This document provides guidance for aspiring game designers on how to enter the field. It recommends starting by educating oneself using freely available online resources about game design fundamentals. It emphasizes that having ideas is not enough - one must prove ideas through prototypes and gain technical skills. It also stresses the importance of communication skills and being able to work as part of a team, as game design requires collaborating with many roles. Overall, the document presents game design as a challenging career path that requires perseverance and a willingness to fail many times before succeeding.
Learn how to design a game with Seth Sivak, CEO of Proletariat. This deck covers Basic game design skills, how to analyze an entertainment experience, and tips on how to leverage common user behaviors.
Game Design - Monetization
The Deck covers some of the basic aspects and mechanisms of social game design. This is the 1st out of 4 decks, covering the aspects needed for amplifying MONETIZATION among players and users
The series includes 4 chapters: Engagement, Virality, Retention, Monetization
Learn how to design a game with Seth Sivak, CEO of Proletariat. This deck covers Basic game design skills, how to analyze an entertainment experience, and tips on how to leverage common user behaviors.
Game Design - Monetization
The Deck covers some of the basic aspects and mechanisms of social game design. This is the 1st out of 4 decks, covering the aspects needed for amplifying MONETIZATION among players and users
The series includes 4 chapters: Engagement, Virality, Retention, Monetization
Successful innovations reach a mainstream audience—but they never start off that way. That’s the paradox of innovation that most entrepreneurs fail to embrace - at their peril.
That’s where Game Thinking comes in. Game Thinking is a step-by-step system for accelerating innovation and crafting products that people love…and keep loving. In Game Thinking, you empower your customers to get better at something they care about — like playing an instrument or leading a team. Come to this fast-paced training and equip yourself with the tools you need to create your next breakout hit.
Game Development is the art of creating games and describes the design, development and release of a game. It may involve concept generation, design, build, test and release. While you create a game, it is important to think about the game mechanics, rewards, player engagement and level design.
There’s a rise in demand for professionals in the field, game development jobs beat any typical 9-5 work, and there are plenty of exciting roles available. You will not only create games but can be immersed in the world of gaming – all in a day at work.
Dive in and learn all about game development!
Horizon Zero Dawn: A Game Design Post-MortemGuerrilla
Download the full presentation here: http://www.guerrilla-games.com/read/horizon-zero-dawn-a-game-design-postmortem
Abstract: Going through early prototypes and delving into design decisions and processes that shaped development of the game, this talk gives insight into the journey game design went through while moving from an ambitious paper concept to a finished open world action RPG, with all of the small and large design decisions and choices that have to be made along the way.
A rough template to use and abuse when pitching Raw Fury (or other publishers as well, of course) Feel free to steal the structure and modify it as you see fit.
For a more in-depth explanation on How To Pitch Raw Fury:
https://rawfury.com/how-to-pitch-to-raw-fury/
An introduction to how Space Ape Games runs Live Operations. This lecture will cover a variety of topics from pricing to event schedules. This is an ideal starting point for anyone new to Live Operations or who simply wants to sanity check their own processes against another's.
For more information, visit: www.adriancrook.com
This is a sample teardown or game deconstruction based on Supercell's Clash Royale. What is a teardown? Read on for background or drop us a line on how you can learn more: www.teardownclub.com or www.adriancrook.com for our full suite of services.
At all major game developers, product managers regularly produce teardowns. A teardown is an in-depth analysis of a competitor’s product, designed to highlight what can be learned. Product managers then pass these teardowns on to their internal development teams to help them make better products.
The industry term for this analysis is Teardown, and if you’ve never heard that before, it’s because the information Teardowns contain is so valuable that they are rarely shared publicly.
Teardown Club is AC+A's leading edge competitor analysis that your product management and design teams need to make profitable games.
WHAT DO OUR TEARDOWNSCONTAIN?
A teardown is usually delivered in PowerPoint format and contains the following:
Executive Summary
Monetization Features/Economy Breakdown
Context/Background/Genre Competitors
Retention/Compulsion Loop Breakdown
Core Loop Analysis
Viral Loops Analysis (if applicable)
First Time User Experience (FTUE) Overview
Summary with Key Takeaways
A teardown is laser-targeted to divining the valuable lessons from a product. Everything from the latest retention mechanisms to the highest converting monetization implementations - and beyond.
Large publishers have entire worldwide product management groups whose job is to produce teardowns and share this knowledge with their worldwide studios, ensuring their products beat the market.
