Many people will argue that Pacman isn't playing the same game as Super Smash Brothers Brawl but honestly, are the games we play today any different to the first ones? Aside from the graphics and visuals of today's games the idea behind them is the same. There's always a goal you have to reach at the end of a game, levels you have to get to, collecting items, beating your enemies and telling a story, most games have this so what's so different about them all?
Design documents play a big part in the creation of games. Yes, all games have the same sense of direction as I described before but all games ARE different, there will be different things that go into a game to make it, and a design document is the first place to start. The design document lists the initial ideas, maps out characters, designs and story and the people creating the game can act upon this to create something as original or unoriginal as possible. If game artists didn't have a design document then games would be much more 'clunky' and rushed. This is what really makes games different, it depends on how a game is mapped out and created that will make it different and exceptional to other games. If you think about Pacman it has some simple steps; you act as a character that has to avoid being attacked by enemies and you can pick up items to aid you. Ok so we have the main gameplay here so how is this different to other games? Lets have a look. In Spyro the Dragon you are on a quest to defeat Gnasty Gnorc but whilst doing this you have to collect gems and dragon eggs as well as defeating enemies. Sounds like a very similar gameplay style to Pacman actually. But the way the game was made, the different art style, playing full on instead of side scrolling, this is what made Spyro so different and what makes other games so different. The gameplay style may be the same but story applies.
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| Is Spyro really that different to Pacman? |
"The player is paramount" is something all game designers must take into account. When creating a game you must do what the player wants, something they will actually want to play, creativity is key and creating a game that is beautiful visually and emotionally is what really makes a game stand out to everything else, gameplay can be the same but having an emotional story, loveable characters and gorgeous surroundings is what will make something worth playing. Pacman is such an iconic game because of how retro it is, but something like Bodycount has beautiful colours and interesting levels, Fallout 3 is beautiful in it's own way, destroyed and deteriorated as it's theme and you will grow to adore the surroundings and the snow of Assassin's Creed III gives it the edge to a beautiful level.
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| The beauty of snow in Assassin's Creed III |
Randy Pitchford, the president and director of Gearbox states his job is to “worry about a little bit of everything, mainly business and our relationship with our business partners, along with the quality of our games”. This proves that quality is what makes a game special as well as listening to your audience. If you are creating a game then you need to listen to your fans, if you want something that will be appreciated then it's best to listen to your fans.
"Video games probably represent an emerging new media, a new design field, and possibly a new art form. All of these are worthy of study." Games are something within themselves, they are loved by this generation because we grew up with them and the way games have developed has been an inspiring journey for us all, something to aspire to because of how far we have come and how fast it has happened, different genres of games emerging, different art styles, different games and a different story each time, but the gameplay pretty much remains the same, I think we like this so much because it is what we have grown up with, people don't normally like change but having all these new games but with the same goal is something people love. The games themselves don't particularly change but different ways to play it, styles and characters are what differentiates them all.
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| Garrus Vakarian, loved by most Mass Effect fans |
So all in all what is meant by gameplay? Gameplay is what is played in the game and how you play it, there's different types of gameplay, from rpgs and mmos to simulations but they all have a goal at the end of them, this is what makes them games. Different design principles are needed for different game genres art-wise but the goal will stay the same and the leading companies, Ubisoft, Naughty Dog Inc, Bethesda and the rest all know that listening to their audiences and giving them something they are used to, whether it be the VATS system of Fallout or the charm of playing as Nathan Drake in Uncharted, this is what their players look for in their games. It is not down to a single person but the whole team who develop the game as well as the audience that play their games and tell them what they want.
What's important to me in a game? For me personally it's the story, if I can grow emotionally attached to the characters then you'll know I have enjoyed a game. Beautiful graphics and fun gameplay will help but I will always love the story of gaming more than anything.
Sources used:
http://www.paranoidproductions.com/gamedesign/excerpts.html
http://www.randomterrain.com/game-design.html
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2675/into_the_transmission_randy_.php
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2156/game_design_theory__practice_.php
http://www.theoryoffun.com/excerpt.shtml
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