作者：Damon Brown

本篇文章主要是为了帮助那些游戏开发新手（特别是独立开发者）牢记优秀游戏设计所需要掌握的基本元素。虽然设置各不相同，但是这9大原则就像烹饪技巧一样——既各不相同，但又相互影响。不过对于我们来说并不是掌握了这9大原则就足够了，我们还有许多需要学习之处。

就像我在其它文章中提到过的，作为一名独立游戏开发者我最头疼的便是角色转换了（包括向录音师，关卡设计师，首席程序员以及美工人员等角色的转变），特别是在涉及到游戏编程和游戏设计时。甚至有一段时间我一直将游戏编程和游戏设计看成同一回事。

“我可以通过编程让一个男人在屏幕上穿越？太好了，那么现在我就可以创造《塞尔达传说》了！”事实并非如此。

游戏编程需要分析技巧，逻辑创造以及耐性。而游戏设计则更多与心理学相关——如此简单。

为了更好地理解这种心理状态，我们可以引用Shiny总裁Dave Perry对任天堂游戏设计师宫本茂（游戏邦注：《马里奥》系列以及《塞尔达传说》等游戏开发者）的描述。他说道：“任何时候宫本茂都知道你的想法。包括你何时觉得自己非常聪明或者你何时做了一些意想不到的事，甚至你何时采取了错误的方法等，就好象他随时都在你身边观察似的。”

为了更好地进行设计，你便需先变成用户。也就是你必须清楚玩家的想法。你可以尝试着玩一款游戏几次并说道“如果能……这款游戏也许会变得更加有趣？”这也是很多游戏设计师屡次错过的扩展游戏的机会。所以千万不要成为这种类型的设计师。

说起来容易做起来难。我们永远不可能做到最完美，但是我仍然希望我所列出的指南能够帮助你尽己所能而创造出最棒的作品。

1.尽早获得材料

2.确保材料有效的整合在一起

3.腌制所有的材料

4.如果味道对了，那就尽情地散发这种味道

5.进行尝试——如果感觉糟糕那就重新开始调配

6.人多反误事

7.调味品很重要

8.保持长时间且适度的烹煮

9.享用

尽早获得材料

这一点非常重要。我认为大多数开发过游戏，特别是独立创造游戏的人都能够清楚将所有材料整合在一起能够帮助我们更好地将游戏理念转变成真正的游戏。特别是对于独立开发者来说这一点就更重要了，因为如果在较大的开发团队中所有人都能关注游戏的发展，但是如果你只是个人开发游戏，你自己便需要代表整个团队。

在编程和设计前我们总是没有耐心去等待并规划游戏。关于这一点已经出现了多种解决方法，而最受欢迎的应该就是“设计文档”。设计文档是指在制作游戏前勾勒出游戏的基本轮廓。

设计文档总是涵括了各种内容，包括图像，情节，控制以及团队的游戏开发等等。较为复杂的文档还包括了目标用户，计划开发时间，预算等内容。

商业游戏的设计文档可能多达数百页。但是作为游戏开发新手或独立开发者，你不需要如此繁杂的内容。实际上你可能根本不需要任何设计文档。就像我现在创造的游戏中便没有设计文档，因为我之前已经经历了4次类似的过程（基于不同编程语言）。我非常了解游戏，知道游戏的一切相关内容，所以我并不需要设计文档。

但是我的情况是个例外，而我也在开始游戏创造的数个月后意识到：游戏非常糟糕，它没有情节，也缺少乐趣，我甚至不知道我还能做些什么，我的所有想法都被拧干了。我的建议是：事先做些规划，即使只是列出一个大纲。就像我之前一款游戏便拥有20页的设计文档以及3张规划图，所以它最后也取得了不错的成绩。

我们可以从一些相关网站中找到游戏文档的相关描述。而作为一名游戏设计师我们至少需要浏览这些内容并理解设计文档背后的相关逻辑。

确保材料有效地整合在一起

“为什么我们不创造《雷神之锤》的游戏？”

“因为它就像《模拟城市》。你是一个城市的市长，你将控制城市的收益，组织城市的规划建设，而当你的市民们不愿意支付税收时，游戏便转变成第一人称模式，你将开始镇压这些市民。”

