Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
of simulating a fantasy and creating a game are two very different tasks
with very different requirements. Fantasies don't have to be balanced,
and fantasies don't have to be elegant. More actually may be better in
fantasies. Fantasy simulators don't need to have meaningful, ambiguous
decision making.
So, if we are assuming that hit video games like StarCraft , Metal
Gear Solid , and Mass Effect are supposed to be games (which, granted, is
a big assumption—if the designers of these games saw my definition of
game they may well say that they weren't going for that), they don't do so
well. If they're supposed to be fantasy simulators, they do a bit better. I
believe, though, that this decision was never consciously made, as most
people don't distinguish between the two. If they had made that deci-
sion, they'd be making better games, or better fantasy simulators.
More Is Not Better
The close relationship between video games, technology, and American
consumerism has led video-game design to become a craft of excess.
The backs of the boxes brag about features like 200 spells, 70 guns, or
50 characters. This obsession with more, or bigger, or higher levels of
technology has led game designs that are more and more watered-down.
The concept of elegance—a fundamental aspect of not just game design,
but design itself—is totally alien in the video-game world. The question
is not, how can we express our idea in as few mechanisms as possible?
The question is, how many mechanisms can we afford to cram into this
thing? The result is watered-down design, choices that are false and un-
interesting, and games that are impossible to balance.
Tied Down by Story
In Chapter 2 's section titled “Games and Story,� I explained why the re-
lationship between games and story is harmful—to games. This problem
is related to a game being driven by theme, but it's a very special part of
that flaw Story is special in that it's so completely unnecessary and easy
to avoid—in fact, it actually takes a lot of work to add a story to a game.
A story-based game is more expensive to make and inherently has less
replay value. That's what I call inefficiency
3D and Camera Controls
We live in a world of 2D joysticks (D-pads, thumbsticks, mice, and arrow
keys) and 2D output devices (computer monitors and television screens).
If you can, make your gameplay 2D. So many problems come from trying
to emulate 3D space on a 2D screen with a 2D controller. For one thing,
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