So you’ve decided to dive into the world of game development, have put together a great team of warriors to tackle all the big issues and are ready to make the next best game in the industry… beat WoW, Guild Wars…(you get the point). You’ve cut all your brainstorming and put together some really sharp concepts for the storyline and you’re good to go. But between all the programming, character concepts, dungeons and quests – what are the most important aspects of your game that will determine whether someone enjoys themselves? Read on, and allow me to share with you what I think.
When we decide to dive into the development of a new game, there are five things you should consider very carefully, and pay a lot of attention to. There may be more than this that will hinder or help you along your way, and your order may differ from mine, but these are the ones I have always found most important. Over the next week we will reveal every aspect, and at the end of the week culminates with the full article. For today we will start at the top, with number 5.
Number 5: Storyline
When crafting your game, there’s no better inspiration for features and activities, quests and dungeons than your own highly developed and custom-designed storyline. Some may object to this statement, claiming that the storyline is easily overshadowed and unnecessary when you have intense graphics that make your fingers tingle, or when you have battles so intense that you literally duck from behind your monitor. While these things definitely contribute to a great game, and can cause a lot of excitement (actually, they’re on the list too!), they can’t make up for the lack of storyline. One thing that many players want whether consciously or not,
The storyline not only helps players become involved with everything you’ve been fighting for and working on, but also helps you as a developer along the way. If you’re smart, and dreamed of a very deep history of your game setup from the start, it will continue to serve you throughout development. This will provide clues as to what features you want to be part of the game, what not to include, and what to include or not. An architecture professor of mine once said, when referring to the site analysis section of architecture that we can find out a lot about what we should build on a building site just by visiting the site, and “imagining the invisible building we want to build”. This is true in architecture,
The storyline may be important, but does it matter more than the sweet game setting that’s so rich and vibrant that you’re tempted to stay indefinitely? Well, maybe – as long as your 3d representation isn’t hampered by hundreds of thousands of polygons or bad quads. Why is Artwork important in the world?
Number 4: Artwork
I’ve heard many times that the artwork/3d models/characters found in your game won’t make or break anything. I agree with this because it won’t make or break the whole game, but the professional looking/feeling artwork and models definitely help you along the way. Think of any movie you’ve seen recently where the set is absolutely magnificent and stunning – one example (though not necessarily as “recent”) is the Lord of the Rings movies. Throughout the entire film series, rich and varied settings abound, and help with the immersion factor you wouldn’t believe. Will the film be “damaged” by less awe-inspiring scenes? Maybe not, because in the case of The Lord of the Rings, there are many other extraordinary aspects. Do the stunning scenes make this film so much better, and give it *more* to drool? Yes, of course. The same type of effect can be seen in the gaming industry. I play games that have great graphics (EVE Online) and others that don’t (Dark Ages). I am however, addicted to these two games for different reasons, but you can bet that the stunning environment in EVE certainly helped inspire its huge player base.
Also, your artwork can seriously affect the mechanics of your game. Many developers see a very important aspect of their 3d models – the number of polys… That is, the number of triangles (or *shiver* quads) your game has. Many of the free 3d models that you may find on the internet are very beautiful, but so detailed that using them in a computer, real-time environment is not wise as you are usually trying to draw as many systems as possible. Console systems have the luxury (for the most part) of assuming that everyone is running on the same pitch. Those of us who develop games just for computers don’t have this luxury. Suffice to say, it’s important to find quality, low poly game content, and of course there’s quite a lot out there’
The lower your poly count on your 3d model, the smoother your environment will run on multiple computers… usually. One thing to keep in mind during this whole process is how your machine handles polygons, and to know the ideal poly range you want to shoot for characters and scenes. In most cases a higher poly character is more acceptable, with scenery (buildings, trees, etc.) lower in poly. Another engine-specific feature to keep in mind is whether the engine supports Level of Detail (LOD) or not. LOD for those who may not know is a system where the machine will use a very low poly version of the model if the player is far away, swapping models in and out for a high quality version the closer you get to it. As far as I know,
Down the road we go with Number 3: Music! Some might say (and argue) that music for online games should fall into the “Artwork” category – although this may be true depending on how you look at it, in-game music is so important *aside from* your 3d models and 3d characters that it takes its place alone.
Number 3: Music
In many ways, music is the heart and soul of any environment you can create in 3D – it’s literally a sound trick where events happen, players win battles, go home, etc. Music is a vital tool used to set the mood in any setting, and without it your game will feel dead and like something is missing. In many ways, music helps to express a player’s mood in a given area, enhancing and emphasizing what you associate with your player. Do you want them to feel sad, anxious, excited, scared? Since hearing is one of our primary senses (seeing, smelling, etc.), one could argue that hearing is just as powerful in connecting and creating memories. This should be one of your *main goals* to get people to remember your game – making your game memorable is one of the tricks to make it fun and something that people will tell their friends about. Hearing, and your in-game music is one of the more subtle qualities that play a huge role in how the environment *feels*. Think about what your favorite movie would sound like without the sound and music?