很多设计师团队将会因此展开头脑风暴讨论。头脑风暴是一种非常有效的方法。

重要之处不在于你获得了何种想法，而在于这种想法诞生后你采取了何种行动。玩家是否愿意在游戏中从第一人称转变成第三人称再转变成上帝视角和第二人称？也许他们乐意接受这种转变，但是就像我之前所提到的，你需要诚实地告诉玩家他们将在游戏中体验到什么（如果这种体验足够有趣的话）。

例如射击游戏（是一种让玩家通过使用枪击而射死敌人的动作类游戏）总是能够提升玩家的肾上腺素。而策略游戏则是关于玩家如何使用自己的想法。那策略射击游戏又是怎样呢？所以你必须仔细思考到底希望玩家在游戏中体验到什么。

要果断抛弃那些可能破坏游戏玩法并干扰玩家乐趣体验的游戏内容。玩家的享乐比任何内容都重要：删除某个游戏内容而创造出一款优秀且集中的游戏总比坚持所有内容而最终获得一款糟糕且涣散的游戏要强得多。

腌制所有材料

就像酿酒一样，腌制时间越长风味越加。如果你并无需遵循严格的发行期限，你便可以暂且将游戏理念搁置一段时间。经过科学认证我们都知道，即使我们不再关注某一事物，我们的头脑也仍会围绕着它运行。也就是我们的头脑或自行对其进行腌制。

从我个人来看吧，就像我曾经致力于一款拥有非常出色理念的游戏——但是它的控制方式却非常糟糕。

我邀请别人帮我进行游戏测试，而他们也发现游戏中的角色控制非常蹩脚。我采用与获得游戏理念相同的方法去了解我的游戏，甚至我还听取了来自测试者的各种建议，但是我却仍然难以扭转这种糟糕的控制方式。在之后的几个月中我又创造了第二个版本的游戏，但其控制方式却仍然是个摆脱不掉的问题。

而在1年后的某天当我在看电视时，我突然意识到我应该如何设置控制方案。这个方案非常简单，但是之前我却从未想到它。

因为游戏开发并不是我的主要收入来源，所以我拥有大量的可支配时间。如果你跟我一样拥有充足的时间，那就好好把握。这时候你需要写下自己的想法然后绘制出你的角色。并问自己是否能够通过一两次熬夜而创造出一款高质量的游戏。

很多游戏记者都认为任天堂斥资数百万并汇聚了2百多名人才（包括宫本茂）而创造出的《超级马里奥64》是最优秀的一款游戏。更重要的是，即使涉及巨大的资源，任天堂也只花费了2年的时间便完成了《超级马里奥64》。你可以肯定有些时间是用于“腌制”材料，同时你还需要清楚勾勒一整个游戏世界也需要花费一定的时间，而这也是你在设计游戏时需要做完成的。如果你拥有足够的时间的话，请一定要牢牢把握住它们。

如果味道对了，那就尽情地散发这种味道

我记得当我还年轻的时候我总是在思考到底怎样才算“酷”：如何做才会变“酷”，为何有些人会被认为很“酷”。不久后我得到了我想要的答案。一个人将“酷”描写成不在乎别人想法的行为。

而酷游戏也是那些被视为经典的游戏，尽管我敢保证它们并非一开始就这般光鲜亮丽。当你向一些不熟悉游戏的人描写《俄罗斯方块》时，你可能会遭到嘲笑，即使这一直都是一款最受欢迎的电子游戏。创造出一款最优秀的游戏总是需要面临一定的风险——包括失败风险和被嘲笑的风险。而你也可能因此获得经典酷游戏的称号作为奖励。

Capcom的《出击飞龙》（发行于1989年的街机游戏）便是我一直都很喜欢的一款电子游戏，这是一款快速操作的街机游戏，玩家需要在游戏中控制一个拥有特技的剑客进入俄罗斯。游戏并没有深层次的相关机制，其情节就像Bruce Willis（游戏邦注：来自美国的著名演员）所演的电影那样。而因为这款游戏最先出现在街机上，所以我玩了这款游戏超过了1千次。

为什么这款游戏对我来说如此特别呢？更重要的是为何直到现在我还愿意再次回到游戏中？

在我玩过的数百款游戏中没有哪一款像《出击飞龙》这样让我感到舒坦的。

这就是一款行动类游戏，没有其它虚伪做作的修饰。

换句话说，《出击飞龙》便是一款酷游戏。

而如果你的游戏也这般名副其实，它便拥有属于自己的灵魂。而你的工作便是找到并保护你的游戏灵魂。你需要问自己：游戏的乐趣是什么？我的游戏能提供哪些其它游戏没有的内容？

