When describing visual style and elements of gameplay used in game design with you need to use appropriate subject terminology to show that you understand what each of the principles of game design is. It also helps you use key technical terms related to games design. The sections below give a basic overview of key principles and will help you find examples of key aspects to include to use when designing a new game.
Visual style: This relates to the how the game looks to the player on the screen. It is very important to get the visual style of a game correct during the design phase as having quality graphics will be important to the player throughout the life of the game. Visual style includes the design of how the game world looks, the appearance of the main character in the game, any npcs or non playable characters, the feedback interface or heads up display, any full motion video or animated cut scenes used in the game and the perspective or view of how the player sees the game while playing.
Gameworld: To entice a player into playing their game designers must be able to design the game world so that it is visually appealing to the player throughout the game. The game world includes terrain, architecture and objects.
Terrain is the design of the landscape that the player moves over. Simply put it is the ground that the player walks on when player the game. Examples of different terrains in the game world would be concrete, tarmac, gravel, grass, sand, mud and even water. Different terrain styles can be used together to enhance the visual style of the game world.
Architecture: When designing a game designers will also include architecture within the world. Architecture is the buildings, structures and monuments within the game. It is important that the design of these features fits in with the style of the game world. For example architecture in a 2d platform game would be shown side on but in a 3D MMO game the design of buildings needs to be done using 3d models.
Objects: Objects are items within the game that the main playable character or NPC can interact with. Examples of objects are a post box, gun or flower. Often the main character can collect objects to enhance their inventory and gain additional skills. The visual style and design is important so that it matches the look and feel of the rest of the game world.
Characters & NPCs: One of the key reasons that any game will be successful will because the design of the main playable character is appealing to the player. It is important to design the character so that there is a range of sprites to cover the entire list of actions and movements that the player can perform in the game. Good character design is essential and examples that have stood the test of time are Pac Man, Mario and Sonic. The appearance of the character is instantly recognizable and each has been improved as graphic capabilities have got better over time. The visual style of NPCs is equally important as they must match the style of the game world and the main character. For a main enemy the graphic quality must be just as good as that of the main playable character.
Feedback interface: When designing the visual style of a game it is important to consider the information that you need to supply the player with during gameplay. The feedback interface or heads up display needs to be considered to show information to the player on their current status or progress within the game. An example of feedback interface in a simple game would be displaying the score or number of lives on the screen. In a modern 3D MMO game mini maps inform players of where they are within the game world and warn of approaching danger. Scope crosshairs are also in constant use to show the aim position of the player’s weapon throughout the game.
Perspective: The perspective or the view that the main player has of the game world needs to be considered during the design phase. Simple platform games use a 2d side on view to show the player moving through the game world, this could also be called a scrolling or side scrolling view. 3d or 3 dimensional games often allow the player to change the perspective during gameplay. They have the option of using first person (when you see through the eyes of the main character) or third person (a view from behind the main character when you can see them moving in front of you) they also sometimes use context sensitive (this is when the camera angle and view you have of the main playable character changes depending the gameplay). Aerial, overhead or top down view was used for older racing games when players needed to see the main playable vehicle and the entire track. Aerial is also used in modern MMORPGs when the player needs to see lots of characters within the game world to get a better perspective of what is happening in the game world. It is important to consider the perspective at the initial design as the design of lots of the art work used within the game depends on this.
FMV: Or full motion video is real life video footage used within the game. Older FMV based games allowed player to makes decisions based on video footage and then showed another video based on the choice that the player made about the last video. Modern games use full motion animation for cut scenes in games to enhance the visual style. Game advertisements will use FMV to show the best quality graphics within a game but this cannot be advertised as actual gameplay itself.
Gameplay: Involves everything to do with how the player moves through the game world including how the game is designed to make the player think and feel and the complex rules and mechanics needed to make the game as realistic as possible for the player.
Interaction Model: When designing a game it is important to consider how the player will be controlled and represented within the game itself. This is known as the interaction model. There are two different ways to make the player interact with the game world. The first is to use the avatar interaction model when the player is represented on screen by a main character and the focus of the game is based on how this main character controlled by the player moves through the game world. The omnipresence interaction model is used when the player needs to control an army of characters within the game or even when they have the need to directly interact and make changes to the game world itself. The omnipresence interaction model is used in games like Sims were player has full control or a god like presence of the game world itself.
Single Player versus Multiplayer: Single player mode allows the player to play on their own were they compete against the AI or artificial intelligence of the NPCs and objects within the game world. Single player was important for early games as this was the simplest player mode to design. However, as technology improved players could use multiplayer to play with or against each other within the same game. With the emergence of the internet MMO or massive multiplayer online games allow players to play with or against gamers from all over the world. Single player is still the fundamental building block but the capabilities of multiplayer are endless in terms of how the player communicates and interacts with the game and other players during gameplay. When designing a game for a small company it’s probably best to design a single player game successfully before designing a multiplayer as this is much more difficult to get right.
