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Games Design Brain Dump The kind of lecture you give when there’s no exam.
Who am I? David Farrell CS @ Strathclyde  Games @ Caledonian Dare to be Digital e-Bug [email_address]
Dare to be Digital
e-Bug: Platform Game
 
 
e-Bug Detective Game
 
 
 
Game Interface Design?
Game Interface? Menus  Hud Data (abstracted?) Interaction
‘main’ menus
 
 
in-game menus
 
 
HUD Heads Up Display
“ any transparent display that presents data without requiring the user to look away from his or her usual viewpoint.” Wikipedia article on Heads Up Display,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display , 2009
 
 
 
 
data communication and abstraction
 
 
 
 
interaction
 
 
Design?
“ Design is the process by which a designer creates a context to be encountered by a participant, from which meaning emerges.” Salen and Zimmerman, Rules of Play, page 41, SAGE Publications, 2004
These make sense.  The design says “push me”.
This make sense.  The handle (and all that text) says “pull me”.
But what the heck do you do here? For a bonus point: Have you seen this design mistake on campus?
Is this good design?
Is this good design?
Design is used to  communicate  with the player.
This game has many many many combos... ...but did anyone learn them?
What is colour for? to label (colour as noun) to measure (colour as quantity) to represent / imitate reality to enliven or decorate (colour as beauty)
Colour in Games Team identification Item highlighting Mood, tone & aesthetics Convey information
Team Identification
Item Highlighting
 
Mood & Tone
 
 
 
Convey Information
 
 
 
Combining Colours
Semiotics A sign is “something that stands for something to someone in some capacity”
 
Literacy Literacy is normally thought of as the ability to read and write. You can interpret meaning from other stimuli than just text. art, music, film, fashion, advertising Many mediums convey more through images than text
Reading & Writing You don’t just read, you read or write  something in some way . newspaper vs rap essays vs fiction Each domain has its own rules & requirements These can be considered separate literacies
What does this mean? “ The guard dribbled down court, held up two fingers and passed to the open man.”
Semiotic Domains Within each domain, all sorts of things can take on meaning.  Someone can be musically literate without knowing how to read notation. they are part of a different semiotic domain
Games Literacy
Game Domains Game literacy is really an umbrella term for many sub domain literacies. FPS game domain expectations of a box would differ from a platform game
 
Short Cut By understanding the meaning of symbols, the designer can avoid the need to explain or teach the player what something does.
 
Cultural Semiotics Swastika symbol has many meanings but in western culture the association with Naziism is overwhelming. Possible to cause offence or create meaning where none intended.
 
 
Game Tells The decisions you make about your game’s art style convey information to the potential player. This is not ‘art’ this is games design.
 
Sci Fi Corridors Sci Fi corridors and doors often have angled or curved walls.  In the future, we’ll probably have rectangular walls but the art design isn’t trying to be realistic, it’s trying to  communicate . Desaturated, gloomy colours are often used to imply a grim future environment.
 
Association People associate and identify themselves with certain things. Blue for boys, pink for girls Brands like Apple, FCUK have a lot of meaning for people. The visual style of a game is important.
 
 
That’s That This lecture touches on some of the topics covered in 3 rd  year games design. Hopefully you’ll all forget before you get to 3 rd  year so I don’t have to reinvent all my examples.

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1st Year Game Design Introduction To Game Interface Design

  • 1. Games Design Brain Dump The kind of lecture you give when there’s no exam.
  • 2. Who am I? David Farrell CS @ Strathclyde Games @ Caledonian Dare to be Digital e-Bug [email_address]
  • 3. Dare to be Digital
  • 5.  
  • 6.  
  • 8.  
  • 9.  
  • 10.  
  • 12. Game Interface? Menus Hud Data (abstracted?) Interaction
  • 14.  
  • 15.  
  • 17.  
  • 18.  
  • 19. HUD Heads Up Display
  • 20. “ any transparent display that presents data without requiring the user to look away from his or her usual viewpoint.” Wikipedia article on Heads Up Display, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display , 2009
  • 21.  
  • 22.  
  • 23.  
  • 24.  
  • 25. data communication and abstraction
  • 26.  
  • 27.  
  • 28.  
  • 29.  
  • 31.  
  • 32.  
  • 34. “ Design is the process by which a designer creates a context to be encountered by a participant, from which meaning emerges.” Salen and Zimmerman, Rules of Play, page 41, SAGE Publications, 2004
  • 35. These make sense. The design says “push me”.
  • 36. This make sense. The handle (and all that text) says “pull me”.
  • 37. But what the heck do you do here? For a bonus point: Have you seen this design mistake on campus?
  • 38. Is this good design?
  • 39. Is this good design?
  • 40. Design is used to communicate with the player.
  • 41. This game has many many many combos... ...but did anyone learn them?
  • 42. What is colour for? to label (colour as noun) to measure (colour as quantity) to represent / imitate reality to enliven or decorate (colour as beauty)
  • 43. Colour in Games Team identification Item highlighting Mood, tone & aesthetics Convey information
  • 46.  
  • 48.  
  • 49.  
  • 50.  
  • 52.  
  • 53.  
  • 54.  
  • 56. Semiotics A sign is “something that stands for something to someone in some capacity”
  • 57.  
  • 58. Literacy Literacy is normally thought of as the ability to read and write. You can interpret meaning from other stimuli than just text. art, music, film, fashion, advertising Many mediums convey more through images than text
  • 59. Reading & Writing You don’t just read, you read or write something in some way . newspaper vs rap essays vs fiction Each domain has its own rules & requirements These can be considered separate literacies
  • 60. What does this mean? “ The guard dribbled down court, held up two fingers and passed to the open man.”
  • 61. Semiotic Domains Within each domain, all sorts of things can take on meaning. Someone can be musically literate without knowing how to read notation. they are part of a different semiotic domain
  • 63. Game Domains Game literacy is really an umbrella term for many sub domain literacies. FPS game domain expectations of a box would differ from a platform game
  • 64.  
  • 65. Short Cut By understanding the meaning of symbols, the designer can avoid the need to explain or teach the player what something does.
  • 66.  
  • 67. Cultural Semiotics Swastika symbol has many meanings but in western culture the association with Naziism is overwhelming. Possible to cause offence or create meaning where none intended.
  • 68.  
  • 69.  
  • 70. Game Tells The decisions you make about your game’s art style convey information to the potential player. This is not ‘art’ this is games design.
  • 71.  
  • 72. Sci Fi Corridors Sci Fi corridors and doors often have angled or curved walls. In the future, we’ll probably have rectangular walls but the art design isn’t trying to be realistic, it’s trying to communicate . Desaturated, gloomy colours are often used to imply a grim future environment.
  • 73.  
  • 74. Association People associate and identify themselves with certain things. Blue for boys, pink for girls Brands like Apple, FCUK have a lot of meaning for people. The visual style of a game is important.
  • 75.  
  • 76.  
  • 77. That’s That This lecture touches on some of the topics covered in 3 rd year games design. Hopefully you’ll all forget before you get to 3 rd year so I don’t have to reinvent all my examples.