What does a game designer do

What does a Game Designer do?
Jesse Schell

MIT
REJECTED!

DisneyQuest

Head Mounted Display

CAVE - Computer Augmented Virtual Environment

Game Design Class

Pixie Hollow

Toy Story Mania

Sum of All Thrills

What kinds of companies are involved making videogames?
Console Manufacturer
Development Studio
Publisher

What kinds of people are needed to make games?
Programmers
Artists
Animators
Writers
Musicians
Sound Designers
Producers
And, oh, yeah, Game Designers

What does “game design” mean?
Game Design is the act of deciding what a game should be.

What skills does Game Designer need to be good at?
Animation
Anthropology
Architecture
Art
Brainstorming
Business
Cinematography
Communication
Creative Writing
Economics
Engineering
History
Interface Design
Management
Mathematics
Music
Psychology
Public Speaking
Sound Design
Technical Writing
Visual Arts
…and much more!

So… How do you make a game?
Think of an idea.
Try it out.
Keep changing it and testing it until it seems good enough.

The Eight Filters of “Good Enough”
Artistic Impulse – Does this game feel right?
Demographics – Will the intended audience like this game?
Experience Design – Is this a well-designed game?
Innovation – Is this game novel enough?
Business and Marketing – Will this game be profitable?
Engineering – Is it technically possible to build this game?
Social / Community – Does this game meet our social and community goals?
Playtesting– Do the playtesters enjoy this game enough?

Team
Client
Game
Self
Audience

1. Team

Improvisational Acting

Building Virtual Worlds

2. Client

3. Audience

4. Game

Aesthetics
Mechanics
Story
Technology
The Elemental Tetrad

Two Key Questions
What is the GOAL?
What are the OBSTACLES?

High Interest
Medium Interest
Low Interest

A Good interest Curve
Interest
Time

A Bad Interest Curve
Interest
Time

The Flow Channel
Fun
Anxiety
Challenges
Boredom
Skills

5. Self

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But why go through all this?

Thanks!
Email: jesse@schellgames.comTwitter: @jesseschell
Slides: slideshare.net/jesseschell

What does a game designer do

by Jesse Schell on Apr 28, 2010

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