Also I just want to say that I don't really put any worth in a game design philosophy that's not, like, actionable. If you couldn't go out and start making a game RIGHT NOW based on it, what's the point?
Technology isn't an excuse either. Handheld computers are ubiquitous and we've got Jeopardy robots.
Your Artistic Statement/Philosophy Of Game Design?
I have a few simple rules I follow.
1.would you play it
2.realistic is not always fun.
3.beware of bathrooms.
4.seatbelts.
1.would you play it
2.realistic is not always fun.
3.beware of bathrooms.
4.seatbelts.
Realism isn't always fun is a great motto to have as icarusredux has already said.
Another thing to think about is to always start with a small concept and each time you want to add to it don't simply think 'is this cool' but also 'will this add to the fun'. Even if it doesn't make the game any worse it should still be cut to save time and resources.
Half the value a game has comes from the polish.
Another thing to think about is to always start with a small concept and each time you want to add to it don't simply think 'is this cool' but also 'will this add to the fun'. Even if it doesn't make the game any worse it should still be cut to save time and resources.
Half the value a game has comes from the polish.
I like this thread. I have a couple of ideas:
- Freedom. Part of what makes me like certain games, like Super Mario Sunshine, is that you are not FORCED to do anything. You can spend as much time collecting coins or riding Yoshi or whatever as you want. I think that's probably the biggest thing, I wanna explore, and I want the people who play my stuff to be able to explore too.
- Just because it's easy to do, doesn't mean its good to do. I like having two weapons AT A TIME, but only two, like in Goldeneye, instead of somehow miraculously having a grenade launcher, an assault rifle, a shotgun, a submachine gun, a flamethrower, etc, all at once. It might be easier to implement a system where you can hold as many weapons as there are in the level, but it's more fun to think outside of the box.
- Make it fun. That's so much more important than having the greatest graphics and the most features, yet a lot of AAA companies are doing it the other way around.
Oh, sorry for the confusion, development on Xenallure was halted years ago and I have no plans to re-start it. I realized it was basically impossible to develop a project of that size without funding.
I know that feeling all too well! I'm working on my own RPG at the moment, Vita Essentia, and that's been going for 7 years! I believe that anything is possible if you tailor your design accordingly though, especially if it is something you are passionate about on a personal level. If I was trying to make a profit, this idea would have been dead in the water ages ago. But now I'm finally at a stage where I have a playable prototype! It's still a few years away from a complete game, but I think if something is designed correctly even a seemingly epic project can be done with just a few people and relatively little money!
As for my actual game design philosophy/artistic statement, I believe that no game mechanic or other design choice can be taken for granted, and must be carefully considered. It's very easy to say "I want my game to have this great mechanic in it", but is that the best choice for your game? The project I discussed above was originally going to be an epic, fully 3D, fully voiced RPG with quasi-real time battles and so on and so forth. But as I got older and learned more, I started thinking if that was the right way to go. Even putting my budget and staff constraints to one side, why are 3D worlds better than 2D or 2.5D ones? Will this quasi-real time battle system bring any fun gameplay ideas to the table? In the end I decided I didn't want any voice acting, because I felt that not providing voices forces the player to imagine their own for each character, which makes the character seem more believable to them. If anybody has enjoyed a book and then seen a poor movie adoption of it, you might see what I'm getting at!
The point is that no design idea is ever objectively cliché or archaic, so it is best to design games from a blank, unbiased perspective.
I also think it is important to decide at the beginning of your project what the focus is going to be. Do you want to tell a story? Do you want to create something addictive? Do you want to challenge someone's thinking skills? Because at the end of the day, good game mechanics are designed to support those purposes.
Oh! I also have one more saying that I have recently been considering and quite like: "Never assume the player is an idiot, but always assume they are gullible".
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