Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Take a look at the obstacle course scene you've been building in the past few chapters as an
example. Is it a game?
1.
Player
: Yes, a player's input is required for gameplay.
2.
Rules
: Yes: The player always begins the game at the lowest end of the
course. The player can walk, run, jump, and crouch. Hazards kill the player.
Falling or jumping off the elevated track kills the player.
3.
A goal
: No. “Not dying” is not a goal. At least it's not a very good one for
a game. The player could accomplish that by never moving the character,
or simply running away from the elevated track without ever playing the
intended game of negotiating the obstacle course. “Reach the far end of the
obstacle course” is a goal.
No one definition is all-encompassing. For example, puzzles also meet this criteria and are a genre
of games, with a slight difference in that puzzles typically have one right answer, while a non-puzzle
game's outcome is unpredictable each time it is played. Rare exceptions aside, these three
ingredients are generally found in games of all types and serve as a practical starting point for basic
game design.
Games, Minigames, and Microgames
Games can take any length of time. At one end of the scale are games such as
World of Warcraft
that potentially could never end, while at the other end are microgames that can be played in
seconds.
Popular, robust console and PC games have hours of pure gameplay, not counting menus,
cutscenes, instructions, dialogue, and the like. More content is always better, but the final size of any
particular project will be determined by budget and publishing deadlines.
The current rising trend in “casual gaming” is often remarked upon but ill-defined. Influenced by the
increased use of mobile devices as game platforms, casual games are typically playable in minutes
rather than hours. The gameplay itself may vary greatly but casual games typically have well-defined
levels, linear progression, and a simple scorekeeping system.
Minigames are shorter games, on the order of 5- to 10-minute intervals of gameplay, and are often
similar to classic arcade games. They can stand alone, or be used inside of larger games. Within
bigger games, they have a wide variety of uses. Unlocked as a reward, they can be separate
activities to earn rewards; they can be used to introduce a new item or how to use a new feature;
or they can simply be bonus content after the main game is completed. Minigames don't have to
be required in order to complete the parent game. When found within a larger game like
Legend of
Zelda
, they usually are simpler in terms of control and complexity. Even so, a minigame still has the
same three basic requirements of a player, rules, and an endpoint.
Microgames are meant to be played in seconds rather than minutes.
Wario Ware
is the classic
example of a collection of microgames. They provide a unique challenge in both gameplay and
design, where the challenge is both to figure out and then win the game in such a short time period.
