Lecture for the Videogame Design and Programming course for the MSc Engineering of Computing Systems (Laurea Magistrale in Ingegneria Informatica) - Politecnico di Milano. Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione, e Bioingegneria Course Webpage: http://www.polimigamecollective.org Course Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/polimigamecollective

1. Conceptualization
Videogame Design and Programming
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

2. Coming up with ideas is difficult
Coming up with excellent ideas is even more difficult
And coming up with ideas is just the beginning…
Game design is about generating layers and iterations of
ideas that help to refine and evolve your original concept
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

3. Creativity
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Great ideas come from great input into your mind and senses
Not only playing games, but living a curious life, full of curiosity people, places,
thoughts and events
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes the stages of creativity as
Preparation – becoming immerse in a topic or domain of interest, a set of
problematic issues
Incubations – when ideas “churn around”
Insight – the “aha!” moment, when the pieces of the puzzles, or an idea, fall
together
Evaluation – when the person decides whether the insight is valuable and
worth pursuing. Is it really original?
Elaboration – the longest part of the creativity process; it takes the most
time and is the hardest (Edison, 99% perspiration 1% inspiration).
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Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

4. The creative process is less linear than recursive.
Sometimes incubation lasts for years, sometimes
it takes hours, sometimes it includes one deep insight
and innumerable small ones
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

5. “I want to make a game about studying Chinese!”
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

6. Ideas also come from analyzing existing games and activities
Develop your critical skills (not just think “cool!”)
Pay close attention to your emotional responses,
to your cycle of frustration, exhilaration, confidence, etc.
Discuss games with friends, deconstruct games, etc.
Begin a game journal
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

7. Brainstorming
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When there is no time to wait for that moment of inspiration to hit, you need
a more formalized system of idea generation, like brainstorming
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Powerful skill which requires practice – can be done alone or better in team
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It is all about “asking the right question” (The Imagineers at Disney)
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It is all about finding the right balance between stimulation and structure
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

8. Brainstorming Best Practices
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State of Challenge – first you need to articulate the challenge, for instance,
design a game in which players build alliances and then betray them
No criticism – if alone, don’t self censor or edit your ides, Write them all down
and worry about quality later. If in a team, don’t criticize or ignore your
colleagues’ ideas during the process. It’s all about free thinking. Speak in terms
of “yes, and …”
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Vary the method
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Put it on the wall
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Go for lots of ideas
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Don’t go too long
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

9. Brainstorming Alternate Methods
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List Creation
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Idea Cards
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Mind Maps
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Stream of Consciousness
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Shout it out
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Cut it up
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Surrealist Games (Exquisite Corpse)
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Research
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
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12. Editing and Refining
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It should be done on a different day than brainstorming, works on the same
principles of brainstorming (e.g., don’t bash ideas)
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Technical Feasibility
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Market Opportunity
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Artistic Considerations
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Business/Cost/Time Restrictions
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When refining, narrow down the list of ideas to three. Then schedule a second
level brainstorming session
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

13. When your have a clear idea of the key features,
write your ideas up as a short one-page description
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

14. Guidelines for the Game Concept
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The game-concept document expresses the core idea of the game
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Brief and simple to encourage a flow of ideas (one page).
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The target audience is the people responsible for advancing the idea to the
next step: a formal game proposal
Typically, all concepts are presented to the director of product development
(or executive producer) before they get outside of the product development
department
The director will determine whether or not the idea has merit and will either
toss it or dedicate some resources to developing the game proposal.
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

15. Tim Ryan, The Anatomy of a Design Document, Part 1
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3384/the_anatomy_of_a_design_document_.php?page=1
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

16. Turning Ideas Into a Game
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After the game-concept has been accepted, with a list of potential features, it
is time to turn the concept into a game
Several designers take a shortcut, they begin with a set of existing mechanics, a
genre of play
But what if the idea does not fit nicely in a predefined genre?
For instance, it is not really an FPS. Should the idea be modified to be force to
fit a predefined game genre?
Try to experiment with your game mechanics to explore new directions
Try to develop a vision of the type of player experience you wish to create.
The formal structure will follow from that vision. Perhaps, it will have elements
of exiting games, but overall, it will feel entirely new.
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

17. Designers should not be distracted by the dramatic elements.
Story and characters are important
but they should not obscure the view of the gameplay
They should remain in the designer’s mind,
but secondary until you pin down the formal elements
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

18. Focus on the Formal Elements
(the question you should ask to yourself)
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• What is the conflict in my game?
• What the rules and the procedures?
• What actions to the players take and when?
• Are there turns? How do they work?
• How many players can play?
• How long does a game take to resolve?
• What is the working title?
• Who is the target audience?
• What platform will this game run on?
• What restrictions or opportunities does the environment have?
• Are there any particular interaction modes?
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

19. To Draft Your Game Structure…
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• Define each player’s goal
• What does a player need to do to win
• Write down the most important type of player action in the
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game
Describe how this functions
Write down the procedures and rules in outline format
Only focus on the most critical rules, leave all the other rules for
later
Map out how a typical turn works. Using a flow chart is the most
effective way to visualize this
Define how many players can play
How do these players interact with one another
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

20. Exercise: Consider one game you like and
try to come out with new design features
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

21. Elements of the Game Concept
• Introduction
• Background (optional)
• Description
• Key features
• Genre
• Platform(s)
• Concept art (optional)
• Analysis of the market (mandatory)
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi
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22. Structure of the Game-Concept Document
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Introduction
These words will sell the document to the reader.
One sentence to describe the game in an excited manner.
Include the title, genre, platform, and any other meaningful bits of
information that cannot wait until the next sentence.
Should be brief, the longer it is, the more your vision will seem diluted
Example: "Man or Machine is a first-person shooter for the PC that uses
the proven Quake II engine to thrust players into the role of an android
space marine caught up in the epic saga of the interstellar techno-wars of
the thirty-seventh century."
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Description
In a few paragraphs or a page, describes the game to the readers as if they
are the players. Use the second-person perspective -- "you."
Must avoid specifics (e.g., mouse-clicks), but must not be too vague.
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Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

23. Structure of the Game-Concept Document
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Key Features
Bullet point list of items that will set this game apart from others
For instance, "Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI): Man or Machine will
recreate and advance the challenging and realistic AI that made Half-Life
game of the year.“
Carefully determine the number of features to include (too few will sell
the game short, too many will water down the strongest features)
Genre
In a few words, define the type of game or flavor (puzzle, FPS, etc.)
In case, refine the genre with additional words (e.g., WWII FPS)
Platform
In a few words, list the target platform(s).
f you think the game concept is applicable to multiple platforms, you
should also indicate which platform is preferred or initial.
If you intend multiplayer support on the Internet, indicate that as well.
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Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

24. Structure of the Game-Concept Document
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• Analysis of the Competitors
§ List at least 3-5 games that are your competitors
§ In one sentence tell why yours is special
very important!
game concept must be anonymous J
your concept must occupy one page at most.
name must be on the other side J so that we can scan
the concepts leaving out the names
art should be included on extra sheets (using one side)
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

25. Your Homework
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• Write down the game-concept document for the game you wish
to propose to the class
• The firm deadline is October 18, 2012
• The game-concept document must be delivered in class
• Students can also prepare a short video to support their proposal
(no face shown). The link to the video should be sent to
pierluca.lanzi@polimi.it by October 18, 2013.
• The game-concept document must be well-written and
accurately proof read.
Prof. Pier Luca Lanzi

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