On Game Design - Game Design Theory - page 52

and more sensitive to the context. For instance, I added an ability called
counter : you cast it, and the next time you're hit with an attack or special
ability (or both) they're combined and reflected back on the opponent.
This is an inherently more interesting way to render reduction of incom-
ing damage , as opposed to the usual platemail armor that just reduces
incoming damage across the board.
Ditching increasing stats is a great example of taking nothing for
granted. I think that when you take this approach to game design you'll
find many things about modern video games that simply do not make
sense. The classic idea of leveling up was included for purely thematic
and fantasy simulation reasons, but we're making games here.
Becoming an Expert
No matter what kind of game designer you are, you can learn from other
kinds of games. A digital-game designer has a lot to learn from board
games, sports, and even other disciplines that aren't directly related to
games. One of the most damaging effects of the isolationism of the dig-
ital-game industry is duplication. Most of us in the digital-game world
tend to think of digital games as the only real games, and this explains
why so many modern digital games are so similar to each other. We can't
imagine something that we've never seen before. Creativity is the act of
combining and modifying things already seen or experienced—you can-
not create in a vacuum, you can only create using the pieces of informa-
tion that you have available to you. The rewards of becoming an expert
are huge for a game designer.
If you want to be a game designer of any kind, you'd be well advised
to be an expert not just in digital games but in all kinds of games. In fact,
I'd go so far as to say that you are drastically limiting yourself as a game
designer if you aren't looking outside of your immediate medium.
The following are some examples of areas that all game designers
should be looking at. I also recommend reviewing the games mentioned
in Chapter 3 .
Designer Board Games
This is the single greatest category of games available for someone who
is interested in learning about new game mechanisms. Designer board
games are a celebration of the concept of game as I define it. Since the
1990s there has been something of a renaissance in the world of designer
board games, which may be related to the fact that their creators put a
lot of pride into the practice of game design. Indeed, these games are