Jade Pecorella discussed her experience working in the video game industry for the past 5 years. She began as a programmer but changed roles shortly after starting. The document provides an overview of Pecorella's upcoming talk, which will cover the evolution of games from the past to present, how society and media have impacted the industry, emerging trends, and the large number of games now available on the market. As a game designer, Pecorella's role is to craft engaging experiences for players by creating levels, puzzles, and balancing game mechanics.

1. by
Jade Pecorella
Roadmap from
fantasy to reality:
The role of a designer in
the game industry.
Introduction,
Jade Pecorella, who has been working in the video games industry for 5 years. Will discuss as she starting off as a programmer and changing roles shortly after.
Understanding the audience, for the talk by asking whom from the audience Plays video games, Creates video games and also how many in the room Create traditional
games like board games, (not social, Facebook or mobile)

2. Brief introduction to the evening’s Talk discussion points:
• Overview on games then and now
• Discuss lightly how quickly and vastly it has grown
• Comparing games then and now
• The evolution of games
• How society and media have impacted the industry
• Emerging trends
• Availability of games on the market

3. Queen Nefertari Playing Senet
3500BC Senet
Backgammon 3000BCMarble Solitaire 1400BC
Brief point on a little history of games which up until the 70s, only what we refer to as traditional games, were available for people to play.
These games were played on:
• Boards
• Wall carvings
Played using
• Stones
• Cards
• Dice
Dating back to 3500bc, the oldest game to man, Queen Nefertari playing senet.

4. Tennis For Two
1958
Pong
1972
Odyssey 1972
Until the late 1950s with the intention of the Odyssey
late 1950s and the birth of the first video game “Tennis for two”
Which to my surprise was not Pong, which was released in 1972

5. The evolution of consoles and the demand to bring them into the household
Which lead to the creations of the Atari, Nintendo and Gameboy, PS1, etc

6. And with the evolution of the console began the production of the iconic games along with it.
And as shown in the examples, as time passes the games begin to evolve as time and technology increases is specs and pushes its limits.

7. Games then and now
Tekken 1 1994
Tekken 7 2015
The Legend of Zelda 1986
The Legend of Zelda 2016
And as a game developer, the pace is on to always keep up with it as quickly as possible

8. Games then and now
Metal Slug
1996
Battlefield 4
2013

9. But technology hasn’t stopped growing
as it grows so has the demand for adapting games to go along with it
From mobile devices
To next gen consoles
Virtual reality
Input features
As, as a society and culture we are always progressing to seek ways of how to create a gateway for a broader market.
Just as seen over the past 5 years with the introduction of the free to play business model and the success it has accomplished by engaging this new medium type of
players.

10. Pace of development example.
Badlands 2 is an example to show the almost instantaneous effect game developers have.
As once Apple released the iPhone 6s with the built in 3d functionality the rush was on to change any development plans in the past, progress or future to implement this
feature into their game immediately.
And as Badlands 2 implemented a gameplay feature which the harder you hold down on your device, the game is affected.
The game consists of a rolling character whom avoids critters. By holding down your finger, the harder you press the critters shown fly higher away from the player’s
character or the player’s character rolls faster.

11. Badlands 2 was released in December 2015 just slightly over a mont after the release of the iPhone 6s
among other games also to hit the App store that month featuring the 3D functionality and which neither did they have any prior knowledge to what apple was releasing.
Platforms like Apple tend to keep hush on the features, restrictions, and so on until the product is on the shelf.
This causes most developers to freak out once or twice a year. With the scare that what they might have had in development for almost 2 years, or what have put on the
store last month with the last dollar of budget left have now got to change or quickly adjust, add or remove before Apple removes or gives them a chance at being
featured in the store for millions to see.

12. With the help of platforms like Facebook, Steam, Xbox live the market keeps evolving and the awareness of games along with it.

13. With the capability and availability for people to be able to share their experiences with help the of social media and blogs such as
Twitter, IGN and Gamasutra to keep up to the date with the latest and upcoming releases.
Whether people are interested or not specifically to ‘play’ games but maybe just have an interest in the art work or animation involved in games.