我想要突出哪些游戏体验，为什么？

经历冒险并自我批评（或接受批评）自己的工作是一个痛苦的过程，那些真正熟悉我的工作的人能够证明我一直在经历各种起起落落。同时他们也最清楚我将创造出一些具有创造性且与众不同的内容——如果你的游戏非常平凡，你又何须为此而努力？

进行尝试——而如果感觉糟糕那就重新开始调配

我拥有的最佳游戏设计经历应该是在我的第一款“大型”游戏中，它共花费了4个多月的时间。并不是因为它是我的第一款大型游戏才显得与众不同——而是因为它拥有令人激动的游戏理念。

游戏突出了一颗漂浮在海上的球，它将从一次冒险飘向下一次冒险。之前我从未遇到过类似的游戏理念，而我也很自豪自己能够想出这个理念。并且在开发过程中围绕着这一简单的理念我也获得了更多正能量并想出了更多有趣的想法。

我们在使用“可替代”理念的自由总是受限于我们所处的情境（包括收入，团队等影响），我们应该正视机遇并尝试各种不同的内容。

对于大型游戏来说，技术便是最主要的区别因素。一般来说那些走在前沿的公司总是会使用最新且最好的引擎并以此赢得竞争优势。

而对于那些缺少物质优势的小型开发者来说，他们就只能更加努力地工作了。他们必须想办法吸引用户的注意。并且必须具有创造性。

也没有其它方法能够凸显你的游戏了。

我们需要记得，在《太空入侵者》出现之前并没有其它《太空入侵者》，在《命令与征服》出现前也没有其它《命令与征服》。而在这些游戏广受欢迎前它们也只是一些“怪异”的理念而已。

人多反误事

我参加了一个关于最新街机游戏冲击市场的贸易展。其中我发现了一款非常酷的游戏，但是不得不承认的是第一次看到它时我真的被其控制方式吓了一跳。

它拥有一个操纵杆，一颗轨迹球，3个按钮以及一个全尺寸键盘。虽然这款游戏还处在测试阶段，但是如此控制难道不可怕吗？

尽管普通的游戏不遭人待见，但是做得太过火的游戏（如在街机上安置一个键盘）也存在种种危险。对于游戏的发展方向我们总是拥有一个伟大的蓝图。但是市场中已经存在着许多过度复杂，过度“坚持现实世界”，过度追求“空气动力学上的准确性”的游戏，如此便导致玩家很难再从中感受到游戏玩法。

我们都玩过一些会花费15分钟的时间去阐述游戏指南，调用提示热线并让玩家通过操纵杆去控制游戏角色穿越屏幕的游戏。但是这种游戏是否真的有趣呢？

你必须想办法过滤自己的想法，从而让玩家更好地进行理解。如果美工人员被误解那有可能是因为他们的作品过于复杂，而如果是游戏设计师的工作被误解，那便只能说他们不够合格了。

调味品很重要

这一点听起来也许很疯狂，但是在我定期玩的游戏中便有一款只是一种单级演示版本。我非常喜欢SCI制作Interplay发行的《疯狂飚车》这款游戏。

我并不是在为这款游戏做宣传。我只是想说，我甚至从未购买这款游戏的完整版，但是当1997年这款游戏发行后我便尝试了它的演示版不下1千次。

简单地来说，在这款游戏中玩家需要驾驶改装后的高速汽车穿越城市，并与其他对手在撞车大赛中相互竞争。玩家可以在整个城市的任何地方进行探索，包括屋顶和隧道等，而只有当他们到达了所有的检查点或耗尽了时间，游戏才会结束。玩家可以通过撞击敌人和旁观者（游戏邦注：如普通的人或吃草的牛）而获得更多时间。

也许很多玩家并不喜欢这款游戏的音效——我也是，但是如果我们再给这款游戏一次机会，我们便会清楚：

我们喜欢做坏人。我们喜欢在拳击游戏中攻击裁判。我们愿意让英雄被掉落的锤子砸中而只是想看看之后会发生些什么。我们尝试着倒回自己在电子游戏中的汽车，只是为了撞向迎面而来的汽车。

如果你的游戏中拥有更多这类型元素，那就再好不过了。因为它们能让玩家感觉游戏的特别。而如果你在玩家身上设置了更多限制，你便会剥夺了他们的游戏自由并因此破坏了游戏乐趣。

