Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Children's Games
While most children's games will not fascinate or capture the imagina-
tion of the average adult, it's definitely worthwhile to know your stuff
about them. One reason to know about children's games is that you can
see very clearly how games can break down depending on the intelli-
gence of a user. We all had fun playing
Candy Land
as young children,
but it's hard to see where that fun came from now that we have minds
that are more developed and a better understanding of game mecha-
nisms.
Another reason to know about children's games is to absorb their
lessons of simplicity and ease of use. Children's games don't do a lot, but
what they do, they do with elegance, since this is of utmost importance
with children.
Check out:
Chutes and Ladders
,
Candy Land
, and
Whoowasit?
.
Video Games
I think a lot of us think of ourselves as video-game experts, but there is
really so much to know about video games beyond what is mainstream.
Look to old DOS, Amiga, Apple II, or Commodore 64 games. Look up
weird Korean web games. Visit abandonware websites like Home of the
Underdogs and click on games randomly for hours on end. Read the
articles posted on great game-history sites like Hardcore Gaming 101.
The Japanese have had a habit of not releasing some of their best games
in North America for the last 20 years, and looking at these games can
also be extremely eye-opening. There are even some very worthwhile
television shows and YouTube channels that should be looked into. Less
well-known but rich genres such as MUDs (multi-user dungeons) and
roguelikes are other examples of games that have a lot to teach us. And
don't forget to check out
Chapter 4
, where I go into detail about vari-
ous video-game genres. There's a ton to learn about video games beyond
popular modern console and PC games.
It should be obvious, though, that no one ever fully becomes an ex-
pert. Nevertheless, it's an ideal that we should work towards: the impor-
tant thing is to make a conscious decision to go down that path.
Related Disciplines
If you want to become a great game designer, it's worth taking at least a
brief look at related disciplines. Some of these fields are more related to
game design than others; the ones listed next are from most related to
least related.