14. Games have moved from what we expressed through memes and other viral trends as an individual experience to now introducing a more social medium connection.
A conversation opener which yo are able to share with personas such as your mother to her her high score on Candy crush to your dad on helping him fix his mess of a
base in Clash of Clans, to your younger brother or sister by creating a fabulous fairy tale castle
or deep dark dungeon in Minecraft.

15. Cool
Amazing
Fun
I would use the age or child reference here, but my inspiration in giving a new light in games, and what inspired me to look at game design slightly different to what I
assumed of before has been player games like Rome total war and Cossacks since he was the age of 4.

16. So why use him as an example, why did he change my way of thinking.
Well its very simple, you would think or over hear opinions from people with no children discuss how they think that a game for a 4 year old needs to be dead simple, with
multiple colours but not many distractions.
But they're wrong.
And by watching my son play I learnt.
I learnt that even though this sounds creepy I think every game should be tested on kids first. Children are ‘natural’ players, not dumb players. Children of this generation
are able to grab a tablet before they're even able to say their first word and understand exactly how to interact with it and its features.
Watching children play games, observing how they tackle puzzles, overcome barriers
or the over excitement in their faces when they win just 5 gold coins which you know from experience is not going to allow you as a developer understand pure emotions
and reactions with a ‘genuine’ uninfluenced player.

17. We are beginning to see new types of games, genres and rules.
With the rise of game making tools introducing what the 21st century refer to as Indie developers.
Bringing in not just people whom may not have the budget or the team size for 40 hours of gameplay on a AAA title but also anyone with no gaming background, no
creativity skills in art or even programming to be able to put their ideas out there into a game.
And are easily distribution and shared among the game society.
As as an example I like to use, no matter how many cook books or hours of food network you spend watching, the only was you’re going to learn how to make that
perfect muffin is by burning your first, second maybe even third batch till your neighbours don’t even bother asking if you’re okay, to learn what you did wrong, what to
not do next time, and watch something evolve from something raw to bliss.

18. So this is where it becomes challenging, with the ease of use and availability to games being practically all around us, almost relatable to being a social trend as seen in
viral threads
Bringing non gamers who have never even held a controller into games and share a great experience.

19. FEED THE WHALES!
??
?
So the tricky part as a game designer is finding that balance.
A balance which consists of enough challenge and difficulty for ‘hard core’ gamers or what in Free to Play terminology we refer to as ‘Whales’
All whilst keeping the mechanics simple and exciting for players to jump in feel that same connection while waiting for a coffee and thinking thats hard core!
Also, the majority of you whom didn't raise your hands when I asked how many of you played video games, whether you play that occasional solitaire game, or run a
quick game in subway surfers, break some glass blocks in angry birds or get run over in crossy roads in the morning or while waiting on a bus stop, you are considered a
‘casual’ gamer.
With an enormous library and hundreds of teams of designers finding games just for you.

20. “Geek”: Intellectual computer and technology enthusiast
So what just happened,e
Did games become cool?
Weren’t games only played by the stereotype we refer to as Geeks?
You know what I’m referring too…

21. “Geek”: Intellectual computer and technology enthusiast
The type with the trademarked thick black framed glasses, wearing flannel shirts or their favourite comic book hero t-shirt.

22. Make love not World Craft
s10 e08
Which have appeared in episode like South Park as not visually appealing nor
socially active to ever hang out with.

23. the dress, appearance, and culture associated
with computing and technology enthusiasts,
regarded as stylish or fashionable.
“Geek chic”:
But then something happened, and this look became cool. It became a trend known as “Geek chic” which the interests of stars from NBA stars like russell Westbrook to
celebrities like Megan Fox and Ian Somerhalder, which have made that geek look, most visually appealing.

24. To the rise of infamous tv series like The Big Bang Theory IT Crowd and many others,

25. To even using this year, 2016 as an example of how awesome the Film industry has pushed to bring this culture alive and accepted.

26. And as for the sociable characteristic stereotype,
With the rise of networks such as Youtube and Twitch

27. 36 million
total unique viewers
Also not to mention the 36 million unique viewers whom tuned in over 1 single weekend to watch a couple of teams play League of Legends online.

