GameDesign
Basics
July23,2017
By: NahomTeklu
What is Game?
A form of playor sport, especially a competitive one
played according to rules and decided by skill,strength, or
luck.
Wikipedia thefreeencyclopedia
Play is an activity which is essentially:
Free:
in which playing is not obligatory; if where, it would at once lose its
attractive and joyous quantity as diversion
Separate:
circumscribed within limits of space and time, defined and fixed in
advance
Play is an activity whichis essentially:
Uncertain:
the course of which cannot be determined, northe result attained
beforehand, and some latitude for innovations being left to the
player’s initiative
Unproductive:
certain neither goods, norwealth, nornewelements of any kind;
and, exceptfor the exchangeof property among the players, ending
in a situation identical to that prevailing at the beginning of the
game
Play is an activity which is essentially:
Governed by rules:
under conventions that suspended ordinary laws, and for the
moment established newlegislation, which alone counts
Make-Believe:
accompaniedby a special awareness of a second reality or of a free
unreality, as against real life
KatieSalenandEric Zimmerman, Thegamedesignreader,AruleofplayAnthropology,©2006Massachusettsinstituteof technology
*Nintendo,a termmeaning"leavelucktoheaven."
Role of Games
An alternativeperspective On learning
and knowing
Entertainment
Culture
Business
IQ
ChildGrowth
Communication
VisualArt
Fundamental Category of
Games
Agon
Likea combatin which equalityof chancesis artificiallycreated.
A wholegroupofgameswouldseem tobecompetitive.
The adversariesshouldconfronteach otherin ideal situations
Questionofrivalryhinges ona single quality
of:
Speed
Endurance
Strength
Memory
Skill
Ingenuity…
Competition
Football,Chess,Checkers,Boxing
Alea
Winning istheresult offateratherthantriumphingover adversary.
All games thatarebasedon adecision independentofthe player.
The winneris morefavoredbyfortunethantheloser.
Is totaldisgraceor absolutefavor.
The caseofdice:The playeris entirelypassive, all heneed dois await,trembling the castofthe
die.
A Latinname forthegame ofdice
Chance
Dice, Headsor Tails
Mimicry
The subjectmakesbelieve or makesothersbelieve thathe/she issomeone otherthanhis/her
self.
Becoming an illusorycharacterofoneself, andofsobehaving.
The littlegirl playsher mother’sroleascook,laundressandironer.
The boymakesbelieve heis soldier, policeman,Pirate,cowboyandMartian.
The playis maskedor disguised.
In ordertochangeappearanceandtoinspirefearin others.
Simulation
LLINX
In ordertogive thiskindofsensation,powerfulmachineshavehadtobeinvented.
Derive thesamekindofpleasurefromtheintoxicationstimulatedby
High speedonskies, motorcycles,or in driving sportcars.
TheVertigo in games
It is notsurprisingthatindustrialrevolutionhadtotakeplacebeforevertigo could beakindof
game.
Vertigo
Component of Game
Design
Narrative Component
VisualComponent
Sensual Component
Story
PlayersRoles
Game Interfaces
IllustratedCharacters
CharacterModels
AnimatedCharacters
Parameters-Timer,Levels…
Vibrations
Audioplays
MarioGame
Narrative Component
Evolutionofstories
Ultimately, of course, wedon’t careabout creating eitherstories orgames—we care
about creating experiences. Stories and games can each bethought of as machinesthat
help create experiences.
Earlycomputergamesweresimplytraditional games, suchas
tic-tac-toeorchessbut withthecomputeracting astheopponent. Inthemid-1970s,
adventuregameswithstorylinesbeganto appearthat lettheplayerbecomethemain
characterinthestory.
Awelldesigned storywillclearlyanswer:
1. Whoisinthestory
2. Whereand whenis the story
&crucially
3. What is the story
Even though, the above listed elements of a game story are
Vital, the designer is strongly expected to answer the question
WHY?THATSTORY?
Based on the listed reasons of WHY; the game
Will ,basically, identify:
1. Rules
2. Purpose
3. Feedback
Story Example
The Story
NarrationbyArtistBettyG.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC05M9Qafns
Filtration
1. LordTime
2. Mighty past
3. Lady Present
4. Great Future
AddisAbaba
Always
AlreadyHeard
GamifyingA.A
ScanningQRcodes
Accomplishment levels
1. Rules
2. Purpose
3. Feedback
Visual Component
EvolutionofCharacters
Thestorycharacterswill beillustrated ,sketched,
3 dimensionally modeled andfinallypartlyanimated.
Partlyanimatedcharactersarecodedtomove ortoshowrealistic motions.
Considerations
1. ColorChoice
2. Shape
3. Context
4. Relationwiththe story
Character Illustration Example
Mighty Past
Yumi’s character illustration
forthe game“Battleofthetimes.”
LadyPresent
GreatFuture
Gamification
“Gamification”asa termoriginatedin thedigital mediaindustry.
The firstdocumentedusedatesbackto2008 ,butthe term
did notsee widespreadadoptionbeforethesecond halfof2010.
Paralleltermscontinuebeing used andnew onesarestill being
introduced,such as“productivitygames”,“surveillance
entertainment”,“funware”,“playfuldesign”,
“behavioralgames”,“gamelayer” or“appliedgaming”.
Yet“gamification”hasarguablymanagedto
institutionalizeitself as thecommon householdterm.
Gamification
Theuseofgameelements andgamedesigntechniques
innon-gamecontexts.
Prof. KevinWerbach,Dept. ofLegal Studies &Business Ethics
WhartonSchool, Univ.ofPennsylvania, Forthewin:Howgamethinkingcan
revolutionizeyourbusiness
Non-gamecontexts
weconsider different usagecontextsorpurposes aspotential
subcategories: Justastherearetraininggames,healthgames,ornews
games,there canbegamefuldesignor “gamification”for training,for
health,fornews,andfor other applicationareas.
Sebastian Deterding,FromGameDesignelementstoGamefulness: Defining“Gamification”, HansBredow
InstituteforMedia Research,Hamburg,University,20354Hamburg,Germany
ThankYou!!!

Game Design Basics