Game Design
Some games have a magical quality that makes you want to play them time and again. Game designers call it playability. To make a game with great playability, you need to think about all the ingredients that make up the game and how they work together. Games don't have to be complicated to make people want to play them over and over again. One of the first successful computer games was a simple tennis simulator called Pong. The ball was a white square and the rackets were white lines that could only move up and down. Although there were no fancy graphics, people loved Pong. They could compete against friends, just like real tennis, and it was just hard enough to demand intense concentration and a steady hand, leaving players always wanting another game.
Elements of a Game
- Characters: Who the player is represented by in the game.
- Mechanics: The actions in the game.
- Objects: Some are good, some are bad, some prevent progress others are for collecting.
- Rules: Tell the player what they are allowed to do and not do.
- Goals: The challenge in the game, for example defeating an enemy, collecting coins or gaining points.
- Controls: Using a controller such as a keyboard or joystick to control the easy movement of the game character.
- World: The environment the game is played in, can be either 2D or 3D.
- Difficulty Level: Games are no fun if they are too easy or too hard, as players learn the game, difficulty should get harder.