当然了，一切都需要适度。但是给予玩家一定的自由其实无伤大雅——而如果你的游戏中存在一些限制，你便需要问自己“为何要存在这些限制？”如果你找不到任何符合逻辑的答案，你就需要考虑是否删除它们了。

保持长时间且适度的烹煮

现在我暂且搁置了四五个游戏理念，包括有好几页的图纸以及带有演示版本的完整设计文档。与其他设计师一样，我也认为这些理念都非常棒。但是我暂且搁置了它们的实践，虽然有时候会痛恨这一事实，但是不管你相不相信，这都是一个必须经历的过程。

我曾经在周一早上想到一个游戏理念，然后在周一晚上制作出粗略的演示版本，但是在周三早上我却开始疑惑自己的真实想法。虽然一开始我激情满满，但是渐渐地我开始找不到自己的关注点。当你的体内燃烧着游戏开发的激情时，你要小心这种激情有时候也会将你燃烧殆尽。

就像我之前提到过的，我们需要在游戏中投入一定的时间。而适当的规划便能够为我们留出更多的时间。之后，也是在1998年11月我想出了一个游戏理念，并且直到1999年4月我才开始实践这一理念，随后在4月末我规划了预算，时间表，正式设计文件等内容，并思考了我是否应该继续落实这一想法。总之，现在的我更有耐性了！

我想这与别人所说的人际关系是相同道理。当你还年轻的时候你心中可能萌发了一个想法，然后你便会开始进行播种；而当它们发芽后你便可以开始落实行动了。暂且不提我起起落落的那几年，在开发严肃游戏的前两年（也就是1996年至1998年）我共创造了40多款游戏，并且大多数都属于演示版本。而现在我便可以完善它们了。

我们可以体验不同的游戏理念，但是在所有理念变得更加成熟有序之前你也只能不断地进行尝试。

享用

这也是最重要的步骤。让我们开始享受自己的工作。我最喜欢的自己的游戏便是一款极奇特的游戏。这款游戏已经出现在我的网页上有一段时间了，但是用户们却未对其多加评价。对此我感到非常困惑。

然而在投入了一个月于创造游戏但却最终意识到游戏是无效的，或者不完整的游戏理念难以发展，甚至屡次出现了相同的程序漏洞后，我平静地抛弃了我的游戏《BoB》。

我并不期待别人也能够像我一样对游戏报以相同的感觉，但是如果我们足够幸运的话我们便会拥有一个非常有效的“基础”项目。我是一名作家，我在大学一年级便写了一篇20页长的散文，并且我也仍然认为它是我最优秀的作品。

我们处在一个艰苦且费力不讨好的领域。我们有可能埋头苦干数月或数年但却只创造出一款没有任何意义或者只是获得各种负面评价的游戏——甚至更糟糕的是没人愿意予以评价。你的辛苦工作也有可能因为一家大公司（拥有实际预算）发行了一款大型游戏而被彻底埋没。你或许已经在一个游戏理念投入数周时间，不断地围绕着它进行规划——但是有可能在你真正落实行动时才会发现其中的各种漏洞。

所以当你真正创造出某些内容并完成一款游戏时，你最好为之举杯庆祝。

游戏邦注：原文发表于1999年9月7日，所涉事件和数据均以当时为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Nine step recipe for good independent game design (Part I)

By Damon Brown | Published Sep 07 1999

Steps I-III

This series is meant to help beginning game developers (particularly solo) keep in mind the basics of good game design. It is set up differently, however; the nine

principles are set up like tips on cooking- a rather unusual, but applicable parallel. This isn’t meant as an end-all, and I certainly have a lot to learn.

However, I do have game design experience as a solo developer, so this is meant as a simple guide with solid design principles.

As I mentioned in my other articles, I have had difficulty as a solo game developer changing hats (sound engineer, level designer, lead programmer, artist, etc.), particularly with game programming and game design. For a period of time, I thought game programming and game design were the same thing.

“I programmed the guy to walk across the screen? Great! Now I can make Zelda!” Not quite.

Game programming requires analytical skills, logical creativity and patience. Game design requires psychology- it is a simple as that.

