Introduction to Game Design Class - The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game - page 122

As before, the amount of XP the class earned on the midterm was significantly
higher than the non-MC classes. Although I t have a shot

of RamenNoodles plummeting over the table in his attempt to grab the hat, I

' m truly sorry we don '

'

m

even happier that the multiplayer classroom failed to sustain its first injury!

The Prototype
An important stage in the development of a game is the prototype. This can be a
level, or a quest, or some other portion of the game that demonstrates significant
gameplay. Developers blessed with a good budget, a reasonable schedule,
technical expertise, and hopefully a stable engine can build a prototype that
can look and feel much like the finished game. Publishers usually include this as
a milestone in the contract with the developers.

In none of the first three multiplayer classrooms did we have that luxury, but
that s okay. Long before the prototype publishers demand, developers often

create what is called a paper prototype. This prototype may be built with other
materials. They may even be digital, as shown in Figure 8.13. But its primary
purpose is to test gameplay as early in the production cycle as possible. This we
could do.

'

Figure 8.13
TBA ' s prototype of Brush Paint! was digital but with a human player-character.