5.
Overlapping Events and Behavior
Dynamic is lost if only one
change occurs at a time. Discover the right amount of events to occur at any
given moment of time.
Level design example
Providing the player the ability to build from an
appropriate list of structures.
System design example
The linebacker points to direct fellow players, the
defensive end shifts over, the quarterback points and calls out football jargon
and the crowd cheers louder because it's third down. All this occurs before the
snap.
UI example
Points accumulate in the score while each kill is
individually tallied on screen.
Story Example
Multiple plot points are at the forefront of the narrative
experience. Example: the king is on his deathbed while his war is being waged
and he has yet to announce an heir -- all while an unknown saboteur
orchestrates a military coup.
6.
Physics
The player's primary logic
operates within the known possibilities of physics. Keep in mind gravity,
weight, mass, density, force, buoyancy, elasticity, etc. Use this as the
starting point, but do not be limited by it.
Level design example
Ensuring a hole in the floor is the correct size for the
correct purpose. Whether it is part of the path of level progression, or simply
for visual aesthetics.
System design example
A spark particle effect occurs when the player's vehicle
scrapes the side of the concrete wall.
UI example
The GUI's theme references scrapbook elements. In which
case, animated transitions, highlights, etc. follow the physical
characteristics of paper.
7.
Sound
Ask yourself, "What sound does it
make when ________ happens?" "Is the sound appropriate?" "Is the sound
necessary?" "Does it benefit the experience or hinder it?" If players close
their eyes, the sound alone should still achieve the desired affect.
It's debatable whether this principle should be included
since Sound Design can be considered separate from Gameplay Design. I've
included it because sound is crucial and can easily be neglected. The more it
is considered, the better the experience is for the player.
Level design example
Flies in swamp level make a sound when close to the camera.
System design example
A proximity system where sound effects volume fluctuates
depending on distance of game assets.
UI example
Only visually prominent graphics have sound effects attached
to them, so as not to muffle the auditory experience.
The next three principles individually touch on other major
design components.
Progression
8.
Pacing
Keep in mind the desired sense of
urgency, the rate in which events occur, the level of concentration required
and how often events are being repeated. Spread out the moments of high
concentration, mix up the sense of urgency, and change things wherever possible
to achieve the proper affect.
Level design example
Create areas for the player to admire the expansive view,
versus areas where the player feels claustrophobic.
System design example
Create long, powerful attacks versus short, light attacks.
Environment
9.
Spacing
Understand how much space is
available both on-screen and in-world, recognize the spatial relationship
between elements and take into account the effects of modifying those spaces.
Level design example
Lay out the appropriate amount of space for the appropriate
number of enemies to maneuver correctly.
System design example
When an AI character moves through a bottleneck area, walk
loops switch to standing idle when the AI character is not moving forward, to
show that the character is "waiting" to move through the narrowed
space.
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I would hesitate to attempt to 'complete' the list though. Inherently, one cannot take a perspective upon an art form, extract principles, and expect all bases to be covered. If anything, I would suggest the author ask each of his readers for their own lists. I think that might prove an enlightening study.
That said, all of the points in this list are insightful, fundamental, and applicable. Thank you for helping me up my game :)
Under Behavior, the only thing I can think of to add is the phrase, “the greater the risk the greater the reward” or “Risk and Reward Expectations”. Or perhaps on broader terms just "Expectations".
For instance, when given multiple paths to an objective, if the player chooses to traverse the obviously more treacherous path or solve the very difficult optional puzzle, don’t reward him with a standard ammo or health pack. Instead give him a new device, weapon or power-up not necessarily integral to completing the game or level, but a temporary advantage for his extra efforts.
This is common to many games, one example is the old Doom levels, where they cleverly placed power-ups where you could see them, but you had to figure out how to obtain them and deal with the enemies guarding it, or you could just keep on going and blast your way out without the object. Either way the player made the choice and got what he expected and was happy.
