Scholars define a game as a closed system that subjectively represents a subset of reality. Simply put, a game is an activity that meets 3 criteria.

1. Requires at least 1 player
2. Has defined rules
3. Has a win and lose condition

Video Game History

The game objective should be short and easy to understand.

However where do video games come from anyway ? Let’s take a quick look at the history of video games. Around 1950, MIT students in computer labs created the first games with limited graphics and controls. Eventually Atari emerged to create the first arcade game. Early arcade games used vector or raster graphics. In the 80’s, video games took off and various game genres emerged. In the 90’s, home systems became powerful enough to rival most arcade games which made a lot of arcades go out of business.

Consoles became a popular choice given that you could switch between games with a CD or cartridge unlike arcade games which only played one game. Eventually, hand held devices became popular as well with their portable format. All this led us to today where the majority of people play on mobile devices. This led to digital distribution of games through app stores.

Similarly, personal computers became well suited for games specially after they became common in most households. First person shooter made mouse controller games popular. FPS got upgraded to MMO’s harnessing the power of the internet and special components.

There is a myriad of games and genres. A game genre is a category that describes the game. Game roughly divide into two broad categories which dictates how the game is played.

• story genre
• game genre

Within the game genre you find dozens of genres from action to simulation and strategy.

Now we come to the interesting part. The people behind the games we love to play. While early games were individual efforts, modern games require teams. Games are designed by whoever had the best idea. The game design role emerged eventually from the artist role who is in charge of developing the game. We can do a quick rundown of the positions.

• programmer: writes the code, draws graphics on the screen
• artist: designs characters, background and the look and feel of the game
• designer: creates ideas and rules for the game
• producer: oversees the entire game development
• tester: plays games over and over to find and communicate bugs
• composer: creates memorable music that fits the moods
• sound designer: creates fitting sound effects
• writer: writes dialogues, corrects team stories but isn’t a full time position
• publisher: funds the game, manages production and takes care of legal issues
• product manager: work with development team, responsible for scheduling
• creative manager: similar to designers
• art director: manager position for game art
• technical director: review and recommend software tools for the team
• marketing team: promotes the game

Creating a Game Idea

Every good idea borders on the stupid - Michel Gondry

Getting game ideas is a big part of a game designer. Some good ways of coming up with an idea are as followed.

1. Think about what you already know like songs, memory or experience
2. Read something new and expand your horizon
3. Walk, drive and shower
4. Attend a lecture
5. Play a bad game and learn from the poorly done things
6. Play different game genres
7. Follow your passion

In games, ideas usually build on previous game ideas. A key part of coming up with an idea is the age of the audience. Kids like to play games that are made for older kids. Games made for their exact age group are usually considered “childish” for them.

A great way of coming up with an idea is brainstorm. You meet with other people and write down each idea. Some thinks you would want to write down are:

• how a character moves
• how does a character do damage
• how does the character get hurt/killed
• what weapons does the character use
• what is the story behind the character
• what bonus items exist for the character

A trick for coming up with a good game idea is to try and design the box the game will ship in. The game box usually summarizes the game pretty while at the same time highlighting all the interesting parts.

Eventually you will hit writer’s block. At that point it is best to take a break, narrow down the focus, change your environment or focus on the good parts of your game before tackling areas that are still lacking. Most importantly, be willing to learn from others. Recognize which parts of the game are not fun and don’t be afraid to remove them.

Game Story

Designers debate whether a game needs a story or game play. Although both are important. Every game has a story and every story has a beginning a middle and an end. A common way of building a story is through the hero narrative kishōtenketsu for instance has a 4 acts:

• introduction
• development
• trust
• reconciliation

Some games don’t have stories but narratives or an order of the events. It is therefore important to know the narrative of our game. Never mistakes story for game play nor game play for story. When it comes to crafting a story keep in mind three options: character, activities and world. If you want to make a good story you can only pick one and focus or you risk alienating the audience.