It highlights another important aspect that is a sub-category of music: sound effects. While music is the key that gives your environment a feeling and life, it is the sound effects that make the environment real and feel realistic. When a player is able to knock down a trash can and as a result they hear the clang of aluminum and lead rolling over the concrete they are standing on, the player has an increased feeling of interaction with the environment. Think of the effect and life the environment takes when a player goes from walking on rocks, where their shoes might clink, to walking on dirt or mud, where the sound will naturally change quite dramatically. Making a great game is all about mastering the small (but powerful) details that immerse your players.
Many independent developers may shy away from placing importance on the music played in the game because in some ways it may be hard to come by for people on a budget. While music can be expensive (okay, don’t fool it’s expensive) to custom make, you can find some great deals on royalty-free music to buy online. In most cases, these tracks are professionally created, and are available for flexible licensing – either for independents, or for commercial studios. It’s not uncommon, for example, to find 5-6 songs on an indie license for around $100.
GarageGames.com has some great deals on music and sound effects – the sound effects found is definitely a deal. You can find the page directly by visiting their content pack.
Gamedev.net also has some good resources related to in-game music, and provides a good directory of sites containing stock and royalty free music. Look here.
Other times, it would be nice to include our own directory containing some great music resources. Look for that later. In the meantime, let us know what you think about the in-game Music and Sound Effects you’ve played, whether you think it’s effective and important to your gaming experience… And if you don’t agree, you can let us know too!
Now that we’ve covered the many parts of your game (Storyline, Artwork, Music), we’re going to delve a little deeper into game design and really define the framework of your game – the backbone, the thing that ultimately keeps people coming back to the game. you day by day. The storyline, artwork, and music are essential things that will really make your game feel complete, and make it less likely that people will be standing in your local village, and looking around wondering, “What’s missing?” But in the end, when it comes to developing your game, we now get to the really important stuff. That brings us to today’s post…
Number 2: Game Flow
In terms of game design in today’s world, there are actually three main types of streams that you can follow in games. What exactly is the gameplay? The gameplay, or the structure of your game, is how players interact with it and the storyline events, quests, missions, etc. This determines whether players can branch out and make the game the way they want, or if they are locked into a track that leads them into their traps and delights. Precisely the three types of flow are as follows: Sand box, Roller-coaster, and a mixture of both. In many cases, the way your game engages people, and how it forces them to interact with the environment and progress in the game will determine the types of players you attract to your game.
The most “traditional” style of playing games, or rather the most frequently used in the past is the “Roller-coaster” style. This type of gameplay lives up to its name – the user starts the game (up on the way) and carefully leads through the build, the climax of the storyline, the interesting traps, twists and turns, and finally the game ends with a rush of excitement. It can also be likened to the experience of reading a book where there is a definite beginning and a definite end. Many RPGs out there fall into this category, where your goal in the game is explicitly determined (conquer the evil demons in the sea and save the beautiful girl) and while the game is a lot of fun, in some ways this system doesn’t always work well in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG’ s) where you have tens, hundreds, even thousands of people interacting with each other. This isn’t to say that none of the MMOs do (Guild Wars specifically comes to mind), and this isn’t to say that MMORPGs that go the Roller-Coaster route aren’t as much fun (as Guild Wars is). This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! s going the Roller-Coaster route isn’t all that fun (like Guild Wars). This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! s going the Roller-Coaster route isn’t all that fun (like Guild Wars). This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! s going the Roller-Coaster route isn’t all that fun (like Guild Wars). This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! s going the Roller-Coaster route isn’t all that fun (like Guild Wars). This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! And if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demon in the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! s going the Roller-Coaster route isn’t all that fun (like Guild Wars). This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! And if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demon in the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! s going the Roller-Coaster route isn’t all that fun (like Guild Wars). This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you! This is to say that in recent years people have started to like newer types of games where the choices seem endless, and if instead of saving the beautiful girl from the evil demons of the sea, you want to go and become an innocent farmer. … more power to you!
