1. Starting a Game Design Dr. Lewis Pulsipher Copyright 2009 Lewis Pulsipher

2. May 17, 2015 Who am I  Designed my own games while a teenager  Began playing commercial wargames in 1963  Played the original Atari 2600 and have played some PC games heavily, but rarely play any video games these days; never owned a game console  My favorite game is “the game design game”

3. May 17, 2015 Who am I  Designer of six commercially-published board wargames (most recently November ‘08), more to come  Active designer of board and card games (playtesters solicited!)  My main job has been teaching video game design and development in college

4. May 17, 2015 Some of my games

5. May 17, 2015 Two forms of game design  Video games and non-video games  Scale is different –“big time” video games are produced by dozens of people, cost millions of dollars –“big time” non-video games produced by a few people with budgets in the thousands Yet a few sell more than a million copies

6. May 17, 2015 Designing: Practice and get others to evaluate  You’re unlikely to be very good when you start designing –John Creasey (The Toff, mysteries) rejected 700+ times; then published 600+ novels! –Brandon Sanderson (now finishing Wheel of Time) wrote 12 novels before selling one, doesn’t appear to expect to sell the others  So you need to practice!  Diplomacy variants and D&D material in my case  Post such things on your or other Web sites  Analogy: –Jerry Pournelle (SF writer) says be willing to throw away your first million words (about ten novels) on the road to becoming successful SF writer –Similarly, be willing to make lots of games/mods that don’t make any money on the way to making (some) money as a game designer

7. May 17, 2015 Learning to design  The most important thing is to play the game  No, it won’t work the way you expect  We can have a playable, testable non-video game much more quickly than a computer game of similar scope or subject  Consequently, it’s much easier to learn game design with physical games than with video games!

8. May 17, 2015 Reign Back Your Ambition  You may want or think you’re going to make the “best game ever” –There is no such thing –Even if there was, the odds against you making it are astronomical  It’s important to finish projects, in the long run –But you’ll abandon many along the way –Choose ones you have a good chance of finishing

9. May 17, 2015 What’s important?  Focus on the gameplay not on the appearance (or the story) of the game.  You want something that people can play so that you find out whether they enjoy playing, and how you can improve it.  A major mistake of novice game designers is to make something that’s pretty rather than something that’s functional. If you have something that just looks functional and people like to play then imagine how much more they’ll enjoy it when it looks professionally pretty.

10. May 17, 2015  You only need it to look good enough that playtesters will be willing to play, and that depends in great part on what playtesters are available, how well you know them, how persuasive you are, and many other factors not related to the game itself.  In most cases, you may be excited about your story, but other people won’t be. Most games are played for the game, not the story (which is often only an excuse to get to the action). If you’re heavily into story, write a novel, don’t design a game! When you’re experienced you may be able to rely on a story to make a game enjoyable, when you start out that’s a big mistake.

11. May 17, 2015 Art vs. Science  As in many other creative endeavors, there are two ways of approach –These are often called Romantic and Classical, or Dionysian and Apollonian  Or: art and science –Some people design games “from the gut” –Others like to use system, organization, and (when possible) calculation  Mine is the “scientific” approach; and that is more likely to help new designers –Game design is 10% art and 90% science

12. May 17, 2015 Who is the audience?  A game must have an audience –What are the game-playing preferences of that audience –Short or long? –Chance or little chance? –Lots of story or little story? –“Ruthless” or “nice”? –Simple or complex?  There is no “perfect” game

13. May 17, 2015 The idea is not the game  Novices tend to think the idea is the important thing –Ideas are “a dime a dozen”. It’s the execution, the creation of a playable game, that’s important  The “pyramid” of game design: –Lots of people get ideas –Fewer try to go from general idea to a specific game idea –Fewer yet try to produce a prototype –Fewer yet produce a decently playable prototype –Very few produce a complete game –And very, very few produce a good complete game

14. May 17, 2015 The Design Pyramid: Milestones on the way to production

15. May 17, 2015 How do you get ideas?  Ideas don’t “just come” to you  Thomas Edison: “Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” I prefer 10 and 90. Same applies to ideas –You have to work to get ideas –Write everything down. It may not be used now, but may be useful later –I use Info Select. Microsoft OneNote might do. Or use a word processor.  Use a notepad when you don’t have a computer: but transcribe religiously! Back up!