28. Over 300 games were released in 2015 on
Xbox One PS4
In 2015 alone, which was just slightly over 1 year after the release of the xbox one and ps4 consoles over 300 console games were released.
And as shown in the the examples, the games which were released were not just any games.
Games like GTA V as an example take about 5 years to develop.

29. Total Active App (currently available for download): 2,180,933
Moving on to the hand held device like iOS, Apple receive over 13 thousand new games a month, which add up to almost 2 thousand games a day
thats more which accumulate to more than 2 million apps and games available for download at the touch of a button.

30. But moving away from numbers this early, here are a couple of images which show a more humorous look on the number of games available and the change of market in
the house hold.

31. So what is a game designer?
So many people assume we play games all day. Well we kind of do, but not for pleasure, we play and play till we break our system till its just right.
We craft experiences to help keep building this ever growing community.

32. What does a game designer do?
Whether a designer works on already established games and has to face challenges with coming up with new features and systems to keep the thrill alive even after the
project has been live for more than 2 years.
To working in a start up company and has to create new experiences to an audience whom isn't really defined yet.

33. Game Designer
PowersRoles
Weaknesses
Passives
• Create an Epic
experience
• Problem solving
• Create levels and
puzzles
• Ask for way too much
• Break the game
• Treat every game like its
your baby
• Speak in a complete
different language
• Take in extensive
feedback
• Multitasking
• Play ALL the games
• Creative
• Imaginative
• Communicate ideas
• Craft Core
mechanics
This is my role as a game designer behind the walls of a game studio
This is what I do, I’ve done and I'm still doing
There is a reason as to why I have emphasised what I do, but will come back to it a little later in the talk.
So whether as a game designer you create 40 hours of content on a AAA title
or you're starting your own indie game with a couple of people, the role of a game designer doesn't really change much.

34. Programmers
Producers
QA
Clients
Design
Product
Owners
In the image shown is a high level breakdown of the different disciplines and
departments which help to produce those epic games.
You’ve got your and clients, quality assurance (QA) or testers, product owners and producers…

35. Game Developers, which tend to split up in different disciplines and focuses depending on their skills and positions in the game.
From back end programmers, whom, especially when working with online games and having a server client base set ups, these guys kind of
make or break your game.
So as game designers we tend to leave them to it and make sure they have…

36. plenty supply of caffeine.

37. Tool developers.
These are the candy in the eyes of designers.
Tool developers make it easier for a designer to get in and create prototypes without learning how to code. They are able to create actions when working with visual
scripting to allow designers to produce their ideas and be able to hand it over to product owners, clients or even developers to show as working example of what they
see in their heads. As there is nothing more accurate than an exact example to what you want then by showing a working prototype of it.
To system developers…

38. Whom are the bread and butter to the game.
Systems developers are programmers which are going to make the game the game
Whether its from implanting the rules to spawning apples out of the eiffel tower: every game has a system that it follows and works on.
And are the developers who create them.
As a designer you tend to bounce a lot between Systems and Tool developers.

39. Firewatch
To then moving across the floor to the Artists.
These guys are usually the biggest department in the studio, and always amazing to just walk around and observe what each and everyone is creating.
You are able to view from Concept artists creating beautiful scenes to…

40. 3D modellers creating huge unpuroptional body parts, to…

41. The Michael bay reenactment on the other side by the VFX artist and the…

42. Weird guy jumping and performing the moonwalk down the hall while looking at himself way too much, that you just think that guy needs a flower named after him or
something!
But instead they get the title of “animator”
To the beloved…

43. How Bad Design
Wrecked Steve
Harvey’s “Universe”
UI artist, which is always one of the few artists a designer either adores or not.
As UI artists give that final touch and look to the game.
And as I mentioned above mentioned above with the massive demand in the mobile industry as it expands immensely, if the UI doesn't look good, people are just going
to uninstall and never return.

44. To walking downstairs and hearing noises.
From weird body sound reenactments to people tickling one another to get
that perfect giggle.
These developers are the sound engineers.

