Last week we watched the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to Rapid Prototypes!” YouTube video by Mark Barrett on GDC. This video talks about what the processes are when it comes to prototyping and designing a game. It got me thinking about my own game design process and how I (try to) develop my solo project. 

There were a few slides that really stood out to me that I thought about during the development of the solo project. The first topic was how he defined rapid prototyping. In the slide that he presented, he showed two different ways to develop a car. One was by starting with a wheel, then adding axles, then a chassis, then a steering wheel. In that case, only the final piece was a viable product that can be used. The second way to develop a car was by first starting out with a skateboard, then adding a handle and turning it into a scooter, then adding pedals and a seat and turning it into a bicycle, then giving it a motor and turning it into a motorcycle, then giving it four wheels and turning it into a car. Each time the design was iterated on, it still kept its functionality. I felt like I applied this to my project by making every branching instance connect with each other and make sure that everything was connected before I added more detail to the stories. Once I had finished the main branch of my project, I began to iterate on it, creating more encounters, which meant more branches and more options that the player can choose.

Another topic that Barnett covered was the idea of a core diagram. A core diagram consists of the core mechanic, the secondary mechanic, progression and then the narrative. He used Pac-Man as an example, and said that the core mechanic of the game wasn’t to eat everything, but to move. I thought about what my project’s main mechanic would be and I think it would have to be reading. This is the mechanic that you spend the most time doing, while something like choosing dialog options is more of a secondary mechanic. The progression in my game is to get to the end of the story, while the narrative is the story itself and the experiences that you have while playing.

Sources:

Barrett, Mark. “Hitchhiker’s Guide to Rapid Prototypes!” GDC, YouTube, 6 September 2017.