Video game design and programming course for the Master in Computer Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano. http://www.facebook.com/polimigamecollective https://twitter.com/@POLIMIGC http://www.youtube.com/PierLucaLanzi http://www.polimigamecollective.org
NDC 2013 이은석 - 게임 디렉터가 뭐하는 건가요 (게임개발 상위직책의 이해)
Nexon Developer Conference 2013 에서 발표에 사용한 슬라이드입니다.
내용 :
게임 디렉터란 무엇인가?
권위주의와 라인조직의 함정
디렉터가 하는 일, 필요한 역량
개발조직을 이끄는 방법
질문과 답변
기대효과 :
청강자들은 게임개발의 상위직책들(프로듀서, 디렉터, 크리에이티브 디렉터 등)의
업무와 필요역량에 이해하게 되고, 자신의 업무 커리어 계획에 참고할 수 있게 될 것입니다. 이미 저 직책들에 현직으로 종사하고 있는 사람들은 현재 업무 향상에 대한 영감을 얻을 수 있을 것입니다.
Killer Design Patterns for F2P Mobile/Tablet GamesHenric Suuronen
Presentation on Design Patterns for Mobile and Tablet games presented in July 2013 at ChinaJoy in Shanghai by Henric Suuronen, President & Co-Founder at Nonstop Games
Successful innovations reach a mainstream audience—but they never start off that way. That’s the paradox of innovation that most entrepreneurs fail to embrace - at their peril.
That’s where Game Thinking comes in. Game Thinking is a step-by-step system for accelerating innovation and crafting products that people love…and keep loving. In Game Thinking, you empower your customers to get better at something they care about — like playing an instrument or leading a team. Come to this fast-paced training and equip yourself with the tools you need to create your next breakout hit.
Game Development is the art of creating games and describes the design, development and release of a game. It may involve concept generation, design, build, test and release. While you create a game, it is important to think about the game mechanics, rewards, player engagement and level design.
There’s a rise in demand for professionals in the field, game development jobs beat any typical 9-5 work, and there are plenty of exciting roles available. You will not only create games but can be immersed in the world of gaming – all in a day at work.
Dive in and learn all about game development!
Horizon Zero Dawn: A Game Design Post-MortemGuerrilla
Download the full presentation here: http://www.guerrilla-games.com/read/horizon-zero-dawn-a-game-design-postmortem
Abstract: Going through early prototypes and delving into design decisions and processes that shaped development of the game, this talk gives insight into the journey game design went through while moving from an ambitious paper concept to a finished open world action RPG, with all of the small and large design decisions and choices that have to be made along the way.
A rough template to use and abuse when pitching Raw Fury (or other publishers as well, of course) Feel free to steal the structure and modify it as you see fit.
For a more in-depth explanation on How To Pitch Raw Fury:
https://rawfury.com/how-to-pitch-to-raw-fury/
An introduction to how Space Ape Games runs Live Operations. This lecture will cover a variety of topics from pricing to event schedules. This is an ideal starting point for anyone new to Live Operations or who simply wants to sanity check their own processes against another's.
For more information, visit: www.adriancrook.com
This is a sample teardown or game deconstruction based on Supercell's Clash Royale. What is a teardown? Read on for background or drop us a line on how you can learn more: www.teardownclub.com or www.adriancrook.com for our full suite of services.
At all major game developers, product managers regularly produce teardowns. A teardown is an in-depth analysis of a competitor’s product, designed to highlight what can be learned. Product managers then pass these teardowns on to their internal development teams to help them make better products.
The industry term for this analysis is Teardown, and if you’ve never heard that before, it’s because the information Teardowns contain is so valuable that they are rarely shared publicly.
Teardown Club is AC+A's leading edge competitor analysis that your product management and design teams need to make profitable games.
WHAT DO OUR TEARDOWNSCONTAIN?
A teardown is usually delivered in PowerPoint format and contains the following:
Executive Summary
Monetization Features/Economy Breakdown
Context/Background/Genre Competitors
Retention/Compulsion Loop Breakdown
Core Loop Analysis
Viral Loops Analysis (if applicable)
First Time User Experience (FTUE) Overview
Summary with Key Takeaways
A teardown is laser-targeted to divining the valuable lessons from a product. Everything from the latest retention mechanisms to the highest converting monetization implementations - and beyond.
Large publishers have entire worldwide product management groups whose job is to produce teardowns and share this knowledge with their worldwide studios, ensuring their products beat the market.
Video game design and programming course for the Master in Computer Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano. http://www.facebook.com/polimigamecollective https://twitter.com/@POLIMIGC http://www.youtube.com/PierLucaLanzi http://www.polimigamecollective.org
NDC 2013 이은석 - 게임 디렉터가 뭐하는 건가요 (게임개발 상위직책의 이해)
Nexon Developer Conference 2013 에서 발표에 사용한 슬라이드입니다.