45. The maestros to your game…

46. Which are most of the time transform that cake fail…

47. Into something delicious and want to experience over and over.

48. Playing Amnesia or Doom on mute is a totally different experience to playing these games with high quality sound.

49. To the area you hang out mainly in, the Designer pod.
In larger studios working on larger games or multiple games in the same time frame, designers will tend to split into groups and focus on different components or features
within the game.

50. Level
Design
Systems
Design
UX
Design
Content
Design
From UX designers whom create an optimal experience for a player to relate too.
To Level designers sculpting the game scene and balancing sizes of environments and so on.
To Content designers whom control the pacing, plot and the narrative of quests which the characters are going to go on.
To the Systems designers whom create the game’s economy working mainly in excel on probability on how much loot should a player receive after saving the princess to
how many times in a game session should you hit that lucky spin.

51. My story
I have managed to slot my self in each of the roles mentioned over the past 5 years.

52. Let me explain in more detail what exactly I do by walking you through a typical game design process.
As a game designer you are usually given 2 different scenarios at the start of a project.
You would either receive, what we refer to as “game concept” which is usually provided by the product owner or client
Or in another scenario you are given a time line on how long you have available to create a game of your choice which fits the IP and fit the specifications.

53. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
IDEA
So game process one, there is this game concept, an idea
In one example, I was given a specific environment to work with…

54. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
IDEA
A theatre room, and was asked to come up with interactions and features which made the room come alive and fun.
To this yo have to think about the room, the theatre, remember experiences, think about typical things you see in a theatre room, the feeling you get when walking in to
the room, the smells you remember in and outside the room, what catches your eye first, is it the…

55. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
IDEA
Is it the popcorn machines, and the sounds of popping and crunching of the kernels as they over flow and bounce into the pile of fluffy popcorn, to the smell of the salt
and butter you picked up a mile of.

56. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
IDEA
Or is it the over sized 3d glasses which never fit as you want them too and would never wear ever again.

57. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
IDEA
To the rows and rows of colourful vibrant sugar coated candy and chocolates.

58. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
To in the second example mentioned I was asked to produce a game in 5 weeks…

59. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
With only 2 programmers in the mobile market…

60. GETTING FROM AN IDEA TO
A GAME
And reuse art work which had already been created for another product.

61. Who is the game for?
The first thing you always do is learn everything about the potential game target audience.
Who will play the game, who will be thrilled or moved by what you create and who are they likely to share the experience with.

62. I remember creating a system design which the player had to pick fish out of a pond or lake a couple of years ago.
I became this ‘Mini fish guru’ for about a year because of that.
Knowing exactly which fish out of a database I had hand picked trying to match names to the collections they were apart of, at what time of day this type of fish is most
likely to appear at the surface or down in depths of the chosen water type, to knowing which show up in a lake and pond and also salt water sea and what happens to
them as the ic freezes over their habitat in Winter.
From the week after…

63. Pitching a design for a Japanese target audience and having to learn everything
from being a foodie…

64. To finding out how cute plushy sushi can actually look to all the peace references in kawaii fashion.

65. To shortly after celebrating the remembrance of the death of a legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna.
Which I had to learn all about F1, the fans behind it, what tyres were best used in the rain one which were used on snow.
To discovering how weirdly that in nascar they celebrate by pouring milk over each other opposed to champagne seen in formula 1.

66. ?
?
?
…I don’t get it neither….

67. This is the fun part though, the part were as a game designer you learn so much about little things that you wouldn't have even thought existed.
So once you’ve understood the market, genre, audience in like 10 hours of binging on Google and playing every game related while watching like 5 different videos on
other peoples opinions, reading through blogs and forums to even diving into what the drivers do in their free time and whats the difference in cultures on tipping in
countries;
You come up with a high level game pitch.
You point out the loops and goals of the game you are about to create.

68. Example, say you would like to create a 2D platform game about hedgehogs…

69. And these hedgehogs jump through hoops along the paths pre defined by design…

70. You move to describe the environment scene, here I would like the game to be set in location like Miami….

71. But have this speed element to the character and moments to the game.
So you sit with the Clients and Product owners, Programmer leads and Art directors or programmers and artists themselves if the team is small enough;
And you begin to discuss what the game is, ad how you see if being played out and what is the end goal of the finished product.

