Video Game Design/Introduction/Components
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[edit] The Creator(s)
[edit] The designers
Before going on, it is important to note that there is a difference between people who are involved in creating a game, and a game designer. A game designer is the person who works with a game's core concepts, its level design, and various other aspects of the overall ideas of the game.
But there aren't just designers. There are people involved with composing music, working with sound, programming, testing, art, graphics, and much, much more. A video game is a collaboration of many different types of media and art, and requires many skilled people to put together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_designer
[edit] The player(s)
The player is the person who plays a video game. They are the customer, and the focus of the video game industry.
62% of players are male, and the average age of the player is 33. These are important factors to consider for game designers when creating a game, because you create a game for these people, and it must be interesting and fun for them.
This doesn't mean you should ignore the other sector of players though. 31% of players are under the age of 18, and 25% of players are over the age of 50. This means that about $3,920,000,000 of that 7 Billion come from the players under 18 and over 50.
[edit] The Human Element
While the computer is only capable of communicating to two of the senses, there is a great part of the communication in the player.
Not only in Multiplayer games where players interact with one another through the video game's interface but through the emotional and mental Interfaces of the player.
Here is how it works: the player observes the output of the video game and processes it in the mind. Then if any of what is processed is significant there may be an emotional response to this. If this happens then the player will become wholly involved in the video game experience - and it is then that a video game goes from pixels and sound waves to an epic experience.
[edit] Interaction
[edit] Multiplayer
[edit] Network
A network is sort of both input and output - communication with other people and computers. Allows for a nearly limitless input ability.
[edit] Software/Hardware and Virtualization
Software is what the game is. Hardware is what the software, or game, runs on. Hardware is anything you can physically touch on your computer.
[edit] Hardware
Some examples of hardware would be a sound card, or a graphics card.
[edit] Consoles vs. Computers
There is a big difference between a computer and a video game console.
A video game console is designed solely for video games, and because of this they usually run a lot smoother. The controls of consoles are the video game controller. But the console has its limits, whatever is in the console, is in the console, and this means that the designers may or may not implement online functions, customization, updates, etc. But in most cases, the graphical, auditory, and computational capabilities of a console are its limit.
A computer on the other hand, has lots of things going on inside it - whether you like it or not. This can often (but not always) slow down and hinder gameplay. But, in opposition to the video game console, the computer has almost unlimited possibilities for everything. The hardware can be exchanged for better hardware to make games run faster and smoother. However, unlike the console, the computer does not essentially use the dynamic control interface - often making gameplay uncomfortable. This is only true for some games. In fact, some games are generally better suited to the use of the keyboard and mouse interface, such as Massively Multiplayer and Real-time Strategy games.
Consoles Vendors:
[edit] Input Devices (Controllers)
The form of input is the only way the player can interact with the game. In the ideal universe it would be nice if the player could just think what they wanted to happen, but this - however - is not yet possible.
So, when designing a game you must consider very carefully the type of input you use. You must consider the limitations of the input device, how easy it is to use, and how the user will be using it. Listed in this section are the various types of input devices.
Every Controller is different, however most controllers have an analog stick, a d-pad, and some buttons. Often times, these controllers are designed to fit the needs of games. Being designed exclusively for games, they are usually much more effective than other input devices.
[edit] Keyboard/Buttons
The keyboard is an interesting game input device, it has a vast selection of buttons, surpassing nearly all the other devices - but it is large and not designed for quick action games.
[edit] Joysticks
The Joystick started as an analog directional axis controller with a few buttons. Today it can also be a completely digital interface. It's gained popularity as a general propose controller for the first consoles or arcade machines. The joystick is not as sensitive as a mouse or a trackball but permits a greater freedom of use (space or surface) and on the personal computer it was made popular over the keyboard as a vehicle controller specially for airplane simulators. Today the joystick has lost some of its popularity and was replaced in most consoles by a default keypad and simulator-specific controller for driving cars, planes, or other things.
[edit] Mouse
Quickly able to move anywhere in the game environment, button action limited.
[edit] Other
There are many other types of input, such as touch screen, gyroscopic, motion sensing and so forth.
[edit] Output
Output, or the response to the input, is just as - if not more - important as the input portion of the gameplay experience. There are usually only 2 types of output any standard device can perform, visual output and auditory output.
[edit] Graphics
Graphics are the form of visual output seen on a computer monitor by use of little dots called pixels.
There are essentially two types of graphics: 2D and 3D, each offering very different gameplay experiences. However, 3D does not necessarily mean a better gameplay experience. Often, this is misconceived in today's game industry. A game developer will assume that because 3D is the most recent and advanced technology, it is naturally better.
While a 3D environment can provide a much deeper and more exciting gameplay experience, it is not always better. First off, we should make clear the difference between graphics and environment. The game environment is the realm the player is allowed and able to act within, while the graphics are what is seen.
Often times you will see a game with 3D graphics, but a 2D gameplay environment; Pac-Man World 3 is one of these. Oppositely, Super Mario Kart (for the Super Nintendo) would be considered a game with a 3D environment, but 2D graphics.
Another note, is that 3D graphics do not equal good graphics. There are plenty of games with 3D graphics that just look bad. And there are plenty of games with 2D graphics that look amazing. What makes graphics look good is very subjective; however, there are some concepts that seem to be good rules of thumb.
For any graphics to look good, they must be arranged in clearly defined objects (if there is a ball, you should be able to tell it's a ball). Lines should be straight, circles should be round, etc. For more realistic textures, modern games utilize bump mapping, which takes advantage of fractal geometry. A good example of this can be seen in the upcoming game Tekken 6. [1]
There are also two types of graphic files: Raster and Vector.
As mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, a video game is, at its foundation, communication. Graphics allow the player to see the world within the screen. It is the job of the programmer to portray this world so that the player can become a part of it. More info: Senses
[edit] Audio
There are 2 basic kinds of audio used in games, Sound effects and Music - heard through the computer's Speakers.
Music can have a powerful effect on people, this effect is discussed later in the human element section of this chapter.