내용 :
게임 디렉터란 무엇인가?
권위주의와 라인조직의 함정
디렉터가 하는 일, 필요한 역량
개발조직을 이끄는 방법
질문과 답변
기대효과 :
청강자들은 게임개발의 상위직책들(프로듀서, 디렉터, 크리에이티브 디렉터 등)의
업무와 필요역량에 이해하게 되고, 자신의 업무 커리어 계획에 참고할 수 있게 될 것입니다. 이미 저 직책들에 현직으로 종사하고 있는 사람들은 현재 업무 향상에 대한 영감을 얻을 수 있을 것입니다.
Killer Design Patterns for F2P Mobile/Tablet GamesHenric Suuronen
Presentation on Design Patterns for Mobile and Tablet games presented in July 2013 at ChinaJoy in Shanghai by Henric Suuronen, President & Co-Founder at Nonstop Games
Serendipity by Design - IxD S. America 13Dave Malouf
I opened up the talks section of this great conference in Recife, BR in 2013.
The talk was talking about how design can use the powerful tools of art and it's close association to non-linear creativity and associative thinking by building the space and culture of the studio environment.
This presentation covers tips and tricks for game developers and covers a little bit of everything for both work for hire developers, as well as those creating their own IP.
What Board Games can Teach Us about Designing ExperiencesStephen Anderson
There’s a reason so many board gamers show up UX events. The same skills that make us great information wranglers are the same things that make board games like Catan, Pandemic and yes, even Exploding Kittens so appealing! It should come as no surprise that we’ve seen prominent UX leaders cross over into board game design (Matt Leacock, Dirk Knemeyer).
If we scratch beneath the surface, there’s a set of shared skills (and struggles) common to these different professions. Specifically: the spatial arrangement of information, visual encoding of information, creating designed spaces, a systems view, playtesting / user testing, competing tensions, triggering emotional responses, and many more.
Okay, so what? Sure, it’s kind of neat that we have so much in common. But how might this change what I do at $largecompany? Here’s the honest truth: The game design profession is just a little bit farther down the road than us, and we have a lot to learn from this group if we can look past the superficial differences. We talk about designing for emotions, but let’s face it, game designers are actually winning at this. Processes? We talk about lean and agile, but game designers have mastered playtesting (and the design to playtest ratio should make us embarrassed at how little we actually iterate with users). And there’s plenty more. I’m confident that if we can look our our own profession through the lens of game design, we’ll see plenty of glaring opportunities for improvement, and a few tricks we might pick up, as well.
Hello everyone! I am thrilled to present my latest portfolio on LinkedIn, marking the culmination of my architectural journey thus far. Over the span of five years, I've been fortunate to acquire a wealth of knowledge under the guidance of esteemed professors and industry mentors. From rigorous academic pursuits to practical engagements, each experience has contributed to my growth and refinement as an architecture student. This portfolio not only showcases my projects but also underscores my attention to detail and to innovative architecture as a profession.
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI preludeAlan Dix
Invited talk at 'offtheCanvas' IndiaHCI prelude, 29th June 2024.
https://www.alandix.com/academic/talks/offtheCanvas-IndiaHCI2024/
The world is being changed fundamentally by AI and we are constantly faced with newspaper headlines about its harmful effects. However, there is also the potential to both ameliorate theses harms and use the new abilities of AI to transform society for the good. Can you make the difference?
Book Formatting: Quality Control Checks for DesignersConfidence Ago
This presentation was made to help designers who work in publishing houses or format books for printing ensure quality.
Quality control is vital to every industry. This is why every department in a company need create a method they use in ensuring quality. This, perhaps, will not only improve the quality of products and bring errors to the barest minimum, but take it to a near perfect finish.
It is beyond a moot point that a good book will somewhat be judged by its cover, but the content of the book remains king. No matter how beautiful the cover, if the quality of writing or presentation is off, that will be a reason for readers not to come back to the book or recommend it.
So, this presentation points designers to some important things that may be missed by an editor that they could eventually discover and call the attention of the editor.
Unleash Your Inner Demon with the "Let's Summon Demons" T-Shirt. Calling all fans of dark humor and edgy fashion! The "Let's Summon Demons" t-shirt is a unique way to express yourself and turn heads.
https://dribbble.com/shots/24253051-Let-s-Summon-Demons-Shirt
3. GAME DESIGN IN UBISOFT KIEV
Big AAA-projects (Assassin’s Creed, Far
Cry, etc.)
Huge teams (up to 800+ people and 10
studios for one project)
You are part of the big machine and
design only certain features of the game.
