Game Design (My reading)

Game Prototyping with blocks. Web Source: Flickr

There are many different types of game, to name a few; German boardgames, Euro Styling Games, Miniature Gaming, Videogames, Role-play, Collector Card games, Branching story/Adventure gaming, War-games and many more. An extensive amount of research and development and thought goes into these games before they go into production. 

Prototyping is very important in game design. A good game isn't just about looking good, it is about what is behind the visuals, the strategic qualities and fundamentals. We can develop our game idea to amazing heights by introducing computers but without a fundamentally good game it is nothing.

When making a game for the first time, it is advised to "Keep it simple"- from Pulling the Plug: In Defense of Non-Digital Teaching and Learning. Basing the game on another game can make the whole process more beneficial because the emphasis can be directed towards the process of creating the game not just the game design. This way time is not wasted trying to come up with a complex game design, beginning is all about learning and exploring. As long as there is a basic output and the process is learned, that is all that matters. Not too much emphasis is to be put on what it looks like, emphasis should be put on the gameplay and the learning process.

'Making something difficult makes it more enjoyable?'- from I have no words and I must design. A game has to be challenging, If we play a game that is easily won, we will not feel any sense of achievement so a game needs to challenge the player so this sense of achievement will be won and so, the player will come back to play the game again to feel achievement again.

'The refinement process mainly consists of play testing for modifications, not for bug finding. It's important to nix any feature of a game that doesn't contribute to good gameplay.' from Pulling the Plug: In Defense of Non-Digital Teaching and Learning. This is another step in the process of designing a game, the refinement process. Play testing is very important because when we play a game ourselves we experience what the player experiences. It is one of the most powerful resources a Game Designer has, yet is so simple.