Thanks for sharing this with us. I really appreciate your time and efforts on this very informative article.
I love the idea that given there is no "ultimate" list of game design principles, to adopt a set of principles that works in another medium really makes us rethink and reprioritize how the principles we already know should work together.
When I look at Matt's list, it's not just a bunch of suggestions; there is a rhythm and wisdom in it that borrows from its inspiration in animation. The next step, as Nicholas suggests, is really for everyone to establish their own list, and apply it religiously as Matt did, with some adaptation and tweaking along the way. In the same way expert stock traders build a toolkit of filters and alerts, or coaches build a playbook, designers should build their own repetoire.
I'd like to echo Bill Redd's comments regarding unique item rewards, but I'd like to elaborate slightly. I posted about this on the Mass Effect forums, too, but players should be rewarded for exploring and doing various extra tasks. Being thorough and completionist should be rewarded in other words. However, the rewards should be unique, at least for the majority of tasks (over 50%, in my view). Using randomly generated, levelled loot lists is simpler, but it makes the player feel that there's no real reason to explore or do any additional activity beyond the straightforward approach through the game. If rewards are unremarkable, the tasks are unremarkable and repetitive.
Another way to do this is to offer a reward of an item or ability earlier than the player would receive it if they only followed the straightforward approach. Mr. Redd used Doom as an example, so I'll use Doom 3 as an example. Doom 3 occasionally offered more powerful weapons in out of the way locations earlier than they normally appeared. This approach, like unique items, abilities, etc, offers the player rewards for exploring and thoroughness and leaves the choice of whether or not to acquire such a reward up to the player rather than the developer. It offers genuine purpose and strategic planning for player exploration and accomplishment of various tasks.
I seem to recall Deus Ex doing what you spoke about in your second paragraph very well. We played through the first level in class the other day, and after we finished our playthrough, our professor showed us everything we missed, and all the things we could receive earlier had we been more thorough in our explorations.
@ Matt:
GREAT Article. I went through through the same thought process as you, with the 12 Principles in a Traditional Animation class. I'm glad someone sat down to verbalize principles for Gameplay.
Some comments, for each point:
1. Focal Point: what am I supposed to do? Very important one.
2. Anticipation. It's an either/or rule, you might sometimes want anticipation, otherwise you prefer to surprise the player (basic "fear" principle in horror movies). It's a way to tweak difficulty as well.
3. Annouce change = feedback: what's the consequences of my actions? What changes/moves on screen are worth noticing? Very important one. You can use it for tweaking difficulty too.
4. Believable Events and Behavior. The more you copy reality, the more things in the game will make sense, so it will be more easy to learn. Danger is: reality is sometimes limited or boring.
5. Overlapping Events and Behavior = simplicity, always good!
6. Physics: close to point 5: the closest Physics is to reality, the more it will be predictable/easy to understand. It doesn't mean it'll be easier...
7. Sound. A huge topic, deserve a whole article. Very very important!
8. Pacing. The key! it's about tuning difficulty, variety. Overcoming frustration and boredom... it's managing the "pleasure curve" of the player.
9. A lot to say about this, but as for most of these principles, it's just an axe of tuning a game. The question remains: in which way spacing can affect usability/gameplay/player's feeling?
10. So many other ways to design a game! I don't know yet.
11. Player. Every designer should think about that first, always.
12. Communication. Is this about development team work or really about the game itslef? Definition and examples are not related.
13. Appeal. I would say: graphical/sound appeal. You can buy a game for that and realizing afterwards that it's boring to play. Appeal is very powerful!
However, I think there are some other ''things'' to consider:
- Creativity/ Originality
The players already experienced tons of games before, that factor will directly affect the impact of every gameplays you will create for them. Did they play those gameplays tons of times before? A player who does play shooter games all the time shouldn't be as entertained by a new Shooter Game as a Casual Gamer would do, except if it's his only life trip.
- How does a player react to an Experience
I guess it should define step by step the order in which you may define most of the principles listed in the article.