16. May 17, 2015 Making Use of Ideas  "Strictly speaking, there's no such thing as invention, you know. It's only magnifying what already exists.“ - Allie Fox, The Mosquito Coast  Hardly anything is new under the sun  Most of the time, associations, combining aspects of several things, results in “new” things  Hence the more “old” games and game-related material you know, the more you have to work with  Play games; read game rules; talk about games; read about games; write about games  BUT: ideas are like food, keeps you going but doesn’t make you any money: it’s how you use the ideas

17. May 17, 2015 Sources of Ideas  Other games  History and other non-fiction reading  Fiction  People  Discussions  Everyday things  Pictures  Almost anything! I’ve designed good games by starting with a particular kind of piece in mind!

18. May 17, 2015 What makes a game “good”?  “Fun” is hard to design –And not everyone plays for fun—even if we can define what “fun” is –Educational value (history, children, crosswords) –Some want laughs, not strategy (family games) –Games are social occasions –“Entertainments” vs. “Competitions”  So I prefer to use the word “enjoyable”, with all the variation that implies

19. May 17, 2015 What makes a game “good”  Some play to win –Players must be able to influence the outcome of the game by their choices amongst non-obvious alternatives–otherwise it’s not a game (though it might be a story or a toy or a puzzle)  “Shark” players don’t want to be “gypped” –Will the expert win every time?  Romantic vs. Classical players and games  Planners, adapters, and improvisors  There are many, many points of view

20. May 17, 2015 Genre  Video games are more limited by genre than non-video games  Most video games and many others fall into a clear genre category  Each genre has characteristics that come to be “expected” by the consumer  Much easier to market a video game with a clear genre

21. May 17, 2015 Typical genres  Video games: Shooters, RTS (real-time strategy), RPG (role-playing game), action, adventure, vehicle simulation, etc.  Non-video: card games, board games, role-playing games, CCG –Strategy, action, “Euro” style, and all the genres of computer games

22. May 17, 2015 Prototypes—”testing is sovereign”  To best improve a game, you must have a playable prototype –Firaxis’ Sid Meier-Civilization series, Pirates –The sooner Firaxis got a playable version of Civ 4, the more they could learn –A playable prototype includes “artwork” or physical components, and rules or programming  The rules for a non-video game are the equivalent of the programming of a video game –Programming must be precise and is very time consuming (game engines may help) –A playable set of rules can be much less precise, relying on the mind(s) of the designer(s), and notes  It’s also much easier to change the non-video prototype to test different approaches  It’s much easier to produce the physical prototype, than to create the artwork for a video game

23. May 17, 2015 The fundamental structures of any game (video or non-video)  The idea behind this: if you’re designing a game, you have to decide what to do within each of these categories  This helps you conceptualize your game, turn it from ideas into something of substance  If one of these structures isn’t involved, you probably have a toy or puzzle, not a game

24. May 17, 2015 Structures:  1. Theme/History/Story –Games are usually, though not always, models of a reality  2. Objective/victory conditions –If the game doesn’t end, or has no winner, it may be a toy or puzzle  3. “Data storage”. (Information Management) –How do we represent/model the state of affairs? –This is often a board, pieces, cards in non-video  4. Sequencing –Simultaneous movement? Turn based? “Real- time”?

25. May 17, 2015 Structures…  5. Movement/Placement –How are objects translated from one place to another  6. Information availability –Is all information known? Fog of war? Uncertainty?  7. Conflict resolution/interaction of game entities –Can there be any conflict at all? Shooting? Swordplay? Spells? Jumping?

26. May 17, 2015 Structures…  8. "Economy" (resource acquisition) –Many traditional games have little or none –Money in Monopoly, “kinging” in checkers  9. Player Interaction rules –Negotiation? –Trading or auctions? –No direct interaction?  There are many more aspects to the structures than listed here

27. May 17, 2015 Example: Tic-Tac-Toe  Theme: abstract game  Victory: three in a row, can be a draw  Storage: the 3 by 3 array  Sequencing: take turns placing one piece  Movement: place one “piece” at a time  Information: all available  Conflict: cannot occupy space occupied by opponent’s “piece”  Economy: unlimited pieces  Player Interaction: none special

28. May 17, 2015 Example: Pac-Man  Story: not much…  Victory: get through all the levels  Storage: square array in the computer  Sequencing: simultaneous movement  Movement: your single “piece” moves to adjacent square  Information: all available  Conflict: depends on timing, “death” to touch  Economy: can earn additional “pieces” (lives)  Player Interaction: none special

29. May 17, 2015 Example: Chess  Theme: abstract but used to represent warfare  Victory: checkmate opposing king, can be draw  Storage: the 8 by 8 array  Sequencing: take turns moving one piece  Movement: one “piece” at a time, varying movement capabilities (and: castling and promotion)  Information: all available  Conflict: occupy opponent’s space to eliminate it  Economy: promotion only  Player Interaction: none special

