Game Design: Theory and Practice, Second Edition

by Rouse III, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781556229121
• ISBN10: 1556229127
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-09-13
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Summary

This revised edition of Rouse's innovative book explores game design issues for all platforms and genres, including key topics such as game balancing, play testing, storytelling, design documentation, linearity versus non-linearity, fairness and consistency, focus, and AI. The book includes in-depth interviews about game design with Sid Meier (Civilisation), Ed Logg (Asteroids), and Will Wright (SimCity). Also included is a sample game design document and detailed analysis of several games. A game is broken down into its key components so readers can understand why it is successful from a design perspective.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xvi
Introduction to the Second Edition	xvii
Introduction	xx
What Players Want	1	(19)
Why Do Players Play?	2	(6)
Players Want a Challenge	2	(1)
Players Want to Socialize	3	(2)
Players Want a Dynamic Solitary Experience	5	(1)
Players Want Bragging Rights	5	(1)
Players Want an Emotional Experience	6	(1)
Players Want to Explore	6	(1)
Players Want to Fantasize	7	(1)
Players Want to Interact	8	(1)
What Do Players Expect?	8	(11)
Players Expect a Consistent World	8	(1)
Players Expect to Understand the Game-World's Bounds	9	(1)
Players Expect Reasonable Solutions to Work	10	(1)
Players Expect Direction	10	(1)
Players Expect to Accomplish a Task Incrementally	11	(1)
Players Expect to Be Immersed	12	(2)
Players Expect Some Setbacks	14	(1)
Players Expect a Fair Chance	14	(1)
Players Expect to Not Need to Repeat Themselves	15	(1)
Players Expect to Not Get Hopelessly Stuck	16	(1)
Players Expect to Do, Not to Watch	17	(1)
Players Do Not Know What They Want, but They Know When It Is Missing	18	(1)
A Never-Ending List	19	(1)
Interview: Sid Meier	20	(20)
Brainstorming a Game Idea: Gameplay, Technology, and Story	40	(17)
Starting Points	41	(6)
Starting with Gameplay	42	(1)
Starting with Technology	43	(2)
Starting with Story	45	(2)
Working with Limitations	47	(5)
Odyssey: The Legend of Nemesis	48	(1)
Damage Incorporated	49	(1)
Centipede 3D	50	(1)
The Suffering	51	(1)
Embrace Your Limitations	52	(4)
Established Technology	53	(1)
The Case of the Many Mushrooms	54	(1)
The Time Allotted	55	(1)
If You Choose Not to Decide, You Still Have Made a Choice	56	(1)
Game Analysis: Centipede	57	(12)
Classic Arcade Game Traits	59	(3)
Input	62	(1)
Interconnectedness	63	(2)
Escalating Tension	65	(2)
One Person, One Game	67	(2)
Focus	69	(18)
Establishing Focus	70	(7)
An Example: Winter Carnival Whirlwind	72	(2)
The Function of the Focus	74	(3)
Maintaining Focus	77	(5)
Fleshing Out the Focus	78	(1)
Changing Focus	79	(3)
Sub-Focuses	82	(3)
Using Focus	85	(2)
Interview: Ed Logg	87	(28)
The Elements of Gameplay	115	(26)
Unique Solutions	116	(3)
Anticipatory versus Complex Systems	116	(1)
Emergence	117	(2)
Non-Linearity	119	(6)
Types of Non-Linearity	119	(2)
Implementation	121	(2)
The Purpose of Non-Linearity	123	(2)
Modeling Reality	125	(2)
Teaching the Player	127	(4)
Tutorials	128	(3)
Input/Output	131	(9)
Controls and Input	131	(5)
Output and Game-World Feedback	136	(4)
Basic Elements	140	(1)
Game Analysis: Tetris	141	(10)
Puzzle Game or Action Game?	142	(2)
Tetris as a Classic Arcade Game	144	(2)
The Technology	146	(1)
Artificial Intelligence	147	(1)
Escalating Tension	148	(1)
Simplicity and Symmetry	149	(1)
Fifteen Years On, Who Would Publish Tetris?	150	(1)
Artificial Intelligence	151	(21)
Goals of Game AI	153	(9)
Challenge the Player	154	(2)
Not Do Dumb Things	156	(1)
Be Unpredictable	157	(2)
Assist Storytelling	159	(3)
Create a Living World	162	(1)
The Sloped Playing Field	162	(2)
How Real Is Too Real?	163	(1)
AI Agents and Their Environment	164	(3)
How Good Is Good Enough?	167	(1)
Scripting	168	(3)
Artificial Stupidity	171	(1)
Interview: Steve Meretzky	172	(30)
Storytelling	202	(25)
Designer's Story Versus Player's Story	203	(3)
Places for Storytelling	206	(11)
Out-of-Game	207	(5)
In-Game	212	(4)
External Materials	216	(1)
Linear Writing Pitfalls	217	(5)
Player Character Personality	218	(4)
Game Stories	222	(3)
Non-Linearity	223	(1)
Working with the Gameplay	224	(1)
The Dream	225	(2)
Game Analysis: Loom	227	(10)
Focused Game Mechanics	228	(2)
User Interface	230	(1)
The Drafts System	231	(2)
Difficulty	233	(1)
Story	233	(2)
Loom as an Adventure Game	235	(2)
Multi-Player	237	(20)
Motivations	238	(1)