Narrative: Used in games to tell the story of the game. Narrative can be embedded in cut scenes to show what missions need to be completed during gameplay or can emerge during gameplay depending on the player’s progress. Game narrative is linked to the visual style of the feedback interface and FMV and it is used to tell the player what is happening or has happened within the gameplay itself. Narrative can be graphical, textual or auditory during gameplay.
Game Setting: When designing gameplay designers need to think about the physical settings where the game takes place and how the player will interact with the game world. Temporal setting needs to be considered so that the game is set in the correct time period and this is evident during gameplay. For example, if your game is set in the 1800s you would hardly have a modern pop track playing as background music. You need to design the game so that the setting is considered and made as realistic as possible. The environmental setting needs to be considered also when designing visual style and gameplay, this includes any weather conditions that might enhance the overall experience for the gamer and how the environment changes depending on gameplay e.g. after an explosion. Emotional setting is used to consider how the player will feel while playing the game. Designers need to set the correct pace and atmosphere to get players to engage with the game as much as possible by making them feel emotionally attached to the characters and game world during gameplay. Ethical setting needs to be considered during the design phase for example if you are targeting a game at teenagers you need to ensure that the game content is appropriate for that age range. Adult based content needs to come with an age appropriate warning.
Goals, Challenges and Rewards: Goals within a game are mini tasks that need to be completed to enhance the gaming experience. Designers need to design short goals for players to enhance the gameplay. Examples of goals are kill and enemy, collect a star, kick an opponent or lift a weapon. Challenges build on goals and can be short, medium or long term. A short term challenge might be to kill ten enemies, a medium term challenge might be to get to the end of a level and a long term challenge might be to get the end of the game. Goals and challenges need to link together to allow the player to build on the skills needed to succeed within the game. When the player completes goals or challenges they can rewards to enhance their experience. A simple reward might be to gain an extra life. XP or experience points are used in modern games to allow the player to level up and enhance the characteristics of the playable character to allow them to succeed and complete new challenges during gameplay.
Players Actions: These can be categorized in two ways, firstly the actions that the main character can complete within the game such as walk, run, jump, punch, kick, crouch, lift or shoot to name a few. The second type of player action is how the actual player controls the character or gameworld using a game controller. Simple actions are needed for basic movement but multi button combinations are needed for advanced moves within the gameplay. As players become better the range of character actions within the game are improved and so are their chances of succeeding in the game. Rules and Mechanics: Rules and mechanics need to be considered at the design phase. The rules of how different characters, npcs, objects and architecture interact need to be established in advance. For example a rule needs to be created to say that if the main playable character picks up a gun then they are able to shoot that gun. This is heavily linked to mechanics and how the different inventory items within the game work. Rules need to be set so that the game can be programmed so that all components work together to make a successful game. When designing this, designers also need to consider the different win or lose conditions and what happens when different components interact. The scoring system needs to be designed so that player success during gameplay is reward accordingly and mistakes are punished. The game rules and mechanics need to be agreed in advance as many complex interactions take place during gameplay and the game engine needs to be able to cope with all of these.
Difficulty and Balance: The game balance needs to be set correctly so that a game is not to easy or too difficult. Games need to be designed so that early phases of the game enable players to build their basic skills and give them the opportunity to improve these skills as the game gets harder. Balance is linked to the difficulty settings. To get the balance of gameplay correct for all level of players many modern games come with beginner, intermediate and expert difficulty settings embedded in the gameplay to cater for everyone. As a player improves they can adjust the balance of the game by increasing the level of difficulty to make the game more challenging.
Feedback: Feedback is given to the player during gameplay based on their performance. This is linked to the feedback interface and game narrative as both are used to inform the player of their progress throughout the game. Graphical and audio feedback are given to the player to inform them of how they are performing or what challenges lie ahead within the game. Alongside this physical feedback can be given on the game controller in the form of vibration that emerges during gameplay to enhance the gaming experience.
Game Structure (Flowchart): When designing the rules and the mechanics of gameplay everything needs to be considered and information needs to be passed on to programmers on how different components interact and how the overall flow of the game happens. A flowchart is used to clearly structure the design of the game and show how it works.
Addiction: Although addiction can be seen as unhealthy it is vitally important to design fun and exciting gameplay that gets the players to emerge with the game as if they are the main character. Make fun and addictive games makes successful and although there is some bad press the enjoyment that games give many greatly outweighs this. We can say that many fun things are addictive so greatly addictive gameplay should not be seen as a negative.
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