Things that you should consider for Gameplay

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Things that you should consider for Gameplay

• Game Design
• Vishnu Kotrajaras, Ph.D.
• Later parts are from Jesse Schells slides

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Non-linearity

• Different path from A to B
• Mario 3 onwards
• Story arc
• Phantasy Star 3
• Choices, choose 1 way and you can pass a level
• Player may come back to play the unplayed choice
  later

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Rockman
Super Mario Bros. 3
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Non-linearity(2)?

• Different order of challenges
• Rock man
• When getting stuck, players can go to other
  challenges, at least for a while?
• But it must be designed to encourage players to
  explore all
• Multiple solutions to a problem
• A good football game falls into this category
  because the experience from each game is hardly
  the same.

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Non-linearity(3)?

• Multiple endings
• Sadly, many games do not have non-linearity due
  to budget

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Effect of non-linearity
Choices in the story affect future missions
(ending too)?
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Purpose of non-linearity

• Players have authority
• If not, player may feel trapped
• Each player has unique experience
• Players want to replay (not as important as the
  feel of authority)?
• Thinking that players wont finish the game
  anyway, so why bother do extra stuff is
  short-sighted

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Game with free order of missions

• Completing one should provide some way to make
  other missions easier
• (regardless of the order taken)?
• This allow better chance of progressing

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Reality

• Dont make a game too much like real life
• Food, sleep in RPG is a bad thing
• Reality has its strength
• Player is familiar with it civilization, Sim
  city
• But it also has weakness
• Players notice things that dont work like real
  life quite easily
• Such as you cant crouch in Doom, cant peek over
  corner either

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Civilization
Sim City
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The Sims
Rome Total War
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Teaching players how to play

• First few minutes of the game is very important
• Do not force players to read manual
• You should know that every player wants to start
  playing right away
• Therefore, use the gameplay

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Using the gameplay to teach how to play

• Very easy at start, just move, then jump,
• Then increasingly harder
• While introducing moves, players must be in a
  safe environment
• Prince of Persia, you dont die when you first
  encounter a collapsing floor
• Reward the players for learning

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Prince of Persia
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Another, teaching method, having tutorial levels

• Interactive learning
• But the first real level must still be easy,
  because some players may skip the tutorial
• Some game goes a bit too far as to have an NPC
  tells a character which button to press.
• This will remind the player that she is playing
  the game
• Some immersion into the game may be lost

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Input/output

• Controls must be easy to pick up. Good examples
  include
• Allowing a player to control everything with
  mouse
• Use an already well known interface
• Playtesting is important
• If the playtester does not like the controls, you
  must believe him
• Do not do too much
• Do not use many keys on keyboard (X-Wing)?
• Only expert player will like it

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X-Wing VS Tie Fighter
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Input/output(2)?

• The good way is to design controls based on
  control pad
• This will help refine the control method
• It is good to have multiple ways of getting the
  same effect
• 2 ways to click mouse and get the same result
• Hot key and normal controls together
• 2 buttons doing the same thing
• Crash Bandicoot

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Crash Bandicoot
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Input/output(3)?

• Beware
• You may test the controls so many times that you
  think it is easy
• Find first-time players to test the controls
• Fix the controls if these first-time players have
  problems
• Do not expect them to get used to the controls

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Whats on screen

• Player must see the action, or threat, for
  example
• Getting a warning that units being attacked
  off-screen, so the player can zoom to the units
• Bad NPC is dying, but there is no sign until he
  nearly dies
• Players need positive feedback when he shoots at
  the right location

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Darius
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Whats on screen(2)?

• If you cannot show it obviously to player, show
  it as part of GUI
• Life bar (try using bars instead of numbers)?
• Where GUI exists, make it as obvious as possible
• But GUI should be minimized as much as possible
  to allow players to feel immerse into the game
  world
• Do not forget sound

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US patent 5688126, 6062561