The best way to explain this psychology is to quote Dave Perry, head of Shiny games, describing Shigeru Miyamato, the highly-regarded Nintendo game designer (the Mario series, Zelda, etc.) He said, in Arcade Magazine issue 3, “Miyamato knows what you’re thinking at every moment… When you think you’re being smart, or you do something unexpected, or even go the wrong way, he’s already there with you.”

To design well, you have to be the user. You have to get in the player’s head. How many times have you played a game and said “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could…”? That’s how many times game designers have missed an opportunity to expand their game universe. Don’t be that designer. J

Easier said than done. We will never reach perfection, but I hope that my guide with all the other sources out there will help you achieve your personal best. If you have any questions, e-mail me at the address above or visit my webpage above.

Finally, as a warning, I have a dry sense of humor. You’ve been warned…

Enjoy,

DB

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I. Get Your Ingredients Ahead Of Time

II. Make Sure Your Ingredients Mix Well Together

III. Let It Marinate

IV. If The Flavor Is Good, Let That Flavor Come Through

V. Enjoy Experimenting – If It Goes Bad, Start Over

VI. Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth

VII. Spice Is Nice

VIII. Two hours at 500 degrees isn’t equal to four hours at 250 degrees

IX. Savor The Meal

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Get Your Ingredients Ahead Of Time

Really important. I imagine most people who have developed games, even solo, can testify to how having your stuff together helps ease the transition of game concept to actual game. In fact, this is even more important for solo developers, because working on a team allows many people to keep the game on track. When you’re solo, you are the team.

It is difficult to find the patience to wait and plan your game before coding and designing. There are many schools of thought on this, the most popular being the (sometimes dreaded) DESIGN DOCUMENT. A design document is basically an outline for your game done before any production begins. Design documents usually cover everything, from the graphics to the plot to the controls to the team developing the game. More complex ones cover your target audience, proposed development time, and budget, among other things.

Design documents for commercial games can run into hundreds of pages. As a beginner or solo developer, however, you probably won’t need one that large. In fact, you may not need one at all. One game I’m working on right now I’ve done four times before (in different programming languages). I know the game inside and out, and I understand everything about it, so I haven’t made a design doc for it.

However, my case is the exception, proved by months of games I’ve started and left incomplete because I realized any of the following: the game sucked, it had no plot, I didn’t know what else to do with it, it wasn’t any fun, my concept was all screwed up, [fill in any game complaint here]. My suggestion: do some type of planning ahead of time, even if you just draw a map and an outline. My last game had a 20-page design doc and three maps, which did fine.

Regarding game documents, look on the Internet at sites, particularly this one, to find excellent articles dedicated to that. At the very least, read over them and understand the logic behind design documents.

Make Sure Your Ingredients Mix Well Together

“Why don’t we do a game like Quake?”

“Yeah, except it will be like Sim City. You’re mayor of this town and you monitor revenues, organize the growth of the city and then, when they don’t pay their taxes, it goes to first-person mode and you hunt them down…”

A brainstorming conversation like this happens between many groups of designers. Brainstorming is good.

The important part isn’t what ideas come up. The important part is what happens after you get the ideas. Will it really please the player to switch from first-person to third-person to god-view to second-person throughout the game? It might, but as mentioned earlier, you need to be honest and realistic about what you want the player to experience and if that experience is good.

For instance, a shooter (an action game primarily consisting of destroying enemies by shooting at them) is usually about heightening the player’s adrenaline. A strategy game is usually about the player using his/her mind. A strategic shooter? Maybe, but think about what you want the player to experience.

Don’t be afraid to let go of parts of the game that could cloud the gameplay and disrupt the player’s fun. The player’s enjoyment should be predominant over everything: letting go of a section and having a good, focused game is better than keeping it and having a sorry, unfocused game.

Let It Marinate

Good ideas, like wine, become great with time. Assuming deadline isn’t an issue, sitting on a game concept for a short time may be the best move. It has been scientifically argued that even after you stop focusing on something, your brain continues to work on it. The brain naturally marinates… if you let it.

As a personal example, I worked on a game a short while back that was pretty conceptually sound… except for the control. The hideous control.

People would playtest my game and have the hardest time controlling the character. I studied games along the same lines as mine for ideas and even took suggestions from the testers, but I couldn’t get it right. I made version two a couple months after, but control was still an issue.

Then, a year later, I was doing something, perhaps watching TV, when I suddenly realized what the control scheme should have been. It was so simple, yet I couldn’t see it earlier.

