Lecture "Game Design" in Game Development course at University of Management and Technology Lahore for Spring 2017 Semester by Hafiz Ammar Siddiqui

1. Game Design
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

2. Game Design
• The process of planningand creating the content of a game
• Art of applying design to create a game
• Defines that how the game will work from start to end
• Describes that what a game consists of and how it plays
• All basic game design components are related to each other which are gameplay,
mechanics, storylineand aesthetics
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

3. Gameplay and Experience
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

4. Gameplay and Experience
• A specific way in which a player interacts with a game
• Defines the way a game is played
• Explains howa player is involved with a game
• Gameplayis usuallydefined with the help of two major characteristics
• Game Type: Define the viewpoints,styles, temporalaspect and ending type of a game
• Playability: Set of factors that measurethe ease and fun in playinga game
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

5. Playability
• Learning: How quickly a player can learn and dominate a game. The learning curve and
distribution of tutorials in a game for a player
• Immersion: How seamlessly a player is integrated in the virtual world of a game. The
perception which is created around a player
• Efficiency: How time and resources are managed in a game. The structuring of
challenges for a player
• Satisfaction: How much a player is satisfied after playingor completing a game
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

6. Playability
• Emotion: How much a game induces feelings in a player. The provocation of different
feelings in a shortspace of time in a player
• Motivation: How much a player is keen to play and complete a game. The degree of
motivation which pushes a player continuouslyto advancein a game
• Socialization: How much a game allows a player to socialize with other players
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

7. Game Mechanics
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

8. Game Mechanics
• Defines how a game works
• Combination ofmethods that provideinteraction with the game state
• Relation between objects inside a game space with the help of rules which are
triggered by actions using skills and chance in order to achieve goals
• It consists of space, objects, actions, goals, rules, skills, and chance
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

9. Space
• A set of elements or a universewith structureis a space
• Defines a place or a combination ofplaces inside a game
• Properties of space:
• It is either discrete or continuous on a scale
• It has a number of dimensions
• It has bounded areas which can be connected with each other
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

10. Objects
• Anything that can be seen or manipulated in a game is an object, space acts as a
container of objects in a game
• Properties of object:
• It has a set of attributes that contain informationaboutan object
• It has a state which is a set of current values of its attributes
• It has a set of behaviors thatit can perform dependingon its own state or game state
• Game state is a set of current states of all the objects in its space
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

11. Actions
• Interaction of a player with a game by doing some activity on objects is an action, what
a player does in a game
• What operations a player can do in a game
• Verbs of a player in a game
• Choices a player can make in a game
• Actions can change the state of a game and the state of objects
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

12. Goals
• Objective in a game that a player will try to achieve by performingactions is a goal
• Winning conditions in a game
• Guidelines of goal:
• Should be well defined, measureableand incremental(if its too large)
• Provide feedback and reward
• Must be attainableand not boring
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

13. Rules
• Regulation that a player follows in a game while performing actions in order to achieve
goals is a rule
• How a player can do operationsin a game
• Laws and principles in a game
• Consequences ofthe actions
• Constraints on the actions and the goals
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

14. Skills
• Player’s ability acquired through some effortto do somethingwell in a game is a skill
• Player’s capacity to perform wellin a game after experienceand training
• Types of skill:
• Physical: Skills involving strength, dexterity, coordination,and physicalendurance
• Mental: Skills involvingmemory, observation,problem solvingand decision making
• Social: Skills involvingcommunication,coordination and guessingopponentmoves
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

15. Chance
• Randomness or element of surprisefor a player in a game is a chance
• Uncertainty of events happeningin a game
• Unpredictablechanges in state of a game
• Properties of chance:
• Its outcomeis either discrete or continuous
• It can be either completely random or controlled by some probabilityor biasness
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

16. Storyline and Narrative
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

17. Storyline and Narrative
• Plot of a game which tells how it progresses
• Game has an interactive plot where a player is continuously active and become a part
of the story, and often involved in the decision making throughoutthe storyline
• Explains whatis happeningand why things happen the way they do in a game
• Series of connected or related events insidea game
• Script of a game which can contain the dialogues and actions
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

18. Types of Story
• Linear: Story where a player start at one point and go straight to the end in a sequence
with single (finite) ending
• Endless: Story where a player start at one point and keep on going infinitely in a
sequencewith no (infinite) ending
• Non Linear: Story where a player start at one or multiple points and it changes due to
the decisions made by a player in a sequence with either a single (finite) ending or
multiple (branching) endings
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

19. Types of Story
• Open Ended: Story where a player start at one or multiple points and it allows a player
to progress in different directions without a sequence with either a single (finite) ending
or multiple (branching) endings
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

20. Aesthetics and Level Design
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

21. Aesthetics
• Visual, auraland haptic experiencethat a player encounters in a game
• Way a game presents itself to a player
• Overalllook and feel of a game
• How the content of a game is displayed
• Every game follows a particular artistic style which uses specific drawing techniques for
creating visuals inside a game
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

22. Level Design
• Process of planning and creating space (level) inside a game that is available to a player
during a specific object or through out the complete game
• Activity of creating playablecontentfor a player in a game
• Guidelines of level design:
• Each level must haveat least one entry point
• Each level must haveat least one exit point (if ending type is not infinite)
• Design of all levels should be consistent
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

23. Reference
• The Art of Game Design - Jesse Schell
• Game Design Essentials - Briar Lee Mitchell
• Challenges for Game Designers - Brenda Brathwaite, Ian Schreiber
FROM: HAFIZ AMMAR SIDDIQUI – COURSE: GAME DEVELOPMENT – INSTITUTE: UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY