Core Principles of Games Design

Home page button below.

Home

What is a game?

Two key elements of a game are play and pretend.

Games were created to satisfy human desire for play and use our ability to pretend. Play is a wide variety of nonessential recreational activities. Pretending is the mental ability to establish a reality the pretender knows is different from the real world, which the pretender can, create, abandon or change at will.

A game includes rules and goals, playing a game requires pretending which requires more maturity. As children develop longer attention spans they begin to play. Multiplayer games require social cooperation which children also learn to do as they mature.

So the essential elements of games are, play, pretend, rules and goals.

So a definition for what a game is, could be:

A playable (interactive) activity which has rules and goals and allows the participants to pretend.

What are the core principle of Games Design?

The core principles of Games Design include; players, objectives, boundaries, challenges, conflict, recourses, rules pf enabling, and restriction(mechanics) and dramatic elements(premise, character, story).

Players- Real people who "play" games. To play is in essence to pretend and immerse in a fake reality created by game makers.

Objectives- Tasks within games that players either can or must complete.

Boundaries- Barriers to keep the players within the playable world as computers can not generate infinite worlds all at once. So boundaries allow the game makers to keep all of the games content within a certain area or certain areas.

Challenges- Challenges are, difficult to complete events which are put in place to hinder your progress through a game.

Conflict- Conflict is where games pit the players different emotions together, to make them care or feel torn.

Resources- Resources are concepts in games which are measured in numbers. In other words elements of the game that are controlled by the player and concepts which influence the games state are considered resources.

Rules Of enabling- Rules define what is possible to do within video games. Rules are defined by the game makers and should they be broken, then the game will no longer run as intended.

Restriction(mechanics)- These are one type of rule, and are put in place to stop the player from "breaking" the game. They are also put in place to allow players to have a better/more fun experience, this way you can't just cheat the game.

Dramatic Elements-

Premise- Premise is the inferred proposition of what the games story is about.

Character- Characters are the individuals in which the story revolves around and can vary in importance to the story.

Story- The plot of the game which can include narrative(voice/words), and world story telling(through assets/concepts within the game.

What is a target audience?

A group of people defined by certain demographics, who then are targeted by companies (game companies) which create products or provide services, (games), for said target audience. This is done by understanding the brand of the company, defining the problems you will resolve, specifying which group shares your aims and values, thinking of the target audience persona and diligently researching the target audience.

What are the target audience types?

Target audience types can include, (Gender, Age, interests, identity, location, values, aspirations, concerns, behaviour, subcultures and more). For example, generally males tend to pick more violent and action related games therefore a company making a relaxing idle game may not find as much success amongst such demographics. Thirty eight percent of gamers are aged between 18 – 34 which Is the largest percentage of gamers for all ages. Location is also an important factor, for example a game made in Spanish will be less popular among people who don’t speak Spanish because they don’t know the language and therefore are less likely to enjoy the game. You can obtain this information with data collected from advertisements and questionnaires. Subcultures are groups of people with specific interests and ways of life which differ from the rest of the world. So, companies should choose carefully who their target audience is and target specific types which have more people in the demographic to sell more.

Who are the target audience of Fire boy and Water girl?

As it is not a particularly violent game, Fire boy and Water girl in the forest temple is considered suitable for ages 6 and over. Although there isn't much violence in the game there is however the concept of death and losing which may be the reason that it is recommended for ages 6 and over. The game also seems to have no official PEGI rating and only that age rating of 6 and over. The most accurate PEGI rating to give the game would be PEGI 7, as the only PEGI rating lower is PEGI 3 which describes a game with no age rating and playable by all ages. So why target ages 6 and over? Firstly, for kids as young as 6 who are still in the early stages of development, the game helps with developing their ability to plan. As the game is a cooperative game with two players both players must come up with a plan on how to beat the level. The players find out that the coloured liquid corresponding with their own characters colour is safe to walk through, however this is not the case for any other coloured liquid and if they were to walk in said liquid they would lose. So, they must work cooperatively to beat the level, to do this they must strategize a plan. The game also helps with focusing on objectives, kids as low as the age of 6 tend to not have much ability to focus on objectives, however when it is fun to focus on these objectives then they tend to be more focused then ever, thus by increasing the kids ability to focus.

What cultures, subcultures or even super cultures would be likely to play Fire boy and Water girl? Fire boy and Water girl in the temple was released in 2009 on the Miniclip website, as of today Miniclip supports 16 languages, it is unknown how many were supported in 2009, however these languages Include English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish, Russian, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Korean, Chinese, Turkish, Hindi and Japanese. So it is likely that anyone who does not speak one of these languages won't play this game, this is not definitive however as language plays little role in the game itself, only with the controls and navigation to the game on the website itself. It is also apparent that those without internet access or severely poor internet access, can not access the Miniclip website and therefore can not play the game. So, those who speak one of the 16 supported languages and have stable enough internet access can play the game. Other than these two requirement the game is playable by pretty much anyone, those who are more likely to play the game however, are those interested in video games and those who have someone to play with whether that be family or friends. It is also highly likely for older people who may have grown up playing this game, to go back and play it again for nostalgic purposes, these people may also play by themselves as the game is made in a way so that both Fire boy and Water girl can be controlled on one keyboard.

What genders are suitable to play the game? Whilst gender plays very little role in determining who plays what game, certain genders may be more liable to play Fire boy and Water girl, i.e., Males and Females. This is because the two main characters of this game are Male and Female, and players tend to play games more when the character they play is similar to them. Those of any other gender or transgender etc. may feel left out and not want to play the game because they can not play a character which is of the same gender as them. However, this is not a fact and the game is playable by anyone of any gender.

Who is the ideal player for Fire boy and Water Girl? Someone of young age likely between 6 and 12, they have someone to play with whether that be a friend or family member, they can access the game online and have a keyboard. The player can be of any gender, usually Male or Female considering the age group, they have an interest in games or in problem solving as a whole and are likely into fantasy related movies and books etc. and most likely speak one of the supported languages.

The art style is very cartoonish and is vibrant, using very simple colours mostly green, blue and red, the temple itself is slightly overgrown with vines and green plants and overall the games style is simplistic, designed for those of a young age.

What behaviors do the players have and what is their mentality towards things? The target audience are of young age generally, so they are mostly going to be of curious nature and love to solve problems whether or not they actually know they are problem solving. They are likely happy in life as they are unlikely to have been exposed to many other emotions. However, kids are not the only ones who have played and play this game, young adults and or late teenage years may also play the game for a sense of nostalgia, these people can be in any state of mind, happy, sad, curious, boredom, they are these players minds are more complex than a child's and so it is harder to predict why they are playing the game that is meant for 6 year old's or older. The most likely cases for why they would play this game is either nostalgia or boredom.

The players likely have zero income as the general target audience is young kids, however their parents likely have enough income to at least either buy their kid a laptop or small computer or by themselves a laptop or computer and let their kid/s play on it. Other than being able to afford internet access and a computer with a keyboard their is no other requirement for the amount of income the player must have.

Miniclip was a company that started in 2001 and later in 2009 released many games including Fire boy and Water girl. Miniclip did everything themselves, from making the games to publishing and marketing them. This worked for a while but was nowhere near as effective as when Tencent acquired the majority stake of Miniclip in 2015, after which Miniclip reached over 1 billion downloads of its newer mobile app in 2016. Due to the Miniclip company changing their objectives they switched from a website based platform to their own app and in the process removing many of the website created games including Fire boy and Water girl. So other websites published the game to their own websites for people to play online once again and in order to make some profit, to likely fund the ability to have games on their website, they have advertisements on their websites.

Why are advertisements annoying? Due to the game being published on new websites by other companies, advertisements became a highly prominent aspect when playing the game. After you beat a level one or maybe two advertisements would play, which ruins the immersion and concentration of the player which hinders one of the core aspects of what made the game good for kids, which is to develop their ability to focus. It also annoys players who have a limited patience and tolerance for time wasting, it is a small game which is very simplistic so players may think why is there a need to put advertisements on this when it is such an old game. Due to these advertisements players are unlikely to replay the game unless they are bored or want a sense of nostalgia, effectively killing off newer players.

What is PEGI?

PEGI (Pan European Game Information) is the European content rating system for video games. Depending on the PEGI rating certain games should not be sold to consumers who fall under the specified age limit.

PEGI 3-

Suitable for all ages, should not contain scary noises or pictures that may frighten children, implied violence in a comical sense is acceptable.

PEGI 7-

Suitable for ages 7+, may have scary sounds or images and can contain implied non realistic violence.

PEGI 12-

Suitable for ages 12+, can contain violence towards fantasy characters or non realistic violence, sexual innuendo and mild bad language.

PEGI 16-

Suitable for ages 16+, violence or sexual scenes can be realistic, can contain more extreme bad language and can contain the presence of alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

PEGI 18-

Suitable for ages 18+, may contain acts of violence depicted as gross, explicit sexual intercourse or the glamorisation of using drugs, may also contain motiveless killing or killing of defenceless characters.

This means the game contains violence, depending on the PEGI rating this can vary in extremity. It can not appear on a PEGI 3 rated game.

This means the game contains bad language, can be found on games rated PEGI 12, 16 and 18, varies in extremity depending on which rating.

This means the game can contain scary sounds or images not suitable for young children, can vary depending on the PEGI rating and can not be found on PEGI 3 rated games.

This means the game contains gambling or elements that teach or encourage gambling and should only be found in games with PEGI 18.

This means the game may contain sexual innuendo or posturing or in extreme cases on PEGI 16 games can contain explicit sexual intercourse without showing genitalia and in PEGI 18 games explicit sexual intercourse can be present.

