Module 1 Reading - Introduction to Game Design
While the topic of Introduction of Game Design can easily take an entire course to cover, we will provide a brief overview here.
Gameplay is always number one.
The most critical part of a game is not the graphics, nor the story, but the gameplay. This refers to how the user interacts with the game, and how parts of the game interact with each other. Think of a basic game like Space Invaders. The user interacts with the game by controlling a ship, that can shoot projectiles straight up. In addition, when the ship comes in contact with an alien, a life is lost and the player is punished.
The parts of the game interact, when the projectile hits a part of the terrain and destroys it, or when a projectile hits and enemy and increments the user's score, as well as removing a hostile object from the game map.
Strong gameplay consists of an intuitive, exciting, and evolving "Gameplay Loop". The gameplay loop refers to basic cycle of actions that the player uses to complete the game. For a game like Space Invaders, this consists of move, shoot, repeat. 23 years later, "Halo: Combat Evolved" would release, with the same fundamental gameplay loop. Move, shoot, repeat, but with some new options including "jump, drive, throw grenade".
A game like Minecraft has a loop that is more flexible, but still consists of basic actions such as "Gather, build, explore, fight".
Intuitive gameplay means that a player can sit down, and quickly learn how to play the game.
Exciting gameplay means that the player has fun, and is challenged by the gameplay. They are rewarded for doing well, and punished for doing poorly.
Evolving gameplay means that as the player progresses, the gameplay changes to maintain a constant challenge. In Space Invaders, the aliens start to move faster, and faster, and faster, meaning the player must get faster themselves to survive. In Halo: Combat Evolved, as the player progresses through the story, enemies become tougher, and hit harder, meaning the player must use better tactics, better aim, and better weapons. In Minecraft, you must collect harder to find resources, found in areas with more difficult monsters to complete the game as you progress.