Enter the game “Sandbox”. In recent years there has been a huge push for this sandbox where people can do what they want. Similar to a roller-coaster game, the name is synonymous with the real-life part, the sandbox. The idea is that upon entering the game, if you decide to ignore the overly warped and current storyline (remember our beautiful girl), you can do so without significant consequences. This type of game is sometimes said to appeal especially to hardcore style gamers, although I’m not sure I fully agree with that philosophy. Often times I come across a lot of casual players in sandbox type games who just enjoy socializing with each other, mining together, exploring, etc, without all the crazy time commitments to catch up on the main storyline events. In many of these games, political and religious systems can be found, as well as different types of work. However, from what I’ve seen, these games tend to be much more time-consuming than roller-coaster games, simply because of the amount of time it takes you to pour in your character to forge your own path (and be successful at it). While some disagree with me here, I would say EVE Online can definitely be classified as a sandbox, as most of EVE’s content, gameplay and activities are created and inspired by the players themselves. GTA3 is also considered by many to be a sandbox game. That in itself is an important note:
Finally, recently we’ve reached a time when several people were discussing ways to create what you might call a mix of sandbox and roller-coaster games. I haven’t found a good example of how this has been done (or how someone worked it out), I’ve only heard a few mentions of it here and there. From what I’ve gathered, there will be several central storyline arcs going on at any one time, giving the user their choice of how to proceed, and along the way providing many opportunities for players to branch down their own paths, while still allowing them to return to the great storyline. Some might again classify this primarily as a sandbox, but I would argue that if all the time there’s a lot of leads coming in from quests, storylines, and developer-driven content, that you start to get more roller-coaster elements. If anyone has experienced what you consider to be a good example of a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid, please let me know! If you’ve ever read one of the “Choose your own ending” style books that hit elementary and high school, you’ll understand what a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid is like. While players have choices (perhaps many, many choices!), things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. style books that hit elementary and middle schools, You’ll understand what a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid looks like. While players have choices (perhaps many, many choices!), things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. style book that hit elementary and middle school, you’ll understand what a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid looks like. While players have choices (perhaps many, many choices!), things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. style book that hit elementary and middle school, you’ll understand what a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid looks like. While players have choices (perhaps many, many choices!), things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. style book that hit elementary and middle school, you’ll understand what a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid looks like. While players have choices (perhaps many, many choices!), things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. You’ll understand what a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid looks like. While players have choices (perhaps many, many choices!), things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done. You’ll understand what a sandbox roller-coaster hybrid looks like. While players have choices (perhaps many, many choices!), things are still ultimately “guided” by the overall storyline, while leaving room for player-generated content. But in the end, it’s easier said than done.
Ultimately, deciding what game system you use, or the “Game Flow” method you use will be important in developing your game. Like the storyline, it will give you direction and more easily help you make decisions about whether or not certain features fit into your game. Not only will it help you make decisions, but as a result it will help shape your game. Direction and determination are absolutely necessary in game development, and defining Game Flow will at least help you in the direction department 😉
We’ve covered some of the most important aspects of your gaming environment – from the visual and sound stimuli that draw your traveler deeper into your game, to the inspiring stories and game mechanics that help shape your player character. However, in the end there is one aspect that will take it all home and determine whether your game is full of passionate players, or an empty ghost town or not.
Number 1: Activity, baby!
While in-game friends come and go, quests are unleashed and defeated, items unlocked and then forged – in the end the gaming community is no different from society at large; we are a disposable group of people. We love to love the hottest items, spells, houses, quests, but eventually they become a thing of yesterday and stop drawing a lot of excitement from the people that have been hanging around your game for a while. Many games falter because they fail to realize that new content is a must, even if the content you already have is great. Regular gamers can play your average game in less than a month and if you are planning to release a game that has a monthly subscription, or need to keep players for a long time, that’s bad news for you. Finally a solution to “What’s next?” and “Why do people leave?” is to inspire your game and all its nooks and crannies with valuable content and *things to do*. It is from this area that it seems that most of the discontent with the game comes from which means that it is not only necessary to have a lot of activity in the game when it is first released, but to follow up that activity with new things to explore, discover and participate in months and years. -next year of game life span.
Not only can providing and planning activities in the early stages of your game design help create games that will be fun to play, but they can also help inspire other areas of your development. Events can inspire your storyline, and your storyline can help give you ideas about new activities and storylines, for example. In many ways, it’s this aspect of your game that will help build and nurture a social community within your game, ultimately binding people to a particular game: friends and communities they would leave behind if they left.
Ideally, there are many different types of events and activities that you can create in your game. Some of them were global-style events that involved almost everyone active in the neighborhood at the time. Examples of such events are those related to real-world holidays like Christmas, Halloween, etc. More often than not, it’s a period of time in the game where if nothing new happens your game will lose against real life in the excitement category. . People will choose to spend time doing things other than playing your game, if this is the case. Now, while we at TGS value family time and all, this is bad news for you. Create global events that are true to real life events that will make being in your environment during this time fun, exciting and give your players a little extra holiday spirit. There are also recurring events, such as player selection and hunting parties that give your players something to do all year round. Optimize these activities and make them available to players so that these are things they can easily participate in and enjoy.
There are tons of events that you can include in your game to make things feel more alive – we’ve only covered a few of them here. Maybe in the next post we can make another article to inspire you a little in this category. We will see later! An important thing to keep in mind when assessing whether “activity” is your number one priority: online gaming is best when there’s a lot of people to follow. When your game is one that doesn’t encourage socialization, it’s likely to be lonely and empty, and let’s face it – do we expect people to play (and pay for) empty online games? Food for thought.
Read also Is Exchanging Video Games With Other Gamers a Better Way to Play New Video Games?