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(y)our secret purpose
... to make sure that you are working toward (y)our one true purpose,
ask yourself the only question that matters:
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essential experience
... stop thinking about your game and start thinking about the experience of the player:
- what experience do I want the player to have?
- what is essential to that experience?
- how can my game capture that essence?
If there is a big difference between the experience you want
to create and the one you are actually creating,
your game needs to change: you need to clearly state
the essential experience you desire, and find as many ways as possible
to install this essence into your game.
... remind yourself to fill your game with interesting surprises:
- what will surprise players when they play my game?
- does the story in my game have surprises?
- do your rules give players ways to surprise eachother?
- do your rules give players ways to surprise themselves?
Surprise is a crucial part of entertainment -- it is at
the root of humor, strategy and problem solving.
Our brains are hardwired to enjoy surprises.
... fun is desirable in almost every game, although sometimes fun defies analysis.
To maximize fun
ask yourself the these questions:
- what parts of my game are fun?
- why?
- what parts need more fun?
... think about the player's true motivations --
not just the goals (y)our game has set forth, but the reasons
the player wants to achieve those goals:
- what goals does my game put into the player's mind?
- what am I doing to make them care about these questions?
- what can I do to make them invent even more questions?
For example, a maze-finding videogame might have a time-limit
goal at each level.
A way to make players care more is to play interesting animations
when they solve each maze, so that players will wonder what the
next animation will be.
... think about (y)our player's feelings about items, objects,
and scoring in (y)our game:
- what is valuable to the players in my game?
- how can I make it more valuable to them?
- what is the relation between value in the game and the player's
motivation?
Remember, the value of the items in the game is a direct
reflection of how much players care about succeeding in your game.
By thinking about what the players really care about and why,
you can often get insights about how your game can improve.
..., think about the problems (y)our player must solve to
succeed at (y)our game, for every game has problems to solve:
- what problems does my game ask the player to solve?
- are there hidden problems to solve that arise as part of gameplay?
- how can my game generate new problems so that players keep coming back?
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mechanics / story / aesthetics / technology
... take stock of what
element(s) (y)our game is truly made of:
- is my game design using elements of all types?
- could my design be improved by enhancing any element?
- are the elements in harmony, reinforcing eachother and working together towards
a common theme?
Together, the
elements are also referred to as the
elemental tetrad.
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holographic design
... you must see everything at once,
the four
elements and the player
experience,
as well as how they interrelate:
- what elements of the game make the experience enjoyable?
- what elements of the game detract from the experience?
- how can I change game elements to improve the experience?
It is acceptable to shift your focus from
skin to
skeleton
and back again, but it is far better to view (y)our game
and experience holographically.
... to remember to only work on what is important,
ask yourself the question:
- is making this game worth my time?
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(y)our secret purpose
... to make sure that you are working toward (y)our one true purpose,
ask yourself the only question that matters: