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 Features
The
Right Decision at the Right Time:
Selecting the Right Features for a New Game Project
Applications
and Conclusions
In the example
used for this conference, I define the general mechanisms of a game project.
Once the best hypotheses are selected, designers can take over and focus
on concrete goals rather than just "grope in the dark". However,
there is more than one application to this method. The following are a
few examples.
Evaluating
a Game Project According to the Publisher's Expectations
In this situation, the purpose is to seduce the publisher above all else.
Suppose the studio is out pitching a game concept to a major publisher
who owns a number of licenses. We can use the following parameters:
- Licenses
owned by the publisher
- Target
platform
- Age group
- "Action"
dimension
- "Adventure"
dimension
- "Thinking"
dimension
- Multiplayer
dimension
Once we
have isolated our game hypotheses by means of exclusions and preferences,
we can pick the best ones by applying the selection criteria that matter
most to the publisher and the development studio.
- Development
cost
- Use of
in-house know-how
- Deadline
- Originality
Designing
an Original Game Mechanism
Another application for this method is in researching a particular aspect
of a game. In the following example, we will investigate a new interface
for a strategy or tactical game for the console market. One of the reasons
why this game category never caught on with consoles was because consoles
lack a mouse. Therefore, the challenge is finding an interface that relies
exclusively on the use of a pad.
Parameters:
- Control
usage (planning, action, mixed)
- Control
object (units, goals, resources, construction)
- Control
condition (real time, suspended game)
- Control
method (game window, dedicated control window)
- Interface
representation (2D, 3D)
- Control
menus (contextual, permanent)
Evaluation
criteria:
- Simplicity
(of the interface)
- Richness
(of possible actions)
- AI requirements
(to assist the player)
- Speed
(of use)
Conclusion
This method is not a "black box" that takes in data and produces
a number of original concepts. What is important is the process it generates.
The latter is just as significant as results proper. The use of this method
cultivates exchange and encourages dialog. It lets everyone speak their
mind and channels everyone's reflections.
In conclusion, our method helps achieve the following goals: 1/ put a
large workgroup into creative motion by focusing collective ideas around
a few major points; 2/ identify those combinations of features that no-one
has previously thought of; and 3/ establish consensus around a result.
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