73. From there, you get the thumbs up to move ahead with development…

74. And you keep on playing.

75. G.D.D
GAME DESIGN DOCUMENT
GAME BIBLE
GAME DEVELOPER’S BEST OR WORST FRIEND
To then the most controversial debated role comes into play, the Documentation part.
Formally known as a GDD, Game design document, Game Bible, Game developer’s Best or Worst friend. I state here the ‘worst’ friend, as I could go on for hours about
the importance of documentation, but I don't have that long. The struggle most of the time with documentation is that no one really reads it, or finds the importance of it,
as early in development, from design to artists you just want to keep coming up with awesome ideas opposed to going back and describing the idea you had yesterday,
or as developer you just want to jump in and begin sculpting this experience and get all the action going. Which is true, I can vouch for having these same thoughts.
When I first was told the depth and time spent on documentation I didn't understand the importance neither.

76. Hit the bus test
Until one of my leads with whom I worked on had told me an expression, one which may be harsh, but it was just enough impact to realise what he was saying.
The expression went “Hit The Bus Test”.
What does it mean?
It means that if that designer responsible for coming up with game, got hit by a bus on the way to work, whom else on the project knows exactly how many coins we
should reward the player when they hit that bell 5 times in a row?

77. This is why no matter how many EPIC ideas you may have or how many hours you've spent raiding in games means nothing unless you’re not capable of explaining what
game you want.
As if you can’t explain the game - you get no game.

78. This is where, if you forget to mention that you want that happy pink fluffy elephant to turn blue and sad for 3 seconds when your character dies, you'll only get one very
happy pink fluffy elephant no matter how sad of a death it was.

79. So while writing up a document you have to break the game and
answer every stupid question before even reaching the end of the game level you see in your head. Imagine the obvious and explain in in detail. From yes, it’s obvious to
a person who plays games that when you win something yo are rewarded, but you need to state it, in a way that you are describing it to someone who has no idea what
a ‘reward’ even means.
Playing tonnes of games can essentially help here as you become accustomed as well as the developer and the player to what usually happens next in a game. The
player unlocks the chest, they are rewarded, an achievement is added along with coins or in game currency and tonnes of VFX and sounds blast on screen to encourage
the player to want to do that again and again.

80. So we begin crafting that experience that makes people laugh, feel bewildered, or scared and happy. An adventure they want to share among friends and family but most
importantly return back to the game.

81. So per feature/document you start off with a summary on what the game is, this is mainly acknowledged by product owner, clients or producers - so you are able to
sugar coat any game like super mario bros game into beautiful TRINE.

82. Then you begin feeding the programmers with their tasks step by step in as much technical detail as possible.
Technical here is emphasised as a programmer doesn't matter whether an asset is called Boom Boom or Bam Bam or spawned out of bananas or dragon fruit, what
matters to them is when the item appears, what happens when it appears, for how long does it animate, and what happens after the animation is ended.
You go over features from rules, to endings, to soundtracks and more in great detail.

83. Architects of Play
Monument Valley
You basically script every inch of the game with no loose ends and no achievements with no strings attached.
You somewhat lay down blue prints and then supply as many flows and images of referrals and diagrams as possible. Because everyone understands pictures or find it
easier to understand a planned out wireframe to text.

84. Because even if you've explained in detail about winning a fake mission everyone is able to glimpse over this image here as an example and know exactly what you’re
referring to by skimming through what the design is intending.
For those of you whom did not raise your hand when I asked the question about who plays video games;
The cake is lie is a reference to an infamous puzzle game Portal and Portal 2
where the player was promised a reward, referred to as the cake, as a some what motivator to then realise at the end of the game that there was no cake,
there was no reward.

85. So once that part is done, you begin handing over the documents and start working in parallel on new features, game features or even new games.
In one day you are able to bounce on 3 different features or games systems and rules and have the right answers to every question and know exactly how each one
should work perfectly.
The first company I worked for my day went something like this…

86. I would alternate between multiple roles and responsibilities in one or 2 games at times. I would bounce from implementing design features and quest systems, to
adjusting GDDs and play testing features in a side stand alone game after spending a couple hours researching and playing competitor games to by 2pm switching to
economy design on building and tweaking all the loot tables and item values and rarity in game, to the day after focussing on tweaking difficulty of what bugs were found
the night before.