When developing a story you have three types of players

1. Who follow the story as it happens
2. Who wants to go into depth into the story
3. Who don’t care about the story at all

The best thing to please all three is to make the story in service the game play. Incorporate more details to the story in an optional way which allows to player to dive deeper if he choses to do so. This could be through collectible audio tapes, looking for diary entries, etc.

Some common clichés to avoid in storytelling is the main character with amnesia who recovers his memory gradually or the twisted ending where the ending is the complete opposite of what the story pointed at. Both are perceived as very cliché and boring.

When writing a story there’s also a debate between suspense and surprise. While surprise introduces action it only lasts for a short time. Meanwhile, suspension can last for minutes and help build up audience attention. Imagine the character has to diffuse a ticking bomb. We know it is going to explode but the time it takes for it to explode can last minutes and it build up emotion in the player. Another key part of the story is the theme. It is the central topic of the game. You can even have a theme without the story for example Pac-Man (eat or be eaten). Your game play should be centered around the game.

End the game when the player has the feeling to have accomplished everything. Don’t leave open ends or unanswered questions or risk giving the player the feeling that he missed out.

When it comes to leaving your game you have some options:

1. Literal title: obvious where it came from (MC name, etc.)
2. Action title: describes what you game aims to deliver
3. Punny title: a clever title that takes time to understand
4. Purple Cow title: makes the audience question why
5. Dramatic title: sounds like a movie title
6. Referential title: refers to something in the game

Regardless of the type pick a short title. They are easier to remember and easier to build a logo for.

When writing a story create a bonding with the character early on. The player should get to know the character and care about his death and story even more so about characters that isn’t the main character. A good way of improving the bond is by introducing an NPC that is weak and needs protection which pushes the player to care about the well being of said NPC. NPCs can provide a lot of information about the game and greatly improve the quality of the game. Don’t forget that your character actions should be defined by their personalities.

Creating a Game Design Document

Making a game requires a recipe and for games that is the game design. Games need time to develop and polish. A game design document (GDD) defines everything in your game. The following outline guides you to make your own GDD.

1. The one-pager
2. The ten-pager
3. The beat chart
4. The Game Design document

The length of the GDD depends on the complexity of the game. As long as it accurately describes the game it is fine. When creating your GDD focus on the fonts as well to keep it readable. Stick preferably to two fonts and a font size of 12 points. For power points use body text with a font no less than 24 points. The key is communication.

The one sheet should give a simple overview of your game and be no longer than one page. It includes:

• dash space game title
• Target age of players
• intended software rating board (ESRB)
• story summary
• modes of game play
• Unique selling points
• Competitive products

ESRP is an organization that enforces rating system similar movies and read it. Games for iOS and android don’t need this rating although nudity is not excepted. Unique selling points are the bullet points found on the back of the game. You should aim for five USPs. Pick things that make your game stand out. Competitive products are games that are similar to your game design. Pick competitors that people know and are successful no one wants to finance a game that will do poorly.

The 10 pager is a broad stroke design document. The reader should understand the basics of the final product after reading it without going into too much detail. Fancy fonts and ornaments are not needed. It should be formulated differently for marketing and production teams.

Production Team	Marketing Team
game play diagrams	conceptual images
punchy sentences	use bullet points
game specific terminology	descriptive examples
reference game play from other games	successful modern games

Follow the rule of 3. Everything that comes in threes is easy to understand and not long enough to be boring.

Page 1 (title page) should contain:

• game title
• intended game system
• target age of players
• intended ESRB rating
• projected shipping date
• game logo (placeholder)

Page 2 (game outline) should contain a game story summary but no longer than a few paragraphs long. The game flow should describe the games action flow, locations, challenges for the player, reward system, progression system, game play, story and victory condition.

Page 3 (character) highlight specifics of your character physics, personality, movement, attacks, backstory as well as an outline of the controls (controller)

Page 4 (game play) describe the game play and genres. This is a good point to include your USPs, mini games, etc. Also explain the tech requirements (controller, touch, camera, etc.).

Page 5 (game World) at images and descriptions of the world with moods it should convey. Add a flow chart how players navigate the world.