The Forms	239	(3)
Single System Multi-Player	239	(2)
Online Multi-Player	241	(1)
Design Considerations	242	(9)
Playing to Strengths	244	(2)
Protect Newbies	246	(2)
Socialization	248	(3)
Development Issues	251	(5)
Playtesting and User Feedback	253	(3)
A World of Their Own	256	(1)
Interview: Chris Crawford	257	(24)
Getting the Gameplay Working	281	(15)
The Organic Process	283	(3)
Too Much Too Soon	283	(2)
Keep It Simple	285	(1)
Building the Game	286	(5)
Core Technology	286	(1)
Incremental Steps	287	(1)
A Fully Functional Area	288	(2)
Going Through Changes	290	(1)
Programming	291	(2)
When Is It Fun?	293	(3)
Game Analysis: Myth: The Fallen Lords	296	(10)
Use of Technology	297	(3)
Game Focus	300	(1)
Storytelling	301	(1)
Hard-Core Gaming	302	(1)
Multi-Player	303	(1)
A Cohesive Whole	304	(2)
Game Development Documentation	306	(14)
Document Your Game	308	(11)
Concept Document, Pitch Document, or Proposal	308	(1)
Competitive Analysis	309	(1)
Design Document	309	(2)
Flowcharts	311	(1)
Story Bible	311	(2)
Script	313	(2)
Art Bible	315	(1)
The Game Minute	316	(1)
Storyboards	317	(1)
Technical Design Document	317	(1)
Schedules and Business/Marketing Documents	318	(1)
No Standard Documentation	319	(1)
The Benefits of Documentation	319	(1)
Interview: Jordan Mechner	320	(35)
The Design Document	355	(27)
The Writing Style	357	(2)
The Sections	359	(14)
Table of Contents	360	(1)
Introduction/Overview or Executive Summary	360	(1)
Game Mechanics	361	(5)
Artificial Intelligence	366	(3)
Game Elements: Characters, Items, and Objects/Mechanisms	369	(2)
Story Overview	371	(1)
Game Progression	371	(2)
System Menus	373	(1)
One Man's Opinion	373	(1)
Inauspicious Design Documents	374	(5)
The Wafer-Thin or Ellipsis Special Document	374	(1)
The Back-Story Tome	375	(1)
The Overkill Document	376	(1)
The Pie-in-the-Sky Document	377	(1)
The Fossilized Document	378	(1)
A Matter of Weight	379	(1)
Getting It Read	380	(1)
Documentation Is Only the Beginning	380	(2)
Game Analysis: The Sims	382	(10)
Abdicating Authorship	383	(1)
Familiar Subject Matter	384	(2)
Safe Experimentation	386	(1)
Depth and Focus	386	(1)
Interface	387	(2)
Controlled Versus Autonomous Behavior	389	(1)
A Lesson to Be Learned	390	(2)
Designing Design Tools	392	(16)
Desired Functionality	394	(6)
Visualizing the Level	394	(2)
The Big Picture	396	(1)
Jumping into the Game	397	(2)
Editing the World	399	(1)
Scripting Languages and Object Behaviors	400	(3)
Us Versus Them	403	(3)
The Best of Intentions	405	(1)
A Game Editor for All Seasons	406	(2)
Interview: Will Wright	408	(41)
Level Design	449	(26)
Levels in Different Games	450	(4)
Level Separation	451	(2)
Level Order	453	(1)
The Components of a Level	454	(6)
Action	455	(1)
Exploration	456	(1)
Puzzle Solving	457	(1)
Storytelling	458	(1)
Aesthetics	459	(1)
Balancing It All	460	(1)
Level Flow	460	(3)
Elements of Good Levels	463	(4)
Players Cannot Get Stuck	463	(1)
Sub-Goals	463	(1)
Landmarks	464	(1)
Critical Path	465	(1)
Limited Backtracking	465	(1)
Success the First Time	465	(1)
Navigable Areas Clearly Marked	466	(1)
Choices	466	(1)
A Personal List	466	(1)
The Process	467	(6)
Step 1. Preliminary	467	(1)
Step 2. Conceptual and Sketched Outline	468	(1)
Step 3. Base Architecture/Block Out	469	(1)
Step 4. Refine Architecture Until It Is Fun	469	(1)
Step 5. Base Gameplay	470	(1)
Step 6. Refine Gameplay Until It Is Fun	471	(1)
Step 7. Refine Aesthetics	471	(1)
Step 8. Playtesting	472	(1)
Process Variations	472	(1)
Who Does Level Design?	473	(1)
Collaboration	474	(1)
Game Analysis: Grand Theft Auto III	475	(8)
Believable Game-World	476	(1)
A Living City	477	(3)
Actions and Consequences	480	(1)
Storytelling	481	(2)
Playtesting	483	(17)
Finding the Right Testers	484	(5)
Who Should Test	485	(2)
Who Should Not Test	487	(2)
When to Test	489	(2)
How to Test	491	(1)
Guided and Unguided Testing	492	(1)
Balancing	493	(4)
Your Game Is Too Hard	495	(2)
The Artistic Vision	497	(3)
Interview: Doug Church	500	(32)
Conclusion	532	(3)
Art	532	(1)
The Medium	533	(1)
The Motive	534	(1)
Appendix A Sample Design Document: Atomic Sam	535	(44)
I. Overview	539	(1)
II. Game Mechanics	540	(15)
III. Artificial Intelligence	555	(6)
IV. Game Elements	561	(10)
V. Story Overview	571	(1)
VI. Game Progression	572	(6)
VII. Bibliography	578	(1)
Appendix B Sample Design Document: The Suffering	579	(76)
Section I: Introduction	587	(1)
Section II: Game Mechanics	588	(29)
Section III: Resources	617	(5)
Section IV: NPCs	622	(16)
Section VI: Gameflow	638	(8)
Section VII: Maps	646	(5)
Section VIII: Menus	651	(4)
Glossary	655	(17)
Selected Bibliography	672	(5)
Index	677