Design Workshop by Tracey Fullterton (2019), she mentions the aspect of uncertainty in the playcentric process, and its importance as a key motivator for player engagement.  "If players can anticipate the outcome of a game, they will stop playing," she notes.   There needs to be something that draws th...

With game designers, it varies where new game ideas come from...other games, a dream, something you saw, a story you heard.  Whatever the source, once a concept is accepted, often designers become focused on the formal, dramatic and system elements needed to make the idea a functional reality.  But while many designers may get in the weeds of game mechanics and UI, I believe a lot of benefits to the game design are lost regarding the optimal use of color and light. While visiting the Musee d'Orsay in Paris recently, I toured their renowned collection of Impressionist paintings and found much inspiration there that could benefit a game designer.  Impressionism is a 19th art movement that focused on depicting the impression of an object, person or scene while focusing on the effects of light and color on it.  With limited space to reveal your game (if players are using a tablet or phone),  and competing distractions for your player's attention, a designer needs ...

During vacation recently in Paris, I visited the Louvre again, but this time with the eye as a grad student game designer.  As I wandered through the wings of massive, 500-year-old master paintings from France and Italy, I studied them as the possible launch page to a game with a rich, detailed backstory.  I was struck with the deliberate design and placement of every key element of these paintings which helped explain their stories. Just as a game design must strategically design game environments for ease of player immersion and advancement, including strategically placed interactive items, these master painters displayed excellent examples of placement and design of key elements to their stories.  In the painting below, the eye is drawn first to the globe that is being handed from the man to the woman.  Clearly, this would be the first interactive element to click on in a game.  But the following items also appear as key elements in the painting, and potent...