I have the luxury of time since game development isn’t my main source of income. If you have the time, use it. Sure, write down your ideas and draw your characters. But, ask yourself if you can make a quality game in one or two “burn the midnight oil” sessions.

Nintendo’s Super Mario 64, which was hailed by many game journalists as the best game of all time, used a staff of 200 (including Miyamoto) and cost millions to make. Most importantly, however, even with the huge resources, it took two years for Mario 64 to be complete. You can bet that some of that time was spent marinating… remember that it takes time to imagine a whole world, and that is exactly what you are doing when you design a game. Take your time, if you can.

Nine step recipe for good independent game design (Part II)

Steps IV-VI

This series is meant to help beginning game developers (particularly solo) keep in mind the basics of good game design. It is set up differently, however; the nine principles are set up like tips on cooking- a rather unusual, but applicable parallel. This isn’t meant as an end-all, and I certainly have a lot to learn.

However, I do have game design experience as a solo developer, so this is meant as a simple guide with solid design principles.

As I mentioned in my other articles, I have had difficulty as a solo game developer changing hats (sound engineer, level designer, lead programmer, artist, etc.), particularly with game programming and game design. For a period of time, I thought game programming and game design were the same thing.

“I programmed the guy to walk across the screen? Great! Now I can make Zelda!” Not quite.

Game programming requires analytical skills, logical creativity and patience. Game design requires psychology- it is a simple as that.

The best way to explain this psychology is to quote Dave Perry, head of Shiny games, describing Shigeru Miyamato, the highly-regarded Nintendo game designer (the Mario series, Zelda, etc.) He said, in Arcade Magazine issue 3, “Miyamato knows what you’re thinking at every moment… When you think you’re being smart, or you do something unexpected, or even go the wrong way, he’s already there with you.”

To design well, you have to be the user. You have to get in the player’s head. How many times have you played a game and said “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could…”? That’s how many times game designers have missed an opportunity to expand their game universe. Don’t be that designer. J

Easier said than done. We will never reach perfection, but I hope that my guide with all the other sources out there will help you achieve your personal best. If you have any questions, e-mail me at the address above or visit my webpage above.

Finally, as a warning, I have a dry sense of humor. You’ve been warned…

Enjoy,

DB

-

I. Get Your Ingredients Ahead Of Time

II. Make Sure Your Ingredients Mix Well Together

III. Let It Marinate

IV. If The Flavor Is Good, Let That Flavor Come Through

V. Enjoy Experimenting – If It Goes Bad, Start Over

VI. Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth

VII. Spice Is Nice

VIII. Two hours at 500 degrees isn’t equal to four hours at 250 degrees

IX. Savor The Meal

-

If The Flavor Is Good, Let That Flavor Come Through

I remember when I was younger, I was trying to figure out what “cool” was: how I could be “cool”, why some people were described as “cool”. After a while, I finally got an answer I accepted. One person described “cool” as being yourself without worrying about what others might say.

Cool games are the ones that are considered classics, though I’m sure they weren’t accepted at first. Describe Tetris to someone unfamiliar with the game (…you move these twisted blocks around until they fill a line, but you can twist them and stuff and it’s really cool…) and you might get laughed at, even if it is one of the most popular video games of all time. That is the risk you must take to offer something great – the risk of failure and ridicule. The reward is a cool game with classic status.

My favorite video game of all time is Capcom’s Strider (Arcade 1989), a fast-action arcade game in which you play an acrobatic swordsman infiltrating Russia. It’s not deep, it carries as much plot as a Bruce Willis movie, and I’ve played the game literally over a thousand times since it first came out in the arcade (and I had it for Commodore 64 and Sega Genesis, too!)

Why is it so special to me? And more importantly, why the hell do I keep coming back to this day?

In the hundreds of games that I’ve played, I am yet to play a game as comfortable in its skin as Strider.

It is an action game. No pretense. No apologies.

In other words, Strider is cool.

Your game, if it is worth its salt, has a soul. It is your job to find and protect your game’s soul. Ask yourself: What makes this game fun? What does my game offer that no other game has? What experience do I want to emphasize and why?

It is often painful to take a risk and then self-criticize (and take criticism for) your work, and, as anyone who is familiar to my work can attest, sometimes I hit and sometimes I really miss. However, they can also attest that I will do something original, different, or strange – and if your game isn’t original, what are you doing it for?