Page 6 (game experience) describe the feeling of the game, the music, camera and scenes. The gestalt of your game describes each mode. It will aid in building great user interfaces.

Page 7 (game play mechanics). A mechanic is an item or element the player interacts with. A hazard is a mechanic that hurts the player or kills him. Describe about tree mechanics. A power up is an item players collect to help them with game play. Collectibles can be items that had something to the game later on. Like keys to open a new map. If you have an economy system describe it briefly.

Page 8 (Enemies) If it uses an AI it qualifies for an enemy. Mention and describe your Boss characters, normal enemies and how do you beat them ?

Page 9 (multiplayer and bonus material) Describe which achievements and unlockables your player can get. What incentive exists to play the game again. Does it support multiplayer? How many maps exists and do players create content?

Page 10 (monetization) is the game free to play or for purchase? What does the player buy for money? Are there virtual goods to buy? Describe how the game will use monetization.

Keep ind mind to describe how the game unfolds (game progression). It explains how the player is introduced to the game.

The beat chart helps us describe how the game ends. It contains the progression and requires:

• level/environment names
• file name
• story element for level
• game play focus of level
• estimated play time
• color scheme
• enemies/bosses introduced
• mechanics introduced
• hazard introduced
• power ups found
• new abilities
• treasure amount
• bonus material
• music tracks

No one wants to read the GDD but it contains all the necessary information for the game and reminds you of your ideas. Programmers will read the GDD to create a TDD or Technical design document. Features not mentioned in the GDD are difficult to implement later so keep that in mind when writing your own GDD.

Creating Game characters

Although game design changes there are 3 things that have to be established in pre-production.

1. Character
2. Camera
3. Control

If you change any of these during production you will put your game play at risk.

When creating a keep in mind that its form should follow the function. Ideally, you should be able to describe your character’s personality in 3 words. The traits should show up in the appearance. Play should be able to recognize your character based on the silhouette. Color and texture also plays an important role to match the personality. There are three types of game characters.

1. Humorous: funny speech,Funny actions, looks fun/cute
2. Hero: heroic action, good at some thing but has problems like everyone
3. Tough: hard core, says good things, looks like a bad guy

The character name should match the appearance. It will help you name them early to create a bonding.

Players can personalize characters. Some of the things they can change are:

• name
• appearance
• clothing
• home
• weapon

Your goal should be to create realistic characters. Don’t over exaggerate physical traits. Use the design to convey information. When a character moves you can give feedback like limbing, joyful jumps, etc. When the characters is happy/hurt/interested show it to the player in the characters movements. Similarly, the appearance should reflect the mood and health of the character. When the character gets an upgrade to weapons or levels up add visual I candy to show it to a player - “be expressive”. Also, don’t forget that your character isn’t alone consider adding companions guided by artificial intelligence or a second playable character that the player can pick.

Keep in mind that adding companions or a second playable character requires almost the same commitment and resources as for the main character. Consult with the programmer prior to adding one to the game.

Non-playable characters are what complete the game world. The main character is their center and they are there to help, inform or award the player. Every NPC should have a clear defined role. It shouldn’t look like NPCs do nothing but interact with the player. Make them go to bed and not always available.

The characters relation to the world and the proportions is what creates the metric system. Everything should be measure in relation to the character’s size (1x character for jumping, 2x character for double jumping, etc.). This allows players to gouge distances by eye. It boils down to jumping height/with/size and movement speed of the character. Giving the player clues about these metrics allows them to judge what the character can reach and can’t.

Give your character a range of motions to keep it interesting like walking, running, jumping, swimming and stealth. Don’t forget about the IDLE state and to give the player few spontaneous movements to break the boring wait.

When creating your junk make sure it reaches the teak quickly and it’s very responsive please use it to react to danger. Don’t make the fall look slow or it feels floaty and avoid skips or sliding. The landing should be firm and secure.

Some common jumps to implement include simple jump, double jump (while in air), triple jump (after landing) and wall jump.

