Design Components and Processes - Fundamentals of Game Design - page 37

snails,” but the core mechanics state exactly how fast each moves in centimeters
per minute. The programmers then turn the core mechanics into algorithms and
write the software that implements the algorithms. This topic doesn't address tech-
nical design or programming but concentrates on the first part of the process,
creating the core mechanics. Chapter 10, “Core Mechanics,” addresses this process
at length.
The core mechanics are at the heart of any game because they generate the game-
play. They define the challenges that the game can offer and the actions that the
player can take to meet those challenges. The core mechanics also determine the
effect of the player's actions upon the game world. The mechanics state the condi-
tions for achieving the goals of the game and what consequences follow from
succeeding or failing to achieve them. In a conventional game, the players are
aware of the core mechanics because the players must implement the rules. In a
video game, the core mechanics are hidden from the players. The players experi-
ence them only through play. If the players play the game over and over, they
eventually become aware of the game's mechanistic nature and learn to optimize
their play to beat the game.
One quality of the core mechanics is their degree of realism . A simulation , in the for-
mal sense, is a mathematical or symbolic model of a real-world situation, created
for the purpose of studying real-world problems. If it is to have any validity, the
simulation must represent some part of the real world as closely as possible (though
aspects of it may need to be simplified). A game, on the other hand, is created for
the purpose of entertainment. Even if it represents the real world to some degree, it
always includes compromises to make it more playable and more fun. For example,
a real army requires a large general staff to make sure the army has all the ammuni-
tion and supplies it needs. In a game, a single player has to manage everything, so
to avoid overwhelming him, the designer abstracts these logistical considerations
out of the model—that is to say, out of the core mechanics. The player simply pre-
tends that soldiers never need food or sleep, and they never run out of ammunition.
All games fall along a continuum between the abstract and the representational .
Pac-Man is a purely abstract game; it's not a simulation of anything real. Its location
is imaginary, and its rules are arbitrary. Grand Prix Legends is a highly representa-
tional game: It accurately simulates the extraordinary danger of driving racing cars
before the spoiler was invented. Although no game is completely realistic, gamers
(and game developers) often refer to this variable quality of games as their degree
of realism. For the most part, however, this topic uses the terms abstract and repre-
sentational to characterize games at opposite ends of the realism scale.
You decide what degree of realism your game will have when you decide upon its
concept. The decision you make determines how complex the core mechanics are.