Week 3 - Game Design
After reading these articles and applying my own experiences, I came across some interesting points.
The first article talks about the importance of vocabulary when it comes to gaming and game design. Having worked in a games shop, I realise now that this is something we don't even realise. So often people would come in to discuss games and often compare each one or relate each one when they don't realise that someone else may not understand them. "It's like Fifa but..." Whenever I heard this it was usually met with me explaining I'd never played Fifa. Or most games. Parents would come in at Christmas and ask what games were similar to so-and-so because that's what their son liked. Games aren't always comparable in that way either. Just because you like one game doesn't mean you'll like another. Some prefer particular mechanics, some prefer a type of storyline, some prefer certain graphics and unless you know what part of the game someone likes, it's very hard to recommend a game accurately.
Said article also talks about how games and the definition of a game are very different to different people. When talking about games are we considering board games? App games? Video games? Tic Tac Toe? Because each type has a different set of rules, variables, techniques etc.
For me, I think most games consist of a dilemma which needs to be resolved. However it's resolved is what defines the genre and general direction.
The next article talks about how games come about, are designed and created. This leads to a great discussion that loops back into the above discussion - what defines a game? In designing a game, you may be a fantastic storywriter but it's a simple game of Minecraft that you're creating. Like most things that require your creativity, it's about aces in their places and just generally being in the right place and time. When the interviewees were asked about how easy it is to create a game, there were mixed reactions. Some say it's easy and natural, others say that while they may have ideas, it doesn't mean they're good ideas. This again leads to the idea that creativity isn't just something that happens. Some people are lucky, some have really developed their skills and some are creative all the time. It doesn't make any designer more superior or lesser than. It just means some people struggle and some don't.
The last article furthers this discussion about how no one is taught how to create an idea but there are techniques to encourage it.
Concentration is the first technique. It's suggested that changing up a route home, your office space or something else about your surroundings will affect the outcome of your ideas. This is true for almost anything that has been created. And as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. If we need to adapt or change, we will do so. By changing our surroundings, different parts of our brain is worked and furthers our creativity and idea making skill.
I like the idea of the Scamper technique as it's quite basic but it's a more literal version of the concentration technique. Instead of changing your surroundings, you change your ideas' surroundings. This fills in blanks that we didn't even know existed.
I like both of these techniques personally because I often find an idea on the tip of my tongue but I just can't quite find something complete. It's always 90% there, but by changing things around, it's filling in the other 10%.
Hi Rosie! Your post is very well written and you did a good job condensing the articles. It is a little wild that we often describe things by comparing them to other things. Having certain vocab for game design as well as other things really is important! Changing my surroundings to help with idea generation is something I don't think I've really considered but it sounds interesting and beneficial. I may have to try it out!
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