Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
What the Player Needs to Know
Players naturally need to know what's happening in the game world, but they also
need to know what they should do next, and most critically, they need information
about whether their efforts are succeeding or failing, taking them closer to victory
or closer to defeat. In this section, you learn about the information that the game
must present
to
the player to enable her to play the game. In keeping with a player-
centric view of game design, think of these items as questions the player would ask.
■
Where am I?
Provide the player with a view of the game world. This visual ele-
ment is called the
main view
. If she can't see the whole world at one time (as she
usually can't), also give her a map or a mini-map that enables her to orient herself
with respect to parts of the world that she can't currently see. You should also pro-
vide audio feedback from the world: ambient sounds that tell her something about
her environment.
■
What am I actually doing right now?
To tell the player what she's doing, show
her avatar, party, units, or whatever she's controlling in the game world, so she can
see it (or them) moving, fighting, resting, and so on. If the game uses a first-person
perspective, you can't show the player's avatar, so show her something from which
she can infer what her avatar is doing: If her avatar climbs a ladder, the player sees
the ladder moving downward as she goes up. Here again, give audio feedback: Riding
a horse should produce a clop-clop sound; walking or running should produce foot-
steps at an appropriate pace. Less concrete activities, such as designating an area in
which a building will be constructed, should also produce visible and audible
effects: Display a glow on the ground and play a definitive
clunk
or similar sound.
■
What challenges am I facing?
Display the game's challenges, puzzles, combat,
or whatever they may be—directly in the main view of the game world. Some chal-
lenges make noise: Monsters roar and boxers grunt. To show conceptual or economic
challenges, you may need text to explain the challenge, for example, “You must
assemble all the clues and solve the mystery by midnight.”
■
Did my action succeed or fail?
Show animations and indicators that display
the consequences of actions: The player punches the bad guy and the bad guy falls
down; the player sells a building and the money appears in her inventory.
Accompany these consequences with suitable audio feedback for both success and
failure: a whack sound if the player's punch lands and a whiff sound if the player's
punch misses; a ka-ching! when the money comes in.
■
Do I have what I need to play successfully?
The player must know what
resources she can control and expend. Display indicators for each: ammunition,
money, energy, and so on.
■
Am I in danger of losing the game?
Show indicators for health points, power,
time remaining in a timed challenge, or any other resource that must not be
allowed to reach zero. Use audio signals—alarms or vocal warnings—to alert the
player when one of these commodities nears a critical level.