30. May 17, 2015 Example: Doom (video version)  Theme: Mayhem!  Victory: survive and reach a goal  Storage: some kind of array in the computer  Sequencing: real-time  Movement: More or less as a person would  Information: “Fog of War”, much uncertainty  Conflict: shooting of various types, melee  Economy: can earn additional lives  Player Interaction: none special

31. May 17, 2015 Example: Axis & Allies (board)  Theme: World War II worldwide  Victory: take and hold enemy capitals  Storage: area map  Sequencing: take turns  Movement: move all pieces each turn, land-sea-air limitations  Information: all information known  Conflict: move into enemy area, dice rolling varying with attacker and target unit types  Economy: use industrial points to purchase new units, technology  Player Interaction: none special

32. May 17, 2015 Example: Civil. III (Computer)  Theme: Growth of civilization through the ages (historical, more or less)  Victory: Reach the stars (technological development), conquest, or other means  Storage: square array in the computer  Sequencing: turn based  Movement: move all your pieces/do all your actions each turn  Information: “Fog of War”, much uncertainty  Conflict: Enter enemy unit’s square, rules for firing, technology determines units you may construct  Economy: very complex resource management, pollution, taxes, etc.  Player Interaction: Via diplomacy rules

33. May 17, 2015 Example: Britannia revised  Theme: History of Britain 44 AD-1085 AD  Victory: Accumulate more points than anyone else, score in a variety of ways such as holding certain areas  Storage: board, 37 land areas, 5 seas  Sequencing: turn based by nation, not by player  Movement: move all your pieces/do all your actions each turn, move two areas usually, overruns  Information: all information available  Conflict: Enter enemy unit’s area, dice rolling after movement modified by terrain, leaders  Economy: Increase of forces based on number of areas held and terrain; additional units arrive from overseas  Player Interaction: Negotiation only allowed at the table

34. May 17, 2015 Design Challenges  Take a traditional game and change one of its structures –“Kriegspiel” chess—hidden movement –Use dice for combat in chess –Simultaneous movement for Tic-Tac-Toe? –Or change the data storage in Tic-Tac-Toe a 4 by 4 square array, and allow wins with 4 in a row or 4 in a square (much better game, actually)

35. May 17, 2015 Example: the progress of a design...  Design constraint: I wanted a game that primarily used colored glass beads (“stones”)—elegant, visual effect –Likely to be abstract, then—not enough variety for anything “realistic”  But how much variety can you get with one kind of piece (even chess has many kinds); how could I provide variety? –Introduce a random but somewhat controllable element –Dice undesirable to publishers nowadays –Why not use cards to change the rules (from Fluxx, CCG)

36. May 17, 2015 “Law & Chaos”  What to change? –Victory conditions (pattern of stones needed) –Capture methods  Has led to a series of games, all dynamically changing two fundamental aspects of play  Finalizing contract with a publisher

37. May 17, 2015 Play it Solo  When you have a playable prototype play it yourself, solo, before you inflict on other people. I say “inflict” deliberately. You may be super excited, you may think it’s the greatest thing ever, but in reality it will be like almost every other initial prototype of a game, it will suck.  Experienced designers have a much better chance of recognizing what will suck before the game is played: they play the game in their mind’s eye, so to speak, and anticipate many problems before it’s ever played in reality. Beginners should try to do the same but will be much less successful at spotting the flaws.  What solo testing can do is quickly reveal where the game really sucks so that you can change it before other people have to put up with it. In other words, be nice to your playtesters: get rid of the really bad aspects yourself rather than foist them on other people who want to play a fun game.

38. May 17, 2015  Some people confronted with the notion of solo playing a multiplayer tabletop game will say they just can’t do it, they just can’t dissociate themselves from one side when they play another side. Wags like to say “well at least when you play solo always win”. Of course you also always lose.  The point of solo playtesting is not to win or lose, it’s to find out whether the game is worthwhile and how it can be improved. And that dispassionate dissociation from one side to another when you play a solo game will actually help you recognize what’s good and bad about the game.  I cannot say this enough: play the game yourself before anybody else plays.

39. May 17, 2015 Do it!  Too many people like to think about designing so much, they never actually do it  Until you have a playable prototype, you have nothing –(Which is what makes video game design so difficult) –It doesn’t have to be beautiful, just usable  Good luck. And remember: "A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."  --Antoine de Saint-Exup'ery

40. May 17, 2015 So What’s Next?  We’ve just started. Come to my seminar about completing a game design  I talked about the business of game design Friday. Download the slides if you missed it. I may post audio as well.

41. Questions?