The game refers to or depicts the use of illegal drugs, tobacco or alcohol, these games must have a PEGI rating of 16 or 18.

The game depicts ethnic, religious or nationalistic stereotypes which usually encourage hatred, this is only for games with PEGI 18 rating.

The game contains in game purchases of digital goods or services which costs real world currency. May also have a notice of any randomized paid content i.e., loot boxes or card packs.

Timeline Video

Timeline official video..mp4

Elden Ring Analysis Video

Elden ring analysis official video.mp4

Character representation in Elden Ring

The player is known in the world of the lands between, as a tarnished. Tarnished are characters who have lost the grace of the Erdtree, and due to the Elden Ring being shattered the golden order is broken "beckoned by lost grace" the tarnished rise again to search for the shards of the Elden Ring and become Elden Lord. When venturing through the lands between, the player controls the character they created, killing and looting the worlds creatures and structures. The game has six endings, in all six endings the player is never represented as the hero, in fact the player may just be the biggest villain in a world of serial killers, swindlers and tyrants. The default ending is where the player focuses on the main objectives, gathering the shattered Elden Ring pieces, killing the Elden Beast (final boss) and becoming Elden Lord. However, along the way you have killed demi-gods and many other creatures and are violating the golden order which was set in place to keep chaos from spreading.

The Non Player Character's (NPC's) are split into three main groups, dialogue, shop and enemies. Dialogue characters are any NPC's that have voice acting with words or text based speech, they can also belong to both the merchant and enemy groups. Shop type NPC's are any NPC that allow you to sell items or buy items, these can also be in both other types, they will attack you if you attack them. Enemies are any NPC that fights the player and causes damage to the player. There is a fourth group of NPC which are passive i.e., they do not fit into the other three categories but do exist, this can be ghosts or scarabs etc. Sir Gideon Ofnir the All Knowing, or Gideon, is a tarnished like the player that serves as the leader of the round table hold (a Hub for NPC's, where players can buy and sell from merchants, upgrade weapons etc.) Through out the game Gideon stays in the round table hold almost always deep in research in his "office/library" the player only sees Gideon one time outside the round table hold which is when you have to fight him. During the fight with Gideon, he uses many familiar techniques, these techniques are identical to the ones used by the demi gods the player kills. Throughout the world there are scarabs which when killed give health and mana potions as well as ash of war. These scarabs have a common pattern on their backs, an eye, this symbol is also present all over Gideon's armor. This coupled with the fact he uses the fallen demi god techniques leads the player to believe the beetles are a spy for Gideon, all this leads to represent Gideon as the ultimate antagonist.

Often Elden Ring gives the characters a pessimistic representation, a world that has lost order and is falling into chaos, mass serial killers, dead rising to the living again, constant fighting and the looming knowledge of gods and demi gods, leads the player to view the world pessimistically. This negative connotation of characters and even the player themselves, is exactly what makes Elden Ring so popular. Making the world so corrupt, makes the player less sensitive to killing creatures and demigods alike, this can enhance the players enjoyment as they won't get too attached to any characters allowing the core gameplay of Elden Ring to shine through.

The Production Pipeline

The production Pipeline is the layout in which all production processes follow. The production pipeline goes as follows: Pre production, Production and finally Post Production.

Pre production- Pre production is the work put in before any production work is done.

For video games this can include concept art, mood boards, story boards, general ideas for the game design, how it will function, how it's going to be made, the story, characters and premise, prototypes, primary and secondary research etc.

Production- Here the main processes for producing the product(game) are done.

For video games this can include 3D modelling, texturing, Rigging/Animations, voice acting, VFX, putting the scenes/world together etc.

Post production- The processes taken after the final product is complete.

For video games this can include, marketing, advertising, trailers, play testing, fixing errors, releasing the game etc.

Genre in games

Genre defines the type of game and helps players determine what the game will be like.

Some Genres in games include, Action, Strategy, Roleplaying, Sports, Simulation, Adventure and Puzzle. These genres may also have sub-genres which are further genres branching of from the main ones.

Action games- Action games test/challenge the players coordination and physical skills with the controls.

Strategy games- Strategy games test/challenge the players with their ability to plan and strategize, usually by providing them with limited resources or difficult scenarios that can't be solved with physical skills with the controls.

Roleplaying games- Games where the player immerses themselves within a character, world and story, often pretending to be those characters.

Sports games- Games which are digitalized versions of real life sports, i.e. basketball, tennis etc.

Simulation games- Simulation games try to recreate(simulate) real life actions depending on what the game wants to simulate i.e. car driving simulation, city building simulation etc.

Adventure- Adventure games are about the exploration of the game world, finding secrets and different environments etc.

Puzzle games- Puzzle games are games designed to challenge the player to solve puzzles.

Page updated

Report abuse