Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
I recommend that all games do what they can to teach the player
about how they work
naturally
through
invisible tutorials
. You can give
players tons of cues to help them figure out how to play by using smart
graphic design, level design, character designs, or even just well-placed
and clearly worded in-game text. A great example of the invisible tutorial
is the first level of
Super Mario Brothers
, which blogger Anna Anthropy
outlined in great detail in her blog post, “To the Right, Hold On Tight.�
3
Not all games are as simple as
Super Mario Brothers
, and so most games
can't completely teach their mechanics on the fly This is OK, of course!
But we should do what we can to teach what we can about our games in
a hands-on way.
Conclusion
For more specific suggestions and ideas about game design, I recom-
mend reading
Chapters 4
and
5
, wherein I analyze various genres of
video games and board games and make suggestions about how they
could be improved. Entire new genres can be created by asking difficult
questions and bucking conventions that don't make sense. But above all,
it's most important to always be designing. I've recently taken to keep-
ing a pen and paper by my bedside, and every night before I go to sleep I
quickly design a game. Often I'll just start with a simple title—sometimes
simple ones like
Dragon Duel
or
Monster Basher
, and often absurd ones
like
Pan Butterer
or
Penguin Lords
. It's a good challenge to start with
these vague ideas and see what kinds of mechanisms you can dream up
for them. And you never know—
Pan Butterer
might become a fantastic
finished game someday!