Game Designer at Ubisoft Kiev worked
on PC versions (UI/Controls/PC version
requirements)
4. “The role of all Game Design professionals at Ubisoft is to imagine and develop compelling and engaging rules for our
games.From conception to release,they design high quality game systems and mechanics that are adapted to the
audience and will enable players to live their own unique,fun and rich gaming experiences”.
WHO IS GAME DESIGNER?
Imagine and develop compelling and engaging rules for the game
Design game systems and mechanics and adapt them to the audience
Create unique, fun and rich gaming experience for players
5. WHAT GAME DESIGNER DO?
Design mechanics and systems within the capabilities and constraints of the engine and tools
Leverage a deep understanding and culture of all game genres and platforms to analyze,
design and improve game mechanics and systems
Use game data to tune and tweak game parameters in an iterative way in the engine or with
prototyping tools to validate game mechanics and systems
Develop knowledge of usability and learning theories to design gameplay features every player
will engage with in line with the defined game progression
Leverage knowledge of player psychology and motivation triggers to build game systems that
will foster players' engagement
Assess the efficiency of signs and feedbacks in the game and suggest solutions to design and
optimize them
Structure and distribute game information for the player in an efficient way to optimize player
onboarding, workload and overall comfort
Know and apply layout and typography principles to optimize the presentation of information
on the screen
Build economic systems that are adapted to the game systems and mechanics and that will
reinforce players’ long term retention
7. USUALWAY…
I’ve played so many great games!
Now, I know how the games work!
I wanna be a Game Designer! BTW, I have a
great idea!!!
8. …DOESN’TWORK
They didn’t respond to my letter with so
many really great game ideas
Nobody want to teach me!
Almost no formal education (or very
expensive and doubtful)
9. HR STATISTICS FOR 2014-2016
1000+ CVs (I really should say “thank
you” to our HRs at this moment)
168 candidates passed CV screening
33 passed the test (~20%)
30 failed an interview
3 hires (~2%)
CVs
CV screening passed
Test passed
3 hires
1000+
168
33
10. SOLUTION:IWILL EDUCATE MYSELF!
I’ve seen an article/interview about game
design, so people can learn it somehow!
I can do this too!
…and that’s where our journey begins
“Self-education is,I firmly believe,the only
kind of education there is”.
(IsaakAsimov)
11. OUR QUESTIONNAIRE
In English
Open questions
Game culture and ability to analyze and
understand how games work
Game design theory and expertise in
different areas
Technical understanding
No “right” answers
Test game designer’s ability to think
Test problem-solving skill
12. ENTRY BARRIER:ENGLISH
The majority of the game design
knowledge is in English
English grants you access to the learning
environment
There are plenty of ways to learn
English, choose the way you like!
IN ENGLISH NOT IN ENGLISH
Game Design knowledge in English vs.not in English
(not an actual data)
15. WHERE CANYOU FINDTHE KNOWLEDGE?
First 10 pages of Google/Youtube search
about “Game Design”/”Game Design
Book”/”Game Design Blog” contains 80% of
the necessary information
16. NO,SERIOUSLY!
1st page of “Game Design” search contains:
Wikipedia article with links to several
basic books
Coursera game design course (secret:
you can also search “game design” on
Coursera)
Reddit thread with A LOT of useful links
Etc. (this is only the very first page)
17. THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE
Google it! (Game Design/Game Design
Book/Game Design Blog)
gdcvault.com
gamasutra.com
coursera.org
digra.org
academia.edu
gamedesignersvault.com
18. WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR?
Fundamental knowledge (how people
think, act, make decisions, etc.).
Technologies change fast; people change
very slowly.
Post-mortems (look for best practices)
De-construct existing games
(fundamental knowledge will help you)
Play games! Study different
genres/mechanics/business models
19. PAYATTENTIONTOTHE QUALITY OF KNOWLEDGE!
Learn how to systemize knowledge
You should be able to convince other
people that your design decision is right
Learn how to ask proper questions: your
main skill as a game designer is a
problem-solving
20. I’M READY! I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS!
I’ve read 10/50/100 game design articles!
I’ve even read a book about game design!
Now, I certainly know how the games work!
With all this knowledge, I have even more
great ideas than before!
Now, they will answer to my letters!
22. IDEAS SUCCESS RATE
Raw ideas
Ideas for consideration
Small projects
Developments
Major developments
Launched
1 successful product
3000
300
125
9
4
1.7
23. SADTRUTHABOUT IDEAS
Only 1 idea out of 3000 is successful
First 50% of your ideas will be obvious
The most part of another 50% will be not
practical
24. EXTENDED EFFORT PRINCIPLE
Do not stop after first idea that looks
good, generate as many ideas as you can
The best ideas will appear at the end of
the list
So, generate MORE ideas!