Understanding the Game Camera

When it comes to cameras there are different ones we can choose from. However, it is best to stick with one main camera and only use other cameras for specific game play situations. Among the most common cameras we have:

• static: doesn’t change position, focal distance, field of view
• scrolling: moves the camera to show hidden parts
• parallax scrolling: as the camera moves, the world moves with it
• forced scroll: player is forced to keep up with the camera
• 2.5D: camera zooms in and out allowing parallel paths and depth
• first person: fixed and moves toward the z-axis
• third person: focuses on the player while showing the surroundings
• follow: follows the player and gives control to the player

An important aspect of the camera, is how much or little control the player should have over the camera. If the player has too much control, the player might break the game. Restricting and giving camera control in different scenarios inside the game, gives us space for creative ideas and interesting game play.

Once we decide on a camera type, the next step is to pick a shot. Depending on the feeling and intensity of the scene we can choose from a really wide shot to a really close one. Wide shots are useful for explosions and events while closer shots will honor details more. When it comes to scenarios, a cutaway and cutin shot can be used to show the character first and subsequently an object that is being introduced. Another aspect is the angle at which our camera operates as well as the camera movement.

Although all these technicalities are important, at the core of a good camera is composition. Following simple composition rules, like the 1/3 rule and keeping objects off center beside the objective, can greatly improve the game quality.

Designing Game Control

Game controls are how the player interacts with the game. It is a good practice to learn about ergonomics or the art of understanding how the equipment fits the end user. We humans have a powerful control system by default, our hands. Our fingers allow us to respond fairly dynamically so lets take a look at the strength of our fingers.

• Thumb: reacts quickly/good for steering
• Index: has a fast response
• Middle: supportive and suited for combo moves
• Ring: stabilizes the grip
• Pinkie: fine tunes the grip

When it comes to the number of controls we can give to our player, it is better to restrict it down to a few keys/buttons. Create hot keys and macros to chain attacks/moves. Optionally, allow players to change the controls inside the menu. It is very helpful to understand what our fingers can do to build controls around those movements.

• tapping
• touch/hold
• pull
• scrub
• draw
• pinch

A good game will use a combination of these movements to create a learnable game experience. If the controls are too complex, the player will get tired and frustrated. Sometimes, a move cannot be executed due to lack of ammunition, MP or restricted space. Nonetheless, give the player feedback that the button is not available at the moment. Otherwise, the player assumes the game is broken.

Generally speaking, mimicking real world movement with game controls results in an intuitive controls. Also keep in mind that every control should be followed by a quick animation or else it is difficult for the player to time actions properly.

Modern consoles, especially mobile devices, offer an increasing amount of new controls in the form of gyroscopes, actuators (vibration) and cameras (AR). You can apply what we learned about controls to integrate them into your games.

Creating a Game HUD

The Hud is an overlay that communicates to the player information. It is a versatile tool to display health, inventory, directions and context such as score.

Ways to use a HUD

Less common but equally effective are quick prompts such as congratulate the player for striking a combo or leveling up displayed in the game. It helps keep the player motivated and feel good. A combination of sound and flashy text does the job very well. Each part of the HUD can be customized. Thus, be creative at how you display information to the player. Consider adding a minimap to help the player find missions, objects and pinpoint its location.

Another great area to use prompts is when the player interacts with a new object/NPC. A prompt tells the player what to do or if an interaction is possible and thus helps the player distinguish between non interactive objects.

Creating a HUD-less experience

If your goal is to create a minimalist experience opt for a fading hud. That way you only show information when the player needs it. Another options, is to ditch the HUD entirely but this requires a very responsive game play to assert to the player that things are happening. Otherwise the player will assume the game is broken.

Designing Icons

When designing icons for your game, distinguish them through shape and color to show clear distinction and avoid text in icons. Take inspiration from other professionals in the industry and always remember to keep the icons simple. It should be easily inferable what the icon stands for.

HUD structure

When it comes to nesting HUDs and screens make all screens accessible within three button clicks. When designing the pause screen, make it interactive and fancy. The resume button should be accessible with one click rather than forcing the player to scroll through the menu to exit the screen.

