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Practical Game Design
Practical Game Design

Practical Game Design: Learn the art of game design through applicable skills and cutting-edge insights

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Profile Icon Kramarzewski Profile Icon Ennio De Nucci
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€18.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (2 Ratings)
Paperback Apr 2018 476 pages 1st Edition
eBook
€28.99 €41.99
Paperback
€52.99
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Renews at €18.99p/m
Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Kramarzewski Profile Icon Ennio De Nucci
Arrow right icon
€18.99 per month
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (2 Ratings)
Paperback Apr 2018 476 pages 1st Edition
eBook
€28.99 €41.99
Paperback
€52.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at €18.99p/m
eBook
€28.99 €41.99
Paperback
€52.99
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Renews at €18.99p/m

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Practical Game Design

Game Concept

Every game starts with a concept, an idea of what the player experience will be—a vision of a world coming to life on screen.

The challenge, once this idea takes shape in the creator's mind, is to fix it and communicate it to everyone involved in the game development process.

In this chapter, we're going to learn how to write a game concept and your responsibilities as a game designer in the process of doing so.

We are going to cover topics such as:

  • Defining what a game concept is
  • The formal structure of the game concept document
  • How to compare your idea to what's already out there
  • What are themes, fantasy, and mood, and why are they important at this stage?

We are going to use some practical examples from real-life scenarios and you will be able to follow the tips in each paragraph of this chapter and create your own game concept, based on...

What is a game concept?

Imagine a game that you have played from beginning to end or one that you have simply loved and played for a long time. Would you be able to write a two-to-five pages short presentation on that game? A presentation that describes why is it fun, how you play it, what it looks like, and for what kind of player it is going to be a great experience?

Now imagine that you've never played that game, that it doesn't even exist yet. Would you still be able to describe it?

That vision is the game you want to make and the presentation is a game concept.

The purpose of the game concept is to describe a game with enough detail to distill and communicate its vision to the reader. To explain what makes it fun, who'll enjoy playing it, and why we should make it a reality.

One of the main responsibilities of every game designer is to make sure that, at every...

Know your competition

There is another reason why a game concept is such an important milestone in starting to create a new game. Once your game genre, audience, and platform are defined, it is possible to take a look at what's out there in the market: your competition. Understanding games similar to the one you will be developing is crucial to the project's success. It is very likely that the developers of those other games have already faced and solved (or maybe not!) many of the problems you will encounter at some point during development.

Communities of players already playing those games might be discussing them in depth online. This is an invaluable resource for you, as you will be able to fix known problems or add features to your game, based on what real players are willing and hoping to play.

Other ways of gaining insight into the competition include game postmortems...

The ideation process

We have already explored defining and communicating game ideas to others through the game concept document, now let's pose a more fundamental question. How do we generate the game idea in the first place? How do we get to the point of having something to write down in the concept document?

Before we begin, let's make it clear that the game designer is not the ideas guy. It is not their job to have a constant flow of new game ideas. These can (and should) come from anyone in the company or even from people outside your organization. It's very common in our industry to have publishers commission a game idea to the developers, an owner of an intellectual property (IP) such as Star Wars or The Witcher to seek out licensing, or game studios themselves providing outsourcing services to other developers.

A game idea could be driven by market research...

Summary

We have learned some basics about how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to other people, as well as understanding the importance of early prototyping and iterations.

We have discussed how having a game idea is only the tip of the iceberg and how the role of the game designer is to communicate ideas that might come from anyone inside or outside the team.

We clarified the importance of marketing your game from the very beginning and finding the correct audience for what is, above all, a product that has to be sold (even if it's free).

We had a glance at some practical techniques game designers use to develop and create games, which we will explore in more depth in the next chapters.

We also made some paperwork. The time you have put into creating a sample concept document is time well spent, I guarantee you that. Learning game design is about getting hands...

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Key benefits

  • Implement the skills and techniques required to work in a professional studio
  • Ace the core principles and processes of level design, world building, and storytelling
  • Design interactive characters that animate the gaming world

Description

If you are looking for an up-to-date and highly applicable guide to game design, then you have come to the right place! Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of game design with this book, written by two highly experienced industry professionals to share their profound insights as well as give valuable advice on creating games across genres and development platforms. Practical Game Design covers the basics of game design one piece at a time. Starting with learning how to conceptualize a game idea and present it to the development team, you will gradually move on to devising a design plan for the whole project and adapting solutions from other games. You will also discover how to produce original game mechanics without relying on existing reference material, and test and eliminate anticipated design risks. You will then design elements that compose the playtime of a game, followed by making game mechanics, content, and interface accessible to all players. You will also find out how to simultaneously ensure that the gameplay mechanics and content are working as intended. As the book reaches its final chapters, you will learn to wrap up a game ahead of its release date, work through the different challenges of designing free-to-play games, and understand how to significantly improve their quality through iteration, polishing and playtesting.

Who is this book for?

Whether you are a student eager to design a game or a junior game designer looking for your first role as a professional, this book will help you with the fundamentals of game design. By focusing on best practices and a pragmatic approach, Practical Game Design provides insights into the arts and crafts from two senior game designers that will interest more seasoned professionals in the game industry.

What you will learn

  • Define the scope and structure of a game project
  • Conceptualize a game idea and present it to others
  • Design gameplay systems and communicate them clearly and thoroughly
  • Build and validate engaging game mechanics
  • Design successful business models and prepare your games for live operations
  • Master the principles behind level design, worldbuilding and storytelling
  • Improve the quality of a game by playtesting and polishing it

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Apr 19, 2018
Length: 476 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787121799
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Product Details

Publication date : Apr 19, 2018
Length: 476 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787121799
Concepts :

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Table of Contents

16 Chapters
Introducing the Game Production Process Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Game Concept Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Scoping a Game Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Design Documentation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Adaptation of Mechanics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Invention of Mechanics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Prototyping Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Games and Stories Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Level Design Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Characters Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
User Interface and User Experience Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Accessibility Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Balancing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
The Final 10% Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Games As a Service Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
(2 Ratings)
5 star 100%
4 star 0%
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1 star 0%
Pete Bungo Aug 17, 2019
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This book has so much information, from descriptions of what that person does on designers team, to definitions of the terms, to how to build a game and it’s mechanics
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Tan Sep 25, 2022
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
A lot of priactical knowledge and insights about mobile games, eSport, etc. Thank you, this was a good reading!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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