26. GOTAN IDEA? PROVE IT!
OK, let’s assume that you have really good
idea…and then you suddenly realized that
nobody believes you!
Prove your idea!
Mods
Game prototyping tools
Non-commercial projects
Paper prototype!
27. GAME DESIGN ISABOUT EXECUTION
You ideas will not appear in a “magical”
way – you also need a technical
understanding
Game Design is almost always about
compromises and problem-solving in
boundaries of your technical constraints
Mods, prototypes and non-commercial
projects is a very helpful way for
beginners to get the technical
understanding
28. GAME DESIGN IS NOTABOUT IDEAS
IDEA ≠ GAME
The game appears only after the player
starts to interact with the game rules.
The only way to prove that your idea worth
something is to make it interactive.
To make a prototype. Usually, during
prototyping, there is a very high chance that
your idea will fail.
Be ready to fail.
29. YOU MIGHT FAIL MANYTIMES
52nd (!) Rovio game
Hundreds of failed prototypes
Before Angry Birds, Rovio was close to
bankruptcy
Sometimes, you have to fail many times
before real success
30. THIRDTRIAL:TEAMWORK
You will need other people to make the
game (programmers, artists, management,
business, etc.).
You need to learn how to communicate with
all of them.
31. COMMUNICATIONTOOLS
Word/Excel/Powerpoint are your best
friends. Master them.
Learn how to write well.
Learn how to speak well (also in public).
Basic artistic skills – draw your idea.
Pencil and paper work surprisingly well.
Image editors for detailed mock-ups.
Visio/Powerpoint for schemes/diagrams.
32. CLARITY EXERCISE
Write your idea in four short sentences.
Or less. Imagine that you have ~30 sec. to
say them.
From these four sentences, the essence of
your idea should be clearly
understandable.
If you cannot write it clear enough in four
sentences or less – most likely, your idea
is bad.
*Google “Elevator Pitch”
33. THEY DON’T LISTENTO ME!
They criticize my ideas every time!
They want to implement their own ideas
instead of mine!
They do everything in their own way!
I’m a DESIGNER, why don’t they listen to
me?
34. THE LASTTRIAL:YOUR EGO
Game is collective creative process
You have no creative monopoly
You cannot know everything
Learn to listen to your team, they all have
different life experiences, play different
games, learn how to use this experience
35. HOWTO LISTEN
Every member of the team has a voice
You are “listening hub”
Look for “integrated decisions” that
should include ideas, skills and experience
of your team
*GoogleTED video“How to manage for collective creativity”
36. HOWTO PASS OURTEST?
English!
Not being lazy! You must convince us
Game Design knowledge (gameplay,
level design, UI/UX, psychology,
monetization, etc.)
Quality of knowledge!
Technical and organizational skills
(planning, data analysis, technical
understanding, etc.)
Communication skills (structure and
look of your test are important)
37. GAME DESIGN IS HARDTO LEARN
Game Design requires from you developing
of very specific mindset. Usually, you need
at least two years and some amount of failed
projects to develop such mindset.
You need to learn how to craft and
communicate the player experience, and
what tools you should use to create it.
38. FINDTHE ENTRANCE
In many cases, you will not start you career,
as a game designer.
First thing that you need to do is to find the
entrance to the industry:
Find modding/non-commercial projects
communities where you can get basic
skills
Try to find internship/part-time job in the
game industry
39. GAME DESIGN IS PERSONAL
All the game design methods do not work
without you.
In many cases, your success as a game
designer depends on personal qualities.
Especially, on the early stage of your career.
You are in the heart of the project, develop
motivation, commitment, and ability to
solve complex problems.
40. GAME DESIGN IS RISKY
Game Design is the hardest and the riskiest
career path in the game industry.
Sometimes not very rewarding.
In the most cases, much more boring than
you expect.
Follow this way, only if you absolutely sure
42. FORTHOSEWHOARE LAZY
Game Design books:
Jesse Schell, The Art of Game
Design: A Book of Lenses
Brenda Brathwaite, Challenges
for Game Designers
Raph Koster, Theory of Fun for
Game Design
Scott Rogers, Level Up! The
Guide to Great Video Game
Design
Useful links:
Google it! (Game Design/Game Design
Book/Game Design Blog)
gdcvault.com
gamasutra.com
coursera.com
digra.org
academia.edu
gamedesignersvault.com
http://www.slideshare.net/AndreyDotsenko/