Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
start somewhere), when it comes to gameplay, the more you can design ways to
let players discover through trial and error or by seeing how things are done,
the more successful your game can be. In other words, if you have too many
rules to read, most players get turned off.
To get started, write a short overview, or synopsis, of what your game is about.
This will help establish characters, storylines, and events that need to be devel-
oped along with the lore. Don't get too detailed, just stick to the basics:
Who is the game designed for? (Demographics are discussed later in
this chapter.)
What is the gameplay style? (Gameplay styles are covered in Chapter 2.)
What is the goal or purpose of the game? Write this in one to two
sentences, also known as the
logline
.
Loglines
A logline is a device used by writers and designers to explain the entire project,
boiled down into one sentence. For example, here is a one-sentence description
for the game
Mario Bros.
: “Italian-American plumber, Mario, and his brother
Luigi battle evil creatures that come from the sewers in New York City.” That
one sentence gives you the logline and provides enough information to write the
overview of what the game is all about.
To help you write your own logline, try answering the following four
questions.
Who is the main character?
What does this character want?
What is going to try to stop the main character?
What about the game is unique or compelling?
Loglines can be tough to write, and doing so takes some practice. An excel-
lent way to do this is to look at loglines for other projects, especially ones you're
and for selected movies with commentary at