Enjoy Experimenting – If It Goes Bad, Start Over

One of my best game design experiences was working on my first “big” title, which took me about four months to complete. It wasn’t that it was my first big title that made it great – it was the excitement over the concept.

The game featured a ball, passively bobbing on the sea, floating from one adventure to the next. I had never heard of anything like it, and I was proud that I came up with the idea on my own. During development, there was so much energy and so many ideas, all coming from this one simple concept.

As noted elsewhere, your liberty to utilize “alternative” ideas may be limited by your situation (your income, your team, etc.), but try not to cheat yourself out of the opportunity to try something different.

With the big boys, technology is the main differentiating factor. Generally, the company on the cutting edge, using the newest and best engine, wins the battle.

I’ve talked to some up-and-coming but unpublished developers like myself who said “We’re saving up money to license this engine and make a game around it…” That’s fine if that’s the plan, but I’m from the school of thought that believes ideas and game design make the game, not the engine.

As for the average small developer (financially and literally), you don’t have that luxury. You have to work really hard. You have to be noticed. You have to be original.

There is no other way to make your mark.

Remember, there was no Space Invaders before Space Invaders, and no Command and Conquer before Command and Conquer. Before they got popular, they were just “kooky” ideas…

Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth

I visited a trade show featuring the newest arcade games about to hit the market. One game was really cool but, for the first time in a long time, I was actually intimidated by the game controls.

It had a joystick, a trackball (remember those?), three buttons and a keyboard – a full-scale keyboard. Now, it might have been still in its beta stage but still – isn’t that scary?

While run-of-the-mill games are, well, run-of-the-mill, there is also the danger of going too far, like putting a keyboard at the arcade. We all have a grand vision of what our game will be like, and how cool it will be. There are games that are so complex, so “real-world persistent”, so “aerodynamically accurate”, so “(put your favorite description here)”, that game play gets lost in the shuffle.

We have all played games where it takes a fifteen-minute peruse of the manual, a call to the tip hotline, and fudging with the joystick to get the game character to walk across the screen. Is this really fun?

Try to filter your vision so that the player can understand. An artist whose work is misunderstood is considered complex. A game designer whose work is misunderstood is considered unqualified.

Nine step recipe for good independent game design (Part III)

Steps VII-IX

This series is meant to help beginning game developers (particularly solo) keep in mind the basics of good game design. It is set up differently, however; the nine principles are set up like tips on cooking- a rather unusual, but applicable parallel. This isn’t meant as an end-all, and I certainly have a lot to learn.

However, I do have game design experience as a solo developer, so this is meant as a simple guide with solid design principles.

As I mentioned in my other articles, I have had difficulty as a solo game developer changing hats (sound engineer, level designer, lead programmer, artist, etc.), particularly with game programming and game design. For a period of time, I thought game programming and game design were the same thing.

“I programmed the guy to walk across the screen? Great! Now I can make Zelda!” Not quite.

Game programming requires analytical skills, logical creativity and patience. Game design requires psychology- it is a simple as that.

The best way to explain this psychology is to quote Dave Perry, head of Shiny games, describing Shigeru Miyamato, the highly-regarded Nintendo game designer (the Mario series, Zelda, etc.) He said, in Arcade Magazine issue 3, “Miyamato knows what you’re thinking at every moment… When you think you’re being smart, or you do something unexpected, or even go the wrong way, he’s already there with you.”

To design well, you have to be the user. You have to get in the player’s head. How many times have you played a game and said “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could…”? That’s how many times game designers have missed an opportunity to expand their game universe. Don’t be that designer. J

Easier said than done. We will never reach perfection, but I hope that my guide with all the other sources out there will help you achieve your personal best. If you have any questions, e-mail me at the address above or visit my webpage above.

Finally, as a warning, I have a dry sense of humor. You’ve been warned…

Enjoy,

DB

-

I. Get Your Ingredients Ahead Of Time

II. Make Sure Your Ingredients Mix Well Together

III. Let It Marinate

IV. If The Flavor Is Good, Let That Flavor Come Through

V. Enjoy Experimenting – If It Goes Bad, Start Over

VI. Too Many Cooks Spoil The Broth

VII. Spice Is Nice

VIII. Two hours at 500 degrees isn’t equal to four hours at 250 degrees

IX. Savor The Meal

-

Spice Is Nice

This might sound insane, but there are relatively few games that I play on a regular basis – and one of them is a one-stage demo. I love Carmageddon by SCI/Interplay. No, really, I love Carmageddon by SCI/Interplay.