Other ways to use the HUD

Other interesting ways of using the hud is to kill time when the game loads scenes or when a long animation is playing. At that time, we can show the player tips, the game map, brief videos or mini games. Finally, there is the all important credit screen. Take your time to honor the people who made the game possible.

Learning Level Design

A level is the environment where the game play occurs. It helps us to break up the game into game play experiences and allows to keep track of the game progress. While there are several ways to call levels, from rounds to floors and worlds they all mean the same thing. So many levels have been created over the years that it is inevitable to fall into the same cliches like your typical space levels, dungeon levels or jungle levels. However, whether you choose to use cliche levels or not, focus on creating a unique experience that breaks the cliche.

Where to start

It is best to work with a top-down approach and make a world map for your game. This map is key to communicate with the developers and give the player a deeper insight into the game to help them navigate your game. A great technique for creating an intuitive level is to use foreshadowing. This way we give hints to the player of what is about to happen or change. Think of an ever increasing amount of skulls for instance to build up the scene to the last boss.

Designing a Level

Each level should have a goal in mind or something the player should accomplish to naturally progress through the story. Procedural games or algorithm generated games are an exceptions to this rule. Part of designing levels is to create a clear and distinct path for the player. Wether you pick an alley level or island level, place collectibles along the way. That way the player knows which way to go. In uncertain sections place a friendly reminder to help the player understand the curren position otherwise you risk going the wrong path.

Creating a Map

When creating a map define the scale of the map at the beginning.

• identify the player start point
• identify the enemy start point
• where are collectible and missions

Use light to tell the player where to go and shadow to tell the player which areas to avoid.

Walking and idle time is dreaded and should be avoided. Opt for active game play instead.

The key is to give your player as much game play as possible. Game play translates to a direct action or verb. At the same time, actions should be varied and mixed. When possible add a multi path level as it adds variety to the game. Backtracking your players can be one of the tools to make your game more interesting by making them revisit parts and find missing items.

How to design Game Combat

Video games are about action. Violence is a common theme in games due to the quick response actions have. However, violence doesn’t have to part of every game. If you choose violence for your game, identify early on the type of violence from comic to intense violence. Set clear who the violence is targeted at and how real the violence should be.

Combat moves

When it comes to combat moves tailor them to your character. Some characters are slow others are strong. Your moves should reflect the traits. Similarly, think about the weapon your character uses depending on the range of the attack (close range to long range). It is therefor useful to use an attack matrix to summarize all the important information about each move.

• the range of the attack
• the speed of the attack
• the amount of damage the attack deals
• how the attack is executed
• etc.

There are a myriad of attacks and moves thus it is key to learn from real combat to execute the moves more realistically. Each move should be quick and smooth. You can combine moves to create a combat chain. Similarly, the super move should require a charge time or combination of attacks to be executed. Each attack combo and super move should make the player feel like an expert. However, don’t hold back from making the player miss a hit or two as it pushes the player to become more skilled.

Defense moves

Defense moves are just as important as attack moves. They should be accessible with a button click. Common defensive moves are dodging, rolling, jumping, dashing and blocking. You may as well consider giving your player an armour. As a rule of thumb, the more armour the slower the character should move.

If you decide to introduce guns focus on how the gun works, how fast and how much damage does the gun do. Then move on to how to aim the gun and have an aided aiming system in place to help the player roughly predict where the shot is going to land. Finally, answer all the questions related to ammo like speed and number of ammunition.

Although violence is a common theme in games, It is possible to create conflict without violence.

• adding a time constraint
• limited options
• limited space (mario)
• limited money

As you create your game you wan to create a tension and release cycle to keep your players motivated and engaged.

Designing Enemies

When it comes to designing enemies even before you draw them you have to set clear what its function is going to be. Specifically:

• size
• speed
• behavior
• movement
• attacks
• health points

In terms of size the enemy can be small or huge. As for behavior, an enemy can patrol an area, actively chase the player, guard an object, attack the player or a combination of all of these. In terms of speed, should your enemies be slow enough for the player to outrun them of fast enough to barely react ? Should the enemy follow a movement pattern or have an AI driven path ? All these are questions you should answer before designing your enemies as it will impact their design and characteristics.

