Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Document the gameplay in the primary gameplay mode, including both chal-
lenges and actions. For each challenge that you document, indicate what class it
belongs to: physical, logical, exploration, pattern recognition, and so on.
Describe the user interface in the primary gameplay mode, including the camera
model and interaction model. Note important indicators that appear on the screen
and discuss how they improve the playing experience.
Indicate resources, sources, conversions, and drains in the core mechanics.
The design questions in the next section may help you to think about these issues.
In your report, use screen shots to illustrate your points. End the case study with
suggestions for improvement or, if you feel the game cannot be improved, sugges-
tions for additional features that might be fun to have in the game.
Alternatively, choose a game that you believe is particularly
bad
. Do the same case
study, explaining what is wrong and how it could be improved.
A case study is neither a review nor a design document; it is an analysis. You are
not attempting to reverse-engineer the entire game but simply to explain how it
works in a general way. Your instructor will tell you the desired scope of the assign-
ment; I recommend from five to twenty pages.
Design Practice
QUESTIONS
As you design an action game, consider the following questions:
1.
To which of the subgenres of action games do you think your game belongs? Is it
a shooter, platform game, fighting game, fast puzzle game, or music/rhythm game?
Is it a hybrid of two or more of these? Is it a hybrid with other genres, such as an
action-adventure? Or does it belong to no standard subgenre at all?
2.
Is the world (not the display mechanism) essentially 2D or 3D? If the world is
2D, should the display mechanism be 2D also, or would the gameplay benefit from
3D graphics?
3.
If the world is 2D, will the whole world be visible on the screen, or will it scroll?
If it scrolls, in which direction(s) does it scroll?
4.
Does the player need a mini-map to see key off-screen elements of the world
before they arrive on-screen? What about an automap for allowing him to record
where he has been?
5.
What physical challenges will the game incorporate and under what circum-
stances? Speed and reaction time? Accurate steering and aiming? Timing and
rhythm? Combo moves?
