This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Summary
As you can see from our Pong thought experiment and the three case studies, design values are helpful in guiding the design process. They are guideposts in the journey through a game’s design. This is important because as you create your game and test it with others, you need a goal to work toward. Design values can also answer many of the questions that arise in the process of making a game. They function as tools for calibrating the team’s understanding of the game they hope to create, and they keep everyone working toward a unified play experience.
Here are the basic questions of design values:
Experience: What does the player do when playing? As game designer and educator Tracy Fullerton puts it, what does the player get to do? And how does this make them feel physically and emotionally?
Theme: What is the game about? How does it present this to players? What concepts, perspectives, or experiences might the player encounter during play? How are these delivered? Through story? Systems modeling? Metaphor?
Point of view: What does the player see, hear, or feel? From what cultural reference point? How is the game and the information within it represented? Simple graphics? Stylized geometric shapes? Highly detailed models?
Challenge: What kind of challenges does the game present? Mental challenge? Physical challenge? Challenges of perspective, subject, or theme?
Decision-making: How and where do players make decisions? How are decisions presented? Is the information space perfect or imperfect?
Skill, strategy, chance, and uncertainty: What skills does the game ask of the player? Is the development of strategy important to a fulfilling play experience? Does chance factor into the game? From what sources does uncertainty develop?
Context: Who is the player? Where are they encountering the game? How did they find out about it? When are they playing it? Why are they playing it?
Emotions: What emotions might the game create in players?