Now that we covered the basics, think about how your enemies should appear. Maybe they spawn from one place or they appear out of thin air to surprise your player. Regardless of how they appear, defeating them should be both fun and rewarding. Perhaps, they hold an item the player needs or a weapon or they block the path. Give the player a motivation to kick the enemies butt.

Your enemies should have a varied repertoire of attacks. Some interesting ones are:

• block/break the player’s attack chain
• long range attacks
• stun the player and immobilize
• heals itself
• resists certain attacks from the player

We have set the ground now to design our enemies. From robots to animals, ghosts and plants there are many types of enemies to use as inspiration. Even objects like a treasure chest can be an enemy. However, you may also want to come up with an original enemy design. Whatever you pick, do try to reuse models and animations by creating variations of the same enemy. Your enemy has the purpose of motivating your player to defeat them. In order to archive this, the enemy has to do a memorable act which becomes part of the story. Remember, for instance, how browser kidnapped the princess and kept fleeing in each world in Mario Bros.

At the end, you have to design your boss character. The boss character is a complex character and should demand from the player to have mastered the skills or rely on acquiring a weapon/move to give the boss the final blow. The final boss should have a clear relation to the hero and should have a motivation to attack the hero. A good starting point for that are the 7 deadly sins. Eventually add a little backstory to give the final boss more depth. Just like a normal enemy your boss needs an attack pattern that the player has to learn. At its core, the attack pattern follows an attack phase where the player has to hide/run/defend and a time-out phase where the player can attack essentially creating a window of opportunity. Nothing will please your player more than dealing the final blow so plan that step accordingly.

The importance of Game Mechanics

No game is fun without mechanics, hazards, props and puzzles. Mechanics are objects that create game play when the player interact with them. Some common game mechanics are:

• levers
• platforms
• doors
• boxes

A hazard is similar to a mechanic but will hurt/kil the player instead. Hazards should make your game challenging but not frustrating. They will motivate your player to develop better skills. Some common hazards are:

• spiky objects
• exploding objects
• fire
• bobby traps

Do give the player visual clues as to what is a hazard.

Props are mechanics that act generally as obstacles and help make the environment more realistic. Some ideas for props are:

• furniture
• barricades
• crates
• walls
• plants

Mechanics should demand a certain skill and strike a ballance between challenge and boredom to create a game flow. Just like with all game objects be savvy and find ways to reuse mechanics in your game in different scenarios by introducing variations.

Finally we have puzzles which can be tricky to design and can require quite a bit of assets but they are very entertaining and can help break the monotony of the game. A common puzzle is to show your player a door and then send them to search for the key. However you decide to introduce/use your puzzles, show the reward for solving it in advance to motivate the player to solve it.

Adding Power-ups

Power-ups are part of every game. Their effect is immediately. In order to create power ups, we have to answer some questions like the purpose, look, effect, trade off and how to the power up will be communicated to the player. Generally speaking there are four types of power ups:

• defensive
• offensive
• movement
• game changer

Defensive power up help the player survive. Common defensive power ups are health up, extra life and invulnerability. Offensive power ups on the other hand, help the player defeat enemies quicker like ammo buff or player buffs. Movement power ups as the name says it, improves or adds moves to the player. The game changer power ups change the game dynamics like pac-man eating enemies. Power ups are there to aid the player in finishing the game. Other ways to of archiving this is by dynamically adjusting the difficulty based on the players HP or amount of players that have died. Another way is to allow the player to adjust the difficulty manually. Even a single feature like auto-saving can help the player concentrate on the game more.

Other ways of keeping players playing is by rewarding them. Appeal to the greet of the player. Create a gallery for achievements and trophies. The player will feel motivated to unlock these achievements. Yet another way of keeping your players motivated is by having an economy system in place where the player gets money. Everybody likes the idea of being rich thus an economic system is crucial. Create a store where players can spend the earned money on upgrades and new weapons as well as pure cosmetic items to allow the players to customize their characters.

