Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
1
Lecture 1 CS170: Game Design Studio 1 UC Santa Cruz School of Engineering www.soe.ucsc.edu/classes/cmps170/Fall2008 michaelm@cs.ucsc.edu 29 September 2008
2
UC SANTA CRUZ The year-long game design studio sequence CS 170 Exposure to a variety of alternative game designs Indie, serious games, political games, art games, etc. Individual concept development Frequent design pitches and rapid prototypes Technology selection Team formation Final design documents CS 171 The heart of making the game CS 172 Emergency design revisions (the “oh my god” moment) Final playtesting and tuning Finish game Win awards at indie game competitions
3
UC SANTA CRUZ Class mechanics Syllabus online at www.soe.ucsc.edu/classes/cmps170/Fall08/ Login and password for secure page (readings) User name: cmps170 Password: M2VkNG
4
UC SANTA CRUZ Platforms This class is technology neutral – no specific platform is required Platforms to think about Microsoft XNA Studio – game development framework for PCs and, in managed code mode (C# only) for Xbox 360 It might be fun to be able to run your game on the Xbox – but it won’t be true console development (close to the hardware) PC – use your favorite language (like C++) on the PC, use whatever libraries you want Mobile Homebrew development environments exist for DS (you can run in an emulator) We have access to the Sony PSP development kit (but you have to sign a bunch of stuff) Cell phone, though the innovation bar might be higher Custom hardware No game making tools (like game maker), though you can use engines (like Torque) Torque is part of Microsoft XNA Studio
5
UC SANTA CRUZ Game innovation To spur innovation in this class, we’ll look at a number of examples of non-traditional indie games We want you to move beyond replicating the elements of standard genres Don’t just want standard RPG #47 or standard FPS #63
6
UC SANTA CRUZ Game Design Overview – Adams Chapter 2 Player centric approach to design Key components of videogames Stages of the design process Design teams Documenting the game Anatomy of a game designer
7
UC SANTA CRUZ Player centric design You are creating an experience for the player – all design considerations must flow from the questions: What does the player do? What experience does this create for the player (why would they do it)? You are not your own typical player – you should be able to design games for people different than you The player is not your opponent – the goal is not to crush the player, but to entertain, inspire, create a feeling of agency and eventual mastery
8
UC SANTA CRUZ Formal game elements Player manipulates controller and sees/hear/feels outputs User interface translates inputs into gameworld actions and translates challenges inito something the player can perceive Core mechanics are the rules by which the gameworld and game operate
9
UC SANTA CRUZ Difference between game and simulation A simulation is a a runnable model of a real-world situation that is less complex than the real-world Aspects of the world have been abstracted away The core mechanics of a game like a simulation (runnable model that describes how the world state evolves) What’s the difference between a simulation and a game? A simulation isn’t playable, specifically It doesn’t necessarily provide for player actions And even if it does, it doesn’t structure the output in terms of challenges
10
UC SANTA CRUZ Full model User interface provides an interaction model and perspective Gameplay consists of challenges and actions Gameplay modes delimit subsets of gameplay available at any one time
11
UC SANTA CRUZ Game design Game design is distinct from game production Design is the process of defining the concept, core mechanics, gameplay modes, gameworld, and so forth Production is the process of turning a design into a polished, working game In CS 170 we’re focusing on design and the beginnings of production CS 171 and 172 will focus on production Obviously some design continues into production, but the major design decisions should have been locked down before production A game design is captured in a mixture of documents and prototypes
12
UC SANTA CRUZ The stages of design Concept stage What is the main concept of the game? Who is the audience? What does the player do? What dream does the game fulfill (especially for representational games)? Elaboration stage, iteratively design Primary gameplay mode, core mechanics, protagonist, game world, additional modes, level design, story Tuning stage Small adjustments to core mechanics, levels, etc. so as to create a balanced, smoothly progressing game
13
UC SANTA CRUZ Game design teams Lead designer – responsible for overall design, “keeping the vision”. In this class will also serve as producer. Trades creativity for authority. Game designer – defines and documents the game design Level designer – take the essential components of the game defined by game designer (user interface, core mechanics, gameplay) and designs specific levels User interface designer – designs layout of the screen in various gameplay modes. Traditionally has been left to the last minute (bad idea). Writer – writes dialog, cut scenes, introductory material, etc. Often subcontracted to a freelancer or done by one of the designers Art director – manages production of assets, responsible for the visual style of the game, in terms of authority, at the same level as the lead designer Audio director – oversees production of audio assets
14
UC SANTA CRUZ Game design documents High concept – short document that pitches the big idea of the game. Should sell the concept and player experience Character design document – concept art, move set (animations), backstory for at least the player avatar (if she has one) World design document – provides overview of the world, documents the feel of the world, will guide level design Flowboard – documents how the gameplay modes relate to each other, quick sketches of the screens and what actions are available to the player Story and level progression – large scale story of the game, progression of missions, levels, cut-scenes, etc. The game script – documents the rules and core mechanics of the game in enough detail that you could play it without a computer
15
UC SANTA CRUZ Designer/engineers As computer science students, you all have the chops to architect and implement game engines But you know how to do this from a design-centric perspective As designers, your magic bullet is deeply understanding what can be done with computation Core mechanics are algorithms In the 170 sequence you will have the opportunity to do conceptual design and see it all the way through to implementation
Similar presentations
© 2024 SlidePlayer.com Inc.
All rights reserved.