Designing Systems and Features
Now that we have a clear understanding of game mechanics, it’s time to learn how to combine them into systems and features. We have studied the ingredients and we are now ready to mix and match them to create all kinds of recipes!
Sometimes, the terms System and Feature are used interchangeably, and again, giving formal definitions is something that we would like to avoid in this book. From a practical point of view, and looking at the ways we have seen these terms used over more than a decade in game design, we can say the following:
- A System is a set of interconnected mechanics that interact with each other to create complex gameplay dynamics
- A feature is a broad term used to describe an aspect of the game that will be experienced by the player
A perfect example of a System would be a Role-Playing Game’s (RPG’s) battle system, which integrates mechanics such as health points, weaponry effects, damage calculation...
