The What?

My Game Design Odyssey!

I had the second session today and we were asked to WRITE, write about and sum up what we have discussed today, so here I am in a public car ride trying to lay it all out and I think it’s really beneficial in many ways,,, anyway let’s start.

We started with some history about games in general and the wars and competition between different gaming platforms of consoles and PCs and also the changes and patterns of rise and fall of the industry in terms of market and the games itself and it’s something that we should definitely learn from, then we discussed Game Design, and that it’s not only art, it’s a mix of art and science. Then things got more interesting talking about the meta of game definition, we discussed many definitions, however not all of them can really tell the true meaning of a game such that each definition carries the POV of whoever defined it. For example, the “dictionary” definition, it was too general to the point when we were easily able to slice it down as a “toy” rather than a “game”. Another definition , and a slightly better one was from a book “Rules Of Play”, it addressed the meaning of a game in quite more specified way but still it wasn’t enough to get a good grasp of what a game really is. Finally we were convinced that a game is an interactive system defined by sets of rules and has a goal that the players of the game would wish to achieve in order for them to get rewarded. Moving on to the topic of why we do the things that we do in life and the “5 Why-s”, like what is the purpose and reasons for us to do the things that we do in life, it started with why do we play and went to why do we do anything, it got philosophical a little bit but was amusing. At the end it turns out to be hormones xd, and their reward system. Everything we do in life we do it because it makes us feel good, challenged, worried, stressed,…etc. And that is an important point to address so that we as game designers can understand ourselves and everyone else and put it all into consideration when designing a game or taking a decision.

The neeeeeeeeed of playing a certain type of a game and the aesthetics of the game, a strong relationship, are a crucial factor to decide what we want to provide in our game to the players.

The RGA Framework:

Derived from the definition of the game where any game requires a set of defined rules, a goal that the player needs to achieve through actions.

The MDA Framework:

Mechanics VS Dynamics, the mechanics of a game are the rules of interaction that define what can be done in the game while dynamics are the ways that the player can use those mechanics and how interactions go. On the other hand aesthetics are the feelings and emotive reasons why players go for that game, whether it’s artistic, sensations, exploration, challenge, fantasy… or any other type of aesthetics.

So What?

After all that we’ve covered, it turns out that Game Design is way broader and bigger topic than I thought it would be, but at least the shock of it wasn’t a bad one. It was definitely constructive and serves towards the higher purpose of being a game designer and also beneficial in other fields or way of life in general, I’m not sure how but it feels like one’s vision of life and the way of thinking in general has been affected in a more positive and effective direction.

Now What?

Adventure awaits, I’d love to learn more about game design, use these techniques and methods in an effective way to not only make awesome games but also for a greater mind and a better life. Ready to read more, know more, discuss more and write more.