Creating Multiplayer modes

Multiplayer games allow more people to join the fun. From head to head to Ad hoc Wifi and MMOs you have a lot of options to choose from. Once you picked a multiplayer mode, you have to decide how player should play the game. They can play together or against each other. Each play style will allow for different game play. Some common competitive multiplayer game styles are:

• death matches
• territory control
• capture the flag
• team work

Now that we have a game styler we have to set the number of player for our game. A fight type of game us usually designed for 2-4 players while a social game/action game build around 4-8 players. Finally you have your FPS and MMO games which can range from 10 to 1000 players. If you go down the MMO game route, you will want to add a customization component to your game so players can express themselves. A chat feature will allow your players to develop strategies and an economic system is key to buy weapons and exchange items. A clan or guild type of system will allow your players to organize into more complex groups and socialize. MMOs build heavily on socializing.

While we covered level design previously, there are some caveats when it comes to multiplayer levels. Your level will have many objects and locations. Create memorable locations to help players better understand the map and navigate with confidence. MMO games build around the idea of teams and thus players will play different roles within the team. Create a level that makes this possible. Consider adding exposure areas without cover to push players to take risk to win. If you have a spawn system set it up so players can leave the spawn safely and hard for enemies to stay in that area too long.

Monetizing your Game

Monetization is the strategy to make players pay more than the initial purchase price. Some common monetization techniques include:

• pay to play (great for online transactions)
• advertisement
• virtual items (guns, camouflage, clothes)

In order to make your game profitable you will need a monetization plan. A trial-model gives the player a limited game and encourages them to buy the full game. In a similar way the freemium model lets the player play the game for free but will eventually hit a block at which point the player has to purchase the game. The free to play model allows players to download the game and offers upgrades (payable) along the way. You can also use a subscription model requiring recurring payments to keep playing or getting upgrades.

Two common things players will pay for is progress and exclusive items. Progress allows the player to save time by skipping lengthy events. Exclusive items will give your player a competitive advantage. Build these things into your monetization plan.

A Primer on Music

Music in games adds a distinct feeling. You have two main ways of acquiring music. You can buy a license for your game ranging from a couple years to life time or compose original music. Needless to say, it will be helpful to learn about music separately to be able to communicate effectively with the music director. At its core, you will to have identify which kind of tracks your game will need like background music, forrest music or spooky music.

A dynamic score breaks the song into themes like fight, sad and relaxed. Your music should add feeling to the game thus it should be more exciting than the on-screen events. Walking should not just be boring but fun and fighting scenes should become more dramatic and thrilling.

When to use Cut-scenes

A cut-scene is an animated sequence for story purposes. Most players don’t like cut-scenes and thus it is best to only use them when you can’t tell the story without game play. There are different ways to add cut-scenes from movies to animations and cinematic animations for a dramatic feeling. Although screen writing is a whole field by itself, there are some common rules you can follow:

• outline and breakdown the story into scenes
• pick which scenes will be cut-scenes and which will be game play
• create your dialogues for each scene

You next step will be to hire a voice director to cast voice actors for each character in your game. Voice actors come in various degrees of expertise and there is a big difference in quality which makes it specially useful to have a voice director.

Publishing your game

While everything we covered will make you a better game designer, the key part is the publisher and money to finance your game. Essentially, an investor. You will have to create a summary of your game with all the highlights of it. You will need a presentation containing:

• title page
• company profile
• visual summary of your GDD (simplified for your audience)

Even before you present your game idea you should research the publisher to make sure you fit into their genres. Learn you project, it will be your selling point so be prepared to answer questions. Although a game demo can be overkill at this point, having one allows your determination and gives publishers a better idea.

Always remember making games is hard work. Tackle one problem at the time, compare with other games and take feedback. Delays are expected along the way so plan ahead and move along. Don’t get discouraged by these temporary setbacks and you will make a great game.

Reference Material

All this information and much more came from - Level Up The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers