When it comes to game design, I find that one of the most important things is communication. In order to be able to communicate different aspects of a game effectively, there needs to be proper documentation of a game through its development.  Within the Fullerton chapter “Communicating Your Designs” there were a few styles of documentation that are common in game design for sharing ideas with others.  One form is a Flowchart to help map out the path of the game.  For my group project, before writing out my narrative I created a flowchart of the choices the player would get to make and the separate paths that were possible. This helped me to stay on track with my narrative and note where the parts of my narrative would intersect with the other narratives that my group members have made.  One communication tool that I have yet to personally try but seems important is wireframes. That is because “wireframes are an excellent communication tool between the designer, the artists, and the UI programmers” (451,452). This is important so that multiple departments working on the game can have a specific vision of what the game will be.  This helps everything to flow more smoothly and for the finished product to be more polished.

Finally, I feel that another very important thing when designing a game is to be able to pitch it to others. In class we worked on creating a short verbal pitch and delivering it.  When making my pitch it really helped me to pull out the most important aspects and takeaways from my game.  It also helped me to realize certain aspects of my game that I needed to finalize and work on because it was harder for me to put into words and explain that specific aspect over others. The more condense and straightforward a pitch is, the more appealing it can come across to the person who is listening.  I feel that to make a proper and impactful pitch, the person needs to have a deep understanding of the game overall.  It is something that I definitely need to work on and improve on for the future.

Works Cited

Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. CRC Press, 2019.

Before this past week, I haven’t really paid much attention to the importance of accessibility in game design. There are many different aspects that fall under accessibility.  The more accessible a game is then the more people would want to play.  Accessibility can mean that the controls of the game and how they are mapped out are easy to learns and they make sense for the player. It can also mean that objectives and other things in the game are clear and easy to identify within the game so that is it not frustrating for the player.  Giving the players and options menu where they can adjust settings is important and an easy way for players to adjust their gameplay to their liking. These aspects of accessibility are things that I feel like I’ve never really taken the time to really notice or appreciate.  When playing, I would always assume that these things would always be included within any or most games. When it comes to accessibility, I feel that one of the most important things that is often overlooked is adding accessible features that include people with disabilities.  A simple feature could be having the option for subtitles or having a color bind option people can choose from. These small and simple options can be the difference between having people with certain disabilities be able to enjoy and play your game or not.

Recently Dead by Daylight came to mobile and even added a new feature to the game.  Normally, DBD relies a lot on sound.  You hear the sound of your heartbeat when the killer is near.  Since it is much harder to hear this sound through a phone, the mobile version of the game has a feature where you can see the glow of your heart in your character when the killer is nearby.  I feel that this feature should be an option in the normal version of the game for those who don’t hear well or can’t hear at all.  I feel that in order for more game developers to be mindful of these features, there should be more people who have disabilities that are included in the playtesting phase of games.

Works Cited

“A Straightforward Reference for Inclusive Game Design.” Game Accessibility Guidelines, gameaccessibilityguidelines.com/.

This week we talked about the concept of balance when it comes to game development.  For some games, balance is one of the most important things to get right.  I feel that balance is more important for multiplayer games that constantly introduce new content to the game.  When I think of balance, I think of Overwatch. Every time a new hero is introduced to the game, there is a new issue of balance.  Usually when a new character is put into the game, it is either overpowered or encourages a new meta to form around that character which then throws the balance of the game off.  Sometimes when a new character is put into the game, their new abilities can encourage players to choose certain characters to either compliment or counter the new character.  This then can even make characters that were perfectly balanced before, seem all of a sudden more powerful or completely useless in the face of a new meta. I understand that it can be extremely difficult to predict how the balance of the game will be affected when adding in something new. I think what adds a new layer of difficulty is creating a new character that has its own unique abilities and place within the game and trying to predict how the game will evolve. In the video we watched, I found the statement “balance isn’t everything” to be interesting.  I think this also can been seen in Overwatch since there are many players whose love for the characters matter more to them than how balanced they are in the game.

During class we even discussed the issue of spawn camping.  This represents that balance in a game also comes from the maps.  When I think of map balance, I think of Halo.  There are certain multiplayer maps in Halo that are a little bit unbalanced. One teams base may be a little more open than the other.  If a team were to reach a certain area of a map first, then they will be able to spawn camp the enemy team and there isn’t much to be done about that.

Works Cited

Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. CRC Press, 2019.

The main focus of this week was playtesting.  Before being able to host a successful playtesting session, we first needed to understand how playtesting works and why it is so important to game development. In the textbook it mentions that when it comes to developing a game for playtesting, “The goal is to get to a version that people can play without much intervention from you” (279). One great thing about my group’s playtesting session was that everyone was able to play our game without any intervention from us. It took little to no explanation for our play testers to go through and play our game. It was very helpful that we made our game in Twine which is something that our entire class has had an introduction to before, so my group didn’t have to explain the mechanics of the game.  My group also made sure to not give any hints about the meaning behind the game or its purpose.  Instead we made sure to have one of our questions at the end of the session ask what they felt the meaning and theme behind the game was. This let us know that the impact we wanted our game to have on the players came through and was successful.  Since our game is purely narrative based, it was extremely important that players understood what was going on and could even relate to the narrative.

Another important aspect of playtesting is making sure that you playtest with your target audience.  My groups target audience was teens and young adults which was perfect since our play testers were our fellow classmates. Some of the feedback that we got back was that our narrative was relatable, which really helped us to know that we are reaching our target audience.  When writing the playtesting questions, we really made sure to not ask any leading questions.  Instead we wanted the play testers to tell us what they got from the game, if there were any aspects that seemed particular valuable or invaluable.  We wanted to know how they felt going through our game and if they felt that the choices, they were making in the game mattered and effected the narrative.  The answers we got from these questions helped us to understand what we were doing well, and what were the things we still needed to work on. Overall, playtesting was definitely a very helpful part of our game development.

Works Cited

Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. CRC Press, 2019.

During this week we discussed system dynamics, along with concepts of emergence and possibility space. I have been playing a lot of Hollow Knight recently and I believe that it captures all these aspects we spoke about in class.  Hollow Knight allows you to discover new areas of the game in a very unique way.  The only information that is presented on screen when playing is the players health and currency. Unlike most games, there is not a mini map on screen at all times to let the player know where they are going.  Instead, if the player wants to know where their location is, they first need to explore the area blindly until finding the creature who will give them the map. Even when you have a map of the area, you still have to stop what you are doing to pull out the map from your pocket and look at it.  I believe that this tells a lot about how the designers of the game wanted people to experience Hollow Knight.  Players are encouraged to blindly explore different areas and even get lost frequently.  A mini map not being shown in the corner of your screen as you play shows that it isn’t a central part of the experience.  The game lets you know what is possible through the design of the areas. There are certain areas that seem to just be out of reach, hinting that the fact that there is a certain ability needed to get to the next area.  When looking at a map, it is clear that there are more to certain areas when the paths look unfinished.  There would be an opening at the end of a path, showing that there is more to be discovered. I believe that the whole game is one big example of emergence due to the fact that each new area is unknown.  Every turn has the possibility of a new enemy attacking or a new area discovered.  Most boss battles happen unexpectedly when walking through an area. The experience of the game changes when new abilities are discovered which changes the way the player can move and approach new areas and bosses.

Works Cited

Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. CRC Press, 2019.

For a gaming company, having a strong team structure is extremely important.  Within the team structures chapter, it says that, “Your objective is to create an environment where all individuals are able to contribute to the very best of their abilities” (412).  There are so many different ways that team members can contribute to the overall production of a game.  Members of a developing team all bring different skill sets to the table.  There are members that focus on sound, art, level design, narrative, etc.  This is so the people can focus on one main skill and do it well.  Because there are so many different departments within one gaming company, communication between the different departments is essential. During group projects, I feel like communication is the most important thing.  If team members can’t, or don’t know how to communicate effectively then there is no way for each person’s skill sets to be used to its maximum capacity. Members wouldn’t be able to let the others know how much time they need for certain things, or what they are even skillful in.  With poor communication, nothing really gets done, and people can be stuck doing aspects of a project that they don’t do well in as opposed to working in an area where they can strive and can bring the most to the table.  Not only is it important to use everyone’s skills to the overall team’s advantage, but each member has a unique perspective on situations and can also bring that diversity to the project.  A huge problem in the gaming industry is the lack of representation and diversity in games, and that could very much stem from the fact that members of a game developing team either aren’t diverse, or their diversities aren’t being used in a constructive and innovating way.  There are many examples where there are misrepresentations of people within games.  I feel that that is something that could have been easily avoided by making an effort to engage with the people that are to be represented in a game.  Not only engage but listen and learn from their perspectives to create games that are true to the people and cultures.

Works Cited

Fullerton, Tracy. Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games. CRC Press, 2019.

Dramatic elements within a video game is something that is very important to the success of the game itself.  It is the very thing that keeps the players interested, invested, and excited about the game. Within the chapter “Working with Dramatic Elements”, it is mentioned that challenge is very important when it comes to game design.  In the chapter it says, “For a person who does not have any of the skills a task requires, it is not challenging, but meaningless.  For a person who has the skills but is not completely assured of the outcome, a task is challenging” (99).  I think it is important to understand that you cannot just throw a whole bunch of random challenges at the player throughout a game and expect it to have a meaningful and dramatic effect.  Those challenges have to make sense and hold meaning within them on their own.  If there is a challenge within a game that requires a high level of skill to complete, then that is motivation for the players to keep playing the game until they master that skill and overcome the challenge.  There are many games that have kept me interested in playing just because it requires certain skills that I am interested in getting better at.  The Last of Us was a game where sneaking around was a huge challenge and required skill to do so.  I was never really exposed to that specific style of playing prior to the game, so it was extremely challenging for me to get use to at first.  Because that challenge was reoccurring, and the skill of sneaking was very necessary, it drove me to want to be better and keep playing the game until I was able to successfully sneak past enemies. This took me a few tries to get right, but to me that was where the fun was.  If the enemies were super easy to kill, then sneaking would just be an unnecessary mechanic.  Overall the game would be more lackluster and too easy to get through. To me challenge and skill are what makes games exciting, regardless of if there is a narrative or good graphics or neither.

Work Cited

“Working with Dramatic Elements .” Game Design Workshop: a Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, by Tracy Fullerton, CRC Press, 2019, pp. 97–127.

I agree with the idea that one of the most important things within a game is the development of the environment.  The environment in which a game takes place is central to convincing the player that they are transported into a new world.  Environments within a game adds context to the overarching narrative. Within the article “Game Design as Narrative Architecture”, Henry Jenkins describes the importance of spatial stories and environmental storytelling.  In the article he discusses “what ways the structuring of game space facilitates different kinds of narrative experiences” (Jenkins). When I think of environmental storytelling I think of Dead Space.  The environment of Dead Space is arguable the most important part of the game.  It takes place in a ship in space that is infested with these creatures called necromorphs.  This game is supposed to evoke feelings of fear and loneliness.  The ship is damaged and painted with the blood of the people on the ship. There are bodies and documents that paint an image of events that must have taken place before you got there.  It gives the player the illusion of a bigger world with events taking place all around them.  Without the environment, the narrative itself might not be able to tell the story of the game in a convincing way. The game wouldn’t be what it is today. I believe it wouldn’t be nearly as scary or successful.  One statement I completely agree with is, “Environmental storytelling creates the preconditions for an immersive narrative experience” (Jenkins).  The only way to truly immerse the character into a narrative is to surround them with a believable environment. An environment that enriches the main plot of a story, and even enhances it or enlarges it.  I think that it is interesting if the environment encourages different narratives that are separate from the main narrative.  The environment of a game could even be used to develop side narratives that don’t have anything to do with the main story but encourages players to venture off and find these subtle easter eggs.  Obviously not all games need an environment in order to be a good game, but for those that are building a larger game world I feel that putting extra time into the story of the space is essential for success.

Works Cited

Jenkins, Henry. “Game Design as Narrative Architecture.” (2003).

One of the things that have stood out to me the most this week was this idea of the mythical norm.  This term is brought up in “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” by Audre Lorde.  Lorde describes the mythical norm, in America, as the person who is “white, thin, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure” (Lorde, 116). She also says that the mythical norm is something that “each one of us within our hearts knows ‘that is not me’” (Lorde 116).  This concept struck my attention because it is something that isn’t real and yet it is the one thing that is highly represented within the games we play.  Instead of gaming industries gearing their characters more toward representing the people who make up the population, it is an over representation of the very thing that no one ever really is.  In a way, we all stand united in the fact that we never truly see ourselves in the protagonist we play within the games we hold close to our hearts.  Honestly, I never really noticed how much this mystical norm is presents within my gaming career.  An example would be Halo. I love most of the Halo franchise (especially the classics made by Bungie), but I can’t deny that Master Chief is a clear representation of this mythical norm.  He is this strong, white, heterosexual, male who is this super soldier.  It is funny how a young girl like myself in the past loved playing this character who was almost everything I wasn’t, and yet I loved playing him so much.  In a way, it is nice to be able to be immersed into a character who is different from yourself.  I just find that not being given an option of who to become, or what kind of character to be immersed with is the problem.  The Last of Us, Dead Space, and so many other games (whether great or not) are examples of games that limit their protagonist to represent this one false idea of what is powerful and ideal.  Many people who play games start playing them at a very young age, and I believe that is the perfect time to open up their horizons to different kinds of heroes and characters.

Works Cited

“Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.” Sister Outsider Essays and Speeches, by Audre Lorde, Ten Speed Press, 2016, pp. 114–123.

The only way to truly interact and engage with a game is to play it.  Before this past week, I have honestly never really given much thought to the action of playing itself, since it seems so fundamental.  The act of playing is pleasant and is the very thing that keeps people interested.  The feeling of playing a game can be something that transcends space and time.  It can create vivid memories of the past, or open people up to revelations about themselves.  Within Homo Ludens it states, “Once played, it endures as a new-found creation of the mind, a treasure to be retained by the memory. It is transmitted, it becomes tradition. I can be repeated at any time… in this faculty of repetition lies one of the most essential qualities of play” (Huizinga, 9 – 10).  This repetitive nature of playing connects to how repetitive certain games can be in our lives.  There are many games that throughout the years I will always cherish and even go back to them for another play through. Over time as I go back to old games, I realize how much I’ve grown and changed throughout my life.  In a way, as I replay a game, I am being shown evidence of my growth as a person.  Although the old games I play have this sense of familiarity, it is also mixed in with a slightly new experience.  An example would be this game I use to play when I was young called Kameo.  Within this game there are enemies called Shadow Trolls and when I was young, I use to be so terrified to fight them that I would sometimes have to have my mom help me.  I recently replayed this game and when coming up against those same enemies, they weren’t that scary at all!  There are even some puzzles in that game that I use to struggle with figuring out.  Now I breeze through them with little challenge.  It is a bittersweet experience but one that shows me evidence of my growth.  I believe that the more we play in our lives, or the more games we go back to, the more apparent our personal growth becomes to us.

Works Cited

Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: a Study of the Play Element in Culture. Angelico Press, 2016.