This isn’t an advertisement. Heck, I haven’t even bought the full game yet (I plan on buying it next month – I don’t get paid to make games or anything L ) but I have played at the demo least 1000 times since its release in 1997. Over and over. And over.

To quickly summarize, you drive a hot rod through a city, racing against other opponents in a demolition derby way. The whole city is explorable, from the rooftops to the tunnels (there is no racetrack), and the only way your game ends is if you get to all the checkpoints or you run out of time. Time is collected by ramming the mess out of your enemies and by hitting bystanders, like people and grazing cows.

Many of you might not like the sound of it – it sounded bad to me, too. But if you give it a try, you’ll understand the following point:

We like being bad. We like trying to hit the referee in a boxing game. We let our hero get hit by the falling hammer just to see what happens. We try to drive our video game car backwards so we can go into oncoming traffic.

The more of this you have in your game, the better. It makes the gamer feel special. For each restriction you put on the game player, that is one notch of freedom and fun your game is losing.

This, of course, needs moderation. As noted in the first two sections, too much stuff is too much. However, it usually doesn’t hurt to give a little more freedom – if there is a restriction in your game, ask yourself “Why not?” If there is no logical answer, maybe it should be reconsidered.

Two Hours at 500 Degrees Isn’t Equal To Four Hours at 250 Degrees

I have four or five game ideas that I’m sitting on right now. They range from a few pages of drawings to full scale design documents with demos. Like every designer, I know they’re all great (yeah, right). But, I’m sitting on them. I sometimes hate that fact, but, believe it or not, this is good.

Early on, I’d have a game idea on Monday morning, a sketchy demo by Monday night and by Wednesday morning I wondered what the heck I was thinking. In the beginning I was hot, but I’d lose my focus. When game development is a passion it burns inside you, and that burning can burn you out.

Like mentioned in section III (Let It Marinate), take your time on your game. Planning saves so much time (and frustration) later. For my latest idea, I came up with the concept in November of 1998, played with the idea (and lived my life!) until April 1999, when I then wrote up a budget, a timeline and an official design document, and, as of late April, am debating if I want to continue. In a word, I have patience now.

I think it parallels what people tell you about relationships. Date your heart out and sow your oats when you are young; get it out of your system and you’ll be ready to settle down. Not counting my hit or miss years, during the first two years of serious game development (1996 – 1998) I created over 40 games, most only demos. Now I can settle down.

Enjoy playing with different concepts, but until things get more organized you may want to regard it as only playing.

Savor The Meal

The most important step. Enjoy your work.

As mentioned in section V (Enjoy Experimenting), my favorite game of mine was the weirdest. It’s been available on my webpage for a while now, and people have been rather silent about it. I don’t understand it completely either (I’m kidding).

However, after working on a game for a month and realizing it isn’t going to work, or having a half-baked concept that just won’t grow or running into the same program bug for the umpteenth time, I fire up my game BoB and I’m peaceful.

I definitely don’t expect people to get the same feeling from my game, but, if we are lucky, we have a “cornerstone” project that we consider home. I’m a writer, and I have a 20-page essay I wrote freshman year of college that I believe is still my best work.

We are in a tough, thankless field. You can slave away at a game for months or years and get nothing but negative responses – or even worse, no response at all.

Your hard work can become obsolete as the next big thing comes from a major company – a company with an actual budget, mind you. You may work on a concept for weeks and plan and plan – just to have a big gaping hole in the game you didn’t notice until it was almost done.

So when you do something and you complete a game, you better celebrate.

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Thanks for listening to my rant. I definitely don’t have all the answers, but I hope my series has helped you think. I am a lonewolf, but I also believe that everyone has a piece of the answer and only by sharing can we become better game developers. Our virtual community needs your insight, no matter how experienced you are, because you may be the bridge between a developer and a masterpiece.

Also, if you decide to quote me on something, please give me an email – even if it is to bar-b-q my work.

As a final note, I would like to draw again on my favorite designer, Shigeru Miyamoto. His games very much symbolize the nature of game design. Super Mario 64 is just Super Mario Bros. on a Nintendo 64. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time is just a 64-bit Legend of Zelda. Game design is independent of the system – always remember there were hits on the Atari 2600, too. (source:gamedev.net part1,part2,part3)