87. To moving to the second company i worked for, and help create a flow of communication for the designer to be more involved with the project, moving from
documentation to actually implementing UI by working with talented programmers to create tools which they we would have discussed what the design’s intentions were
and my capabilities by working between
2 different game engines communicating together to produce a bridge between design, programmer to export to the product.
To now in my 3rd company spending time play testing an ongoing game, coming up with ideas and pitches for the game which will begin development that week, to
editing documentation based on feedback received during the daily stand up in the morning, to providing referral examples on themes and features for upcoming games
1 month and also the one in 3 months.

88. To describe what I do in a nutshell, Game design is basically opening up a board game and pulling out that booklet.
I write that booklet; I write the rules, I set the number of pieces you should have per set, per player, I determine whether touching a red box will kill you or give you 2
donuts and if you press the top right corner of your device will it bring up the options menu, or cancel all the sound in your game.

89. Its a challenge, as as well as give a player something to do to escape after a days work, or avoid boredom waiting on a bust, I need to think of an experience where I felt
some emotional attachment to, and come up with an experience to make you to feel that emotion too.
To create a deeper connection to a game like what a song or film can give you by making you laugh or cry.
But the catch here is that in game, I give you the script and stage with little direction. As you are in control of the pacing, lighting and camera but some how I’m going to
make you feel what I felt when I experienced it at my own pace.

90. So the above examples I mentioned all sounded very similar, well in reality all 3 companies I worked for were targeted and completely different audiences and even
hardware.
The first game I spoke about was an MMO on desktop for a very young demographic. The 2nd was company I was working on a Free to play mobile game for a much
larger audience raging from 7 to 40 years old.
To now in the third company I help develop Slot games in HTML 5.
Now maybe slot games may not be appealing to those whom raised their hands when I questioned how many of you play video games, but this is the point I mentioned
earlier by me not working in the video games industry
by label but in reality every game is a game.
Slot games like we saw in traditional video games are evolving into a new era.

91. Destiny
Where slot players have become accustomed to the latest graphics and puzzles used in video games and movies and are admiring the evolution of it all, and are now
demanding a similar experience in these games too. To have a more skilled based experience whilst playing in next-gen graphics.

92. The Viking Wheels of Valhalla (magnet gaming)
As an example this is an example from a competitors game;
The image shown here is an example of a slot game bonus round, where a player when winning a certain combo is transferred to a new screen where they are to
continue trying to win as much winnings out of the bonus feature as possible.
The bonus feature has simple game mechanics behind what is referred to as a standard pick and click game.

93. Like what you might be more familiar with is the ball guessing game, where cups are randomly shuffled too fast for the eye to catch it, manoeuvring a ball under one of
them.
If you pick a cup which reveals to have the ball underneath it, you win a prize, the ball, or if you select a cup which does not have a ball, you lose and do not receive a
reward.

94. The Viking Wheels of Valhalla (magnet gaming)
Which here they have masked it into this little puzzle game where the player feels as if they’re playing a totally different game. One more associative with video games.

95. To one of many beautiful games the company I currently work for, has created, Nirvana.

96. Nirvana (Yggdrasil Superior Gaming)
With the equivalent sophisticated and exciting art work and animations as found in a video game with high detail to characters as in Films.

97. Thus whether you design board games or…

98. card games, games to teach 2 year olds the alphabet or games which connect friends in different continents for a game of Fifa…

99. As a game developer, you still are left with the best part of my job were when after putting in so many hours, sometimes way over anyone would have thought is mentally
or physically possible day in and day out, and after all the emotional attachment you have shared with your product…

100. Which sometime you just feel like going home and calling quits, that one moment, when….

101. That programmer at like 1am or 2am hands you a working build of the game you saw in your head couple of weeks, months or sometimes years ago…

102. SHIP IT NOW!
It’s like your first time seeing snow on Christmas morning as a child opening presents under the tree.

103. Because no matter how many games you create, for whatever audience every one of them feels like your